Design and Development of Eco-Friendly Smart Car Covers with Multi-Functional Properties Using Natural Active Materials

Enhancing the quality of human life through protection against various hazards as well as protection of environment is one of today's priorities. Technical textiles show steady expansion and growing rates of application. In today's technology, the significance and use of fabrics are increasing in agriculture, civil engineering, protection, safety, sports, automotive industry, and transportation, as well as storage, packing, medical and ecological sectors. The work presented in this paper aims at study the effect of the physical and mechanical properties of car cover after being treated with an introduced sustainable approach. To achieve this goal, twenty-seven woven samples were produced with different variables, including different yarn types and weaving structures as well as weft yarns density. The former includes three kinds of yarn types, namely polyester microfiber, polyethylene and cotton in the weft direction. The second variable includes three weaving structures, namely, double cloth weave (Face: matt rib 2/2 Back: matt rib 2/2), (Face: Twill 2/2, Back: Twill 2/2) and (Face: Satin4, back: Satin4). The chemical treatment includes nano titanium dioxide (TiO2(as self-cleaning agent together with honey bee propolis to enhance the effect of TiO2. Honey propolis not only enhance the effect of TiO2 for self-clean properties but also acquire car cover materials water repellent as well as UV protection performance. The samples were monitored for physic-chemical and mechanical properties as well as self-cleaning properties. Values obtained were subjected to overall quality factor analysis to determine the best sample that complies with the optimum performance properties. The results revealed that textile construction highly affected the performance of treated car cover fabric, as the highest self-cleaning property was observed with fabrics produced from cotton with Double cloth weave (Face: Satin4, Back: Satin4) and a weft density of 80 wefts/cm. In addition, the highest UV protection factor (UPF) was observed with those fabrics constructed from microfiber polyester and Double cloth weave (Face: Satin4, Back: Satin4) and with a density of 40 weft/cm. Textile construction also plays a vital role in optimizing the multifunctional performance of treated car cover fabrics." The successful use of nano-TiO2 and honeybee propolis for the treatment of car covers is preferable not only for their performance but also as a sustainable, non-toxic choice appealing to environmentally conscious consumers.