Pine Cone Effect
The Pine cone effect is a technology specifically designed to offer a solution to discomfort sensations caused by the build up of moisture in clothing microclimate experienced during travel in urban environments. The metropolitan landscape is laced with numerous over and underground networks forming vital passages that lead the traveller through a multitude of spaces, each defined by unique temperature, humidity and activity level. It is impossible to predict every eventuality and consequently accommodate in a selection of clothing to ensure comfort.
Modular clothing assemblies are currently used for the management of physiological comfort. The insulation and ventilation properties of an outfit are adjusted manually by the individual either by adding/ removing layers of clothing, compressing/ extending parts of garments and opening/ closing ventilation features. This method is compromised by factors such as limited availability of space and wearer’s ability to detect and respond to the onset of discomfort sensations.
Current smart systems rely on temperature as a stimulus for actuation, however Veronika’s research revealed that humidity is the ideal trigger. The study of moisture induced shape change in botanical structures (i.e. pinecone) inspired the design of a textile prototype able to adapt its air permeability in response to humidity changes in the microclimate of the clothing system.
Conventional fibres swell as they absorb moisture. This causes the yarn to swell which in turn reduces the porosity of the textile structure. Veronika has developed a textile which functions in the opposite manner; as it absorbs moisture the textile becomes more porous and in dry conditions the structure opens up like a pine cone, reducing permeability to air and increasing insulation properties
