This heat-protective fabric is inspired by camels

SCIENTISTS in China are working on creating a fabric that can protect humans from extreme heat, and more specifically, protect firefighters tackling blazes exacerbated by global warming. Currently being developed, the material is inspired by the thermal regulation system of camels!

This invention could prove particularly useful to firefighters. With the rise of megafires and other extreme events caused by global warming, scientists at China's Soochow University are developing a fabric designed to provide superior protection from flames and resistance to intense heat, all while letting sweat escape.

"Conventional firefighter uniforms tend to focus on thermal protection and have the bottleneck of lacking personal thermal management. The heat stress caused by poor thermal management inevitably detriments human body health," say the researchers behind the project.

The textile in question takes the form of an insulator consisting of pockets filled with an aerogel, surrounded by two layers of heat-resistant polymers. According to the study, published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the fabric is capable of withstanding a temperature of 80 degrees Celsius.

Equipped with micropores, it also allows the rapid evacuation of moisture generated by perspiration. "Compared to conventional firefighter uniform fabrics, [this new material] shows simultaneously low thermal conductivity in the cross-plane direction and high breathability and moisture permeability," say the researchers. The system is promising, but needs to be tested before it can be marketed.

Camels losing their humps?

So what does all this have to do with camels? The idea of creating a textile with aerogel pockets was actually inspired by the structure of a camel's hump! This distinctive feature of camels is actually a mass of fat that serves to constitute water and energy reserves.

But it also allows these desert animals to withstand extreme temperatures. Camels are used to high temperatures during the day, reaching 50 degrees Celsius in some parts of the world. The whole of their anatomical structure, from their hump to their legs, helps them to withstand this heat, in particular thanks to sweat glands distributed throughout the body, allowing for optimal thermoregulation.

But camels are not immune to the threat of climate change. For almost two years, Ethiopia has been facing one of the most severe droughts in its history. In the east of the African country, a region where it has not rained for many months, the consequences on livestock are dramatic, and are leading to significant food shortages.

So much so that camels no longer have enough food to fill their humps, which can normally store up to 15 kg of fat. In recent years, the humps of many camels living in these regions have been wasting away. Some have even lost their humps completely.