Development of comformable thermally conductive polymer material systems

Spark Innovations Inc目前正在进行一个开发新的可穿戴温度调节设备的项目（即，一项正在申请专利的技术），它可以有效地将目标用户的热量散发到周围区域。它的目的是刺激用户的生理机能，整天诱导减肥。待开发的设备需要自我调节，将用户的皮肤温度保持在低于用户身体其他部分的恒定水平。它们的应用之一是作为服装内侧的薄层涂层，促进产生的身体热量的有效消散。Spark的目标是将这些设备集成到智能服装中，以促进身体健康。通过并入 通过服装中的冷却通道，身体热量将通过温度调节涂层有效地传递，并且随后从身体移除。这款智能服装预计将吸引渴望塑造身材的顾客的关注和欢迎。该技术的一个关键技术挑战是需要开发一种新的适形且轻质的导热材料系统，其可以符合身体形状的轮廓，从而完善温度调节装置与皮肤之间的接触以促进散热。在此背景下，本研究项目的首要目标是开发一种高导热聚合物/六方氮化硼（hBN）复合泡沫的顺应性薄膜，并随后将其集成到冷温度调节装置中，以完善 它与用户皮肤的接触。短期目标是：（i）设计复合材料配方和加工条件以定制聚合物/hBN复合泡沫的微观结构;（ii）研究复合泡沫的微观结构对其顺应性和有效导热性的影响;（iii）开发聚合物复合泡沫在其顺应性和有效导热性方面的结构与性能关系;以及（iv）评估柔性导热膜在具有不同表面轮廓的热物体上的导热性能。

Spark Innovations Inc. is currently undertaking a project that develops new wearable temperature regulating devices (i.e., a patent-pending technology), which can effectively dissipate heat from target users to the surrounding areas. It aims to stimulate the physiology of the user, inducing weight loss all day long. The devices to be developed are required to be self-regulating, maintaining the skin temperature of the user at a constant level below that of the rest of the user's body. One of their applications is to serve as a thin-layer coating onto the inner side of apparel, facilitating efficient dissipation of generated body heat. Spark is targeting to integrate such devices in smart apparels for the promotion of body fitness. By incorporating cooling channels in the apparel, the body heat will effectively be transferred through the temperature regulating coating and subsequently be removed from the body. This smart apparel is expected to attract attention from and be welcomed by customers who are eager to shape their bodies. One key technological challenge to this technology is the needs to develop a new conformable and lightweight thermally conductive material system that can conform to the contour of body shape, and thereby perfect the contact between the temperature regulating device and the skin to facilitate heat dissipation. In this context, the over-arching goal of this research project is to develop a compliant film of highly thermally conductive polymer/hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) composite foams, and subsequently integrate them into a cold temperature regulation device to perfect its contact with the user's skin. The short-term objectives are: (i) design composite formulations and processing conditions to tailor the microstructure of polymer/hBN composite foams; (ii) investigate the effects of composite foams' microstructures on their conformability and effective thermal conductivity; (iii) develop the structure-to-property relationships of polymer composite foams in terms of their compliance and effective thermal conductivity; and (iv) evaluate the heat conducting performance of the flexible, thermally conductive film on hot bodies with different surface contours.