| abstract |
A coating composition for fabrics includes wetted microspheres containing a phase change material dispersed throughout a polymer binder, a surfactant, a dispersant, an antifoam agent and a thickener. Preferred phase change materials include paraffinic hydrocarbons. The microspheres may be microencapsulated. To prepare the coating composition, microspheres containing phase change material are wetted and dispersed in a dispersion in a water solution containing a surfactant, a dispersant, an antifoam agent and a polymer mixture. The coating is then applied to a fabric. In an alternative embodiment, an extensible fabric (24) is coated with an extensible binder (12) containing microencapsulated phase change material (14) to form an extensible, coated fabric (10). The coated fabric (10) is optionally flocked with fibers (18). The coated, extensible fabrics are manufactured using transfer techniques. |