Technical fabrics are up-and-coming technologies in many of society’s strategic industrial sectors including transportation, defence, health, and construction. Today, technical fabrics are considered to be essential elements in cutting-edge products.
At the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe and its affiliated centre, the Groupe CTT, professor Olivier Vermeersch, Research Chair of Industrial Research in Innovative Technical Fabrics, is leading research focussed on protection, safety, comfort and toxicity, sustainable construction, and reuse of intelligent textiles.
Research has been launched at Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe on fabrics for extreme climates, particularly for the Arctic. Many factors must be taken into account when evaluating the performance of protective clothing against the cold. While the thermal aspect is vital, the user’s comfort and mobility must not be overlooked.
Researchers have perfected a performance index to help consumers identify clothing that best meets their specific needs, depending on environmental factors and their physical activities. This performance index was also designed to assess protection levels of clothing with active heating. In the last few years, the development of trial methods for intelligent textiles has become a major focus of work for standardization bodies. A research focus on toxicity has led to the completion of several projects that identify or estimate Volatile Organic Composites (VOC) level using a clean room set up in the Groupe CTT offices.
Each year, more than a dozen college, undergraduate, and graduate students and their supervising professors participate in intelligent textile research activities. This dynamic environment has allowed the cégep to complete many innovative projects and continues to stimulate the interest of industry partners.
