An investigation of the design potential of thermochromic textiles used with electronic heat-profiling circuitry
Abstract
The research documented in this thesis is based on a practice-led PhD study funded by
the AHRC, supported also by LCR Hallcrest, manufacturers of thermochromic dyes. In
addition to the written thesis, the research outcomes also include a range of fabric
samples and prototype pieces that explore the design potential of thermochromic dye
systems on textiles when used in combination with electronic heat-profiling circuitry. A
particular ambition of the research was to highlight and exploit the complexity of a wide
range of thermochromic dye systems within the area of textile design. The research was
multidisciplinary in nature, bridging design, colour chemistry and power electronics. A
number of electronic heating systems, some digitally-controlled, were designed and
constructed as a means to activate and control the colour change effects on
thermochromic fabrics. Both leuco and liquid crystal types of thermochromic systems
were explored. However, a significant focus developed on liquid crystal dye systems
which offered particular opportunities in their application to textiles, including the
previously unexploited design potential of their ability to change through a spectrum of
colours, facilitated further by access to some unique materials made available by the
industrial collaboration. The research contributes to knowledge in several ways:
• it demonstrates the additive colour mixing properties of liquid crystal dye
systems when layered on textiles, which have not previously been exploited in
textile design.
• the electronic systems that have been developed within the research offer tools
for visualising colour-change, controlling, and mixing colour on a textile
surface.
• the approach through textile design exploited combinations of thermochromic
effects with pattern, for example using laser technology, to enhance further the
colour changing surfaces. It demonstrates a diverse range of thermochromic
effects.
The research described in this thesis not only adds significantly to knowledge and
practice-led exploitation of design using thermochromic dye systems on textiles but also
presents a diverse range of opportunities for new design research directions.