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TENCEL® - a cellulose fiber with excellent temperature balance regulates the micro-climate in Activewear

17.07.2006

With its moisture and temperature regulation properties, TENCEL® acts like a natural Phase Change Material (PCM) that can either cool or warm depending on the prevailing conditions. This ability to act as a thermal buffer is due to the natural water content of the cellulose fiber rather than any added substances. It is quite simple – the higher the moisture level of the fiber, the higher its capacity to regulate temperature.

Dry TENCEL®  fiber releases energy when water vapor is being absorbed. This gives a pleasant feeling of warmth for a person wearing the TENCEL®  clothing.

Damp TENCEL®  fibers on the other hand give a cooling effect when the water is released from the fiber. The cooling effect results from the fiber’s high water content despite which the fiber continues to feel dry to the wearer. Lenzing’s research work has shown that the fiber’s “natural intelligence“ can be explained by its nano-structure – submicroscopic channels between the nanofibrils in the fiber that regulate the absorption and release of moisture and maintain the environment at the surface of the body.

Even with a relatively small addition of TENCEL®  to a blend, textile High Performance constructions used by well-known Active Sportswear brands can be significantly improved.

The thermal behaviour of TENCEL®, which is surprisingly varied, never ceases to amaze. A look at the pictures below, taken with a special camera, demonstrates this quite clearly:

With two-dimensional knitwear at warm temperatures and/or a higher level of activity where sweat is produced the fiber cools actively. The left-hand photograph shows that during exercise the 100% TENCEL® side of the two-part Single Jersey T-Shirts releases more warmth to the outside than the 100% polyester side, i.e. the body’s performance is optimised and the wearer of the
T-Shirt clearly feels better and cooler as a result of the regulation of the body temperature.

In contrast to this, the right-hand photograph shows that precisely the opposite effect occurs at a very low temperature and a correspondingly low level of sweat production: the three-dimensional wadding on the TENCEL® side gives superior heat insulation values compared to the 100% polyester side of the two-part wadded winter jacket: With a lower fiber moisture, TENCEL® gives better thermal insulation and also demonstrates better moisture management.

Download full press release and pictures

Contact:

Dieter Eichinger
Lenzing AG
Marketing Textiles
4860 Lenzing - Austria
Tel:  +43 (0)7672 701-2119
E-Mail: marketing@lenzing.com