Effect of physical activity and air velocity on the thermal insulation of clothing

Abstract

Intrinsic thermal clothing insulation and surface air insulation were measured on human subjects by the use of indirect calorimetry. Four male clothing ensembles (0-1-1 -8 clo) and three female clothing ensembles (0-2-1-2 clo) were investigated. Using the standing position as a reference, the influence of sitting, bicycling (40r.p.m., 20 W), walking (3-75 km hour^?1) and of light packing work on the thermal insulation was studied. The influence of an air velocity of 11ms^?1 on thermal insulation during the standing and walking conditions was investigated. The results showed that: (i) intrinsic clothing insulation was maximal in the standing position. It was reduced by 8-18% in the seated position and by 30-50% during bicycling and walking. An air velocity of 11ms^?1 did not influence the intrinsic clothing insulation during walking, but decreased it by 18% in the standing position; (ii) surface air insulation varied with activity and air velocity, but not with clothing. It was increased by up to 25% in the seated position, reduced by 7-26% during bicycling and by 30-50% during walking. An air velocity of 11 ms-1 reduced the surface air insulation by 50% in the standing position and 30% during walking.     

The accuracy of estimating the thermal insulation of clothing ensembles - the effect of appraisers

The effect of the appraisers on the estimation of the thermal insulation of clothing ensembles was investigated. Nine appraisers, four experienced and five inexperienced, estimated the total thermal insulation by summing the values for individual garments. Lists of individual garments worn by workers were given during thermal comfort measurements carried out in shops and stores during one winter and summer. The beginners estimated the thermal insulation as accurately as the experienced appraisers. There were, however, great individual differences, for which three main reasons were found. Interpolation between the insulation provided by two garments was insufficient, and the insulation of these garments should be checked in more precise tables. Classification of the garments into heavy, medium and light clothing items was not adequate, and garments not listed by the workers confused the estimation given by different appraisers. The effect of error in thermal insulation on the PMV index is negligible if more than one appraiser estimates the thermal insulation and the mean of the estimates is used.     

A comparison of methods for assessing the thermal insulation value of children's schoolwear in Kuwait

In this study, three methods were used to determine the thermal insulation values of different school clothing worn by 6 to 17 year old girls and boys in Kuwait classrooms for both summer and winter seasons. The different clothing ensembles' insulations were determined by 1: measurement using adult-sized versions of the clothing on thermal manikins, 2: estimations from adult clothing data obtained from the standards tables in ISO 9920 and ASHRAE 55, and 3: calculations using a regression equation from McCullough et al. (1985) that was adapted to accommodate children's sizes for ages 6-17 years. Values for the clothing area factor, f(cl), were also determined by measurement and by using a prediction equation from ISO 9920. Results in this study suggested that the clothing insulation values found from the measured and adapted data were similar to the adult's data in standards tables for the same summer and winter seasons. Further, the effect of the insulation values on the different scholars' age groups were investigated using the clothing temperature rating technique and compared to the scholars' comfort temperature found in recent field studies. Results showed that the temperature ratings of the clothing using the three methods described above are close and in agreement with the scholars' comfort temperature. Though estimated and measured f(cl) data differed, the impact on the temperature ratings was limited. An observed secular change in the children's heights and weights in the last few decades implies that, for adolescents, the children's body surface areas are similar to those of adults, making the use of adult clothing tables even more acceptable. In conclusion, this study gives some evidence to support the applicability of using adults' data in ASHRAE 55 and ISO 9920 standards to assess the thermal insulation values of different children's clothing ensembles, provided that careful selection of the garments, ensembles material and design takes place.     

Evaporative resistance and sustainable work under heat stress conditions for two cloth anticontamination ensembles

When a work scenario in protective clothing is a nominal two hours of work followed by a short break, the level of heat stress must be limited to conditions of thermal equilibrium. By comparing changes in maximum sustainable work rate in a fixed environment, differences due to different protective clothing ensembles can be determined. To illustrate this principle, two protective clothing ensembles were examined. The Basic Ensemble was a cotton blend coverall over gym shorts with hard hat, gloves and full face mask respirator. The Enhanced Ensemble added a light weight, surgical scrub suit under the coveralls, plus a hood worn under the hard hat. Five young, acclimated males were the test subjects. Environmental conditions were fixed at T_db=32°C and T_pwb=26°C. After a physiological steady state was established at a low rate of work, treadmill speed was increased by 0.04 m/s every 5 min. The trial continued until thermal equilibrium was clearly lost. A critical treadmill speed was noted at the point thermal equilibrium was lost for each ensemble and subject. The drop in treadmill speed from the basic to enhanced ensemble was 11%. Based on measured values of average skin temperature and metabolic rate at the critical work rate and estimated values of clothing insulation, the average evaporative resistances for the basic and enhanced ensembles were 0.018 and 0.026 kPa m²/W, respectively.

Relevance to industry

Protective clothing decisions are based on the need to reduce the risk of skin contact with chemical or physical hazards. Sometimes over-protection of the skin results in a hazard secondary to the skin, such as heat stress. With or without over-protection, protective clothing decisions may affect the level of heat stress and result in lower rates of sustainable work. This paper illustrates the affects of a relatively small change in protective clothing requirements on the ability to work in the heat.     

Effect of posture positions on the evaporative resistance and thermal insulation of clothing

Evaporative resistance and thermal insulation of clothing are important parameters in the design and engineering of thermal environments and functional clothing. Past work on the measurement of evaporative resistance of clothing was, however, limited to the standing posture with or without body motion. Information on the evaporative resistance of clothing when the wearer is in a sedentary or supine posture and how it is related to that when the wearer is in a standing posture is lacking. This paper presents original data on the effect of postures on the evaporative resistance of clothing, thermal insulation and permeability index, based on the measurements under three postures, viz. standing, sedentary and supine, using the sweating fabric manikin-Walter. Regression models are also established to relate the evaporative resistance and thermal insulation of clothing under sedentary and supine postures to those under the standing posture. The study further shows that the apparent evaporated resistances of standing and sedentary postures measured in the non-isothermal condition are much lower than those in the isothermal condition. The apparent evaporative resistances measured using the mass loss method are generally lower than those measured using the heat loss method due to moisture absorption or condensation within clothing. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The thermal insulation and evaporative resistance values of clothing ensembles under different postures are essential data for the ergonomics design of thermal environments (e.g. indoors or a vehicle's interior environment) and functional clothing. They are also necessary for the prediction of thermal comfort or duration of exposure in different environmental conditions.     

Work tolerance and subjective responses to wearing protective clothing and respirators during physical work

This study examined work tolerance and subjective responses while performing two levels of work and wearing four types of protective ensembles. Nine males (mean age = 24·8 years, weight = 75·3 kg, [Vdot]O₂ max = 44·6 ml/kg min) each performed a series of eight experimental tests in random order, each lasting up to 180 min in duration. Work was performed on a motor-driven treadmill at a set walking speed and elevation which produced work intensities of either 30% or 60% of each subject's maximum aerobic capacity. Work/rest intervals were established based on anticipated SCBA refill requirements. Environmental temperature averaged 22·6°C and average relative humidity was 55%. The four protective ensembles were: a control ensemble consisting of light work clothing (CONTROL); light work clothing with an open circuit self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA); firefighter's turnout gear with SCBA (FF); and chemical protective clothing with SCBA (CHEM). Test duration (tolerance time) was determined by physiological responses reaching a predetermined indicator of high stress or by a 180-min limit. Physiological and subjective measurements obtained every 2·5 min included: heart rate, skin temperature, rectal temperature, and subjective ratings of perceived exertion, thermal sensation, and perspiration.

The mean tolerance times were 155, 130, 26, and 73 min, respectively, for the CONTROL, SCBA, FF, and CHEM conditions during low intensity work; and 91, 23, 4, and 13 min, respectively, during high intensity work. Differences between ensemble and work intensity were significant FF and CHEM heart rate responses did not reach a steady state, and rose rapidly compared to CONTROL and SCBA values. SCBA heart rates remained approximately 15 beats higher than the CONTROL ensemble during the tests. At the low work intensity, mean skin.     

Comparison of two tracer gas dilution methods for the determination of clothing ventilation and of vapour resistance

Clothing microclimate ventilation is an important parameter in climatic stress and in contaminated environments. The two main methods for its determination (Crockford et al. (CR) 1972 and Lotens and Havenith (LH) 1988) were, after further development, compared in terms of reproducibility, validity and usability. Both methods were shown to have a good sensitivity and reproducibility (with average coefficients of variation 1.5–2.3% for the method alone and up to 7% for method and clothing/movement effects combined). They produced values very close to calibration values in forced ventilation tests (r = 0.988). Weak points for the CR method were the limits in the time constant of the measurement apparatus, causing an upper limit to the ventilation that can be reliably measured (around 800 l/min) and the method of measuring clothing microclimate volume. The original ‘vacuum oversuit’ (CR) method was cumbersome and prone to large errors. Alternative methods of measuring clothing microclimate volume (whole body scanner or manual circumference measurements) were shown to produce good results. For the LH method, the distribution of the tracer gas over the whole skin surface became a problem factor at very high ventilations (above 1000 l/min). As all methods use tracer gases (O₂, Ar, CO₂, SF₆) with diffusivities smaller than that of water vapour, this potentially creates a problem in the calculation of vapour resistance from the ventilation values in the region where the emphasis of vapour transfer moves from diffusion to convection. In most real-life situations, where body and air movement are present, a correction is not however required because the error remains below 10%.

Statement of Relevance: Clothing ventilation indicates heat loss potential as well as risk of pollutants entering the clothing. Two main methods for its determination are compared and validated, identifying a number of issues. An in-depth analysis is given of the advantages and disadvantages of the available methodologies.     

3D quantification of microclimate volume in layered clothing for the prediction of clothing insulation

Garment fit and resultant air volume is a crucial factor in thermal insulation, and yet, it has been difficult to quantify the air volume of clothing microclimate and relate it to the thermal insulation value just using the information on the size of clothing pattern without actual 3D volume measurement in wear condition. As earlier methods for the computation of air volume in clothing microclimate, vacuum over suit and circumference model have been used. However, these methods have inevitable disadvantages in terms of cost or accuracy due to the limitations of measurement equipment. In this paper, the phase-shifting moiré topography was introduced as one of the 3D scanning tools to measure the air volume of clothing microclimate quantitatively. The purpose of this research is to adopt a non-contact image scanning technology, phase-shifting moiré topography, to ascertain relationship between air volume and insulation value of layered clothing systems in wear situations where the 2D fabric creates new conditions in 3D spaces. The insulation of vests over shirts as a layered clothing system was measured with a thermal manikin in the environmental condition of 20 degrees C, 65% RH and air velocity of 0.79 m/s. As the pattern size increased, the insulation of the clothing system was increased. But beyond a certain limit, the insulation started to decrease due to convection and ventilation, which is more apparent when only the vest was worn over the torso of manikin. The relationship between clothing air volume and insulation was difficult to predict with a single vest due to the extreme openings which induced active ventilation. But when the vest was worn over the shirt, the effects of thickness of the fabrics on insulation were less pronounced compared with that of air volume. In conclusion, phase-shifting moiré topography was one of the efficient and accurate ways of quantifying air volume and its distribution across the clothing microclimate. It is also noted that air volume becomes more crucial factor in predicting thermal insulation when clothing is layered.     

Temperature rating prediction of Tibetan robe ensemble based on different wearing ways

Each piece of Western clothing has a unique temperature rating (TR); however, based on different wearing ways, one Tibetan robe ensemble can be used in various environments of the Tibetan plateau. To explain this environmental adaptation, thermal insulations and TR values of Tibetan robe ensembles in three typical wearing ways were measured by manikin testing and wearing trials, respectively. The TR prediction models for Tibetan robe ensembles were built in this research. The results showed that the thermal insulations of Tibetan robe ensembles changed from 0.26 clo to 0.91 clo; the corresponding TRs ranged from 9.90 °C to 16.86 °C because of different wearing ways. Not only the thermal insulation, but also the ways of wearing Tibetan robes was important to determining their TR values. The three TR models and a triangle area for each piece of Tibetan clothing explained its positive adaptation into the environment; this was different from the current TR models for Western clothing.     

Reducing heat stress under thermal insulation in protective clothing: microclimate cooling by a ‘physiological’ method

Heat stress caused by protective clothing limits work time. Performance improvement of a microclimate cooling method that enhances evaporative and to a minor extent convective heat loss was tested. Ten male volunteers in protective overalls completed a work-rest schedule (130 min; treadmill: 3 × 30 min, 3 km/h, 5% incline) with or without an additional air-diffusing garment (climatic chamber: 25°C, 50% RH, 0.2 m/s wind). Heat loss was supported by ventilating the garment with dry air (600 l/min, ?5% RH, 25°C). Ventilation leads (M ± SD, n = 10, ventilated vs. non-ventilated) to substantial strain reduction (max. HR: 123 ± 12 b/min vs. 149 ± 24 b/min) by thermal relief (max. core temperature: 37.8 ± 0.3°C vs. 38.4 ± 0.4°C, max. mean skin temperature: 34.7 ± 0.8°C vs. 37.1 ± 0.3°C) and offers essential extensions in performance and work time under thermal insulation.     

Impact of the medical clothing on the thermal stress of surgeons

The aim of the presented experiments was to determine thermal stress of surgeons performing their work with a high metabolic rate, wearing clothing characterized by high insulation and impermeability protecting them against water vapour but also in thermal conditions of a warm climate protecting patients against hypothermia. The experiments were conducted with the participation of 8 volunteers. Each subject took part in the experiment four times, i.e. in each of the four tested surgical gowns. The experiments were conducted in a climatic chamber where thermal conditions characteristic of an operating theatre were simulated. The parameters to be measured included: skin temperature, temperature measured in the auditory canal, sweat rate as well as temperature and humidity between clothing and a human body. The conducted experiments provided the grounds to conclude that medical clothing can be regarded as barrier clothing and it can influence thermal load of a human body.     

Protective clothing and heat stress

The high level of protection required by protective clothing (PPC) severely impedes heat exchange by sweat evaporation. As a result work associated with wearing PPC, particularly in hot environments, implies considerable physiological strain and may render workers exhausted in a short time. Current methods of describing evaporative heat exchange with PPC are insufficient, will overestimate evaporative heat loss and should not be recommended. More reliable measures of the resistance to evaporative heat transfer by PPC should be developed and standardized. Direct measurements of evaporative resistance of PPC may be carried. However, a more promising method appears to be the definition of evaporative resistance on the basis of the i ^cl-index for the fabric layers. The i ^cl-mdex is a permeation efficiency ratio, which in combination with clothing insulation determines the evaporative heat transfer. Current methods should be further developed to account for effects of moisture condensation and microclimate ventilation.     

Pumping effects on thermal insulation of clothing worn by human subjects

This study was undertaken in order to analyse the importance of the pumping effect on clothing's thermal insulation. To enhance differences in heat exchanges due to the pumping effect, two sets of condition were fixed, minimizing either the convective or the radiative heat transfers. The results showed that: (i) the clothing insulation determined on a manikin, even if he is moving, is larger than the resultant clothing insulation for living subjects; (ii) the insulation is not the same for radiant heat or cold as for convective heat or cold;(iii) the pumping effect can increase or decrease the resultant clothing insulation; (iv) the clothing insulation is smaller in warmer conditions thanin cooler ones; (v) it becomes necessary to make a definite distinction between several kinds of clothing insulation; intrinsic or basic insulation against radiation and convection; effective insulation against radiation and convection taking into account only the heat flowing through the clothing fabric; resultant insulation taking into account the magnitude of the pumping effect when clothing is worn by living subjects     

Performance of parallel Cholesky factorization algorithms using BLAS

This paper considers four parallel Cholesky factorization algorithms, including SPOTRF from the February 1992 release of LAPACK, each of which call parallel Level 2 or 3 BLAS, or both. A fifth parallel Cholesky algorithm that calls serial Level 3 BLAS is also described. The efficiency of these five algorithms on the CRAY-2, CRAY Y-MP/832, Hitachi Data Systems EX 80, and IBM 3090-600J is evaluated and compared with a vendor-optimized parallel Cholesky factorization algorithm. The fifth parallel Cholesky algorithm that calls serial Level 3 BLAS provided the best performance of all algorithms that called BLAS routines. In fact, this algorithm outperformed the Cray-optimized libsci routine (SPOTRF) by 13–44%;, depending on the problem size and the number of processors used.This work was supported by grants from IMSL, Inc., and Hitachi Data Systems. The first version of this paper was presented as a poster session at Supercomputing '90, New York City, November 1990.     

Assessment of cold stress in terms of required clothing insulation—IREQ

A heat exchange model has been developed, by which the thermal stress associated with work in cold environments can be evaluated. Based on measurements of air temperature, mean radiant temperature, humidity and air velocity and measurements or estimates of activity level (energy metabolism) the model calculates a clothing insulation (IREQ) required to maintain body heat balance. IREQ may be regarded as an index of cold stress, and the value for IREQ specifies the insulation to be provided by clothing under given conditions, in addition to the insulation of the boundary air layer. IREQ, hence, may serve as a guideline for selection of appropriate clothing in cold environments. Basic insulation values of clothing (I_cI) measured with thermal manikins can be used for this purpose, but need to be corrected to account for the effect of body motion, posture, wind penetration and moisture absorption before a comparison is made with IREQ.     

Reproducibility of body temperature response to standardized test conditions when assessing clothing

Abstract

The traditional use of core temperature to assess the thermal effects of clothing has recently been questioned. The purpose of this study was to assess the reproducibility of body temperature in five subjects (mean age, 226 ± 1-5 yrs) wearing either athletic clothing or a chemical protective overgarment while exercising at 20°C and at 40°C. The exercise was preceded by a 1 h adaptation period in a controlled environmental chamber. Results indicated that mean group change in rectal temperature (δT_r ) appeared to be reproducible for both garment ensembles at 20°C but not at 40°C. For mean change in oesophageal temperature ( δT_oes ) at 20°C, reproducibility was obtained for the overgarment but not for the athletic garment; at 40°C, mean δT_oes appeared to be reproducible with both garments. However, when individual responses were examined, there was little reproducibility for either δT_r or δT_oes . In addition, these measurements failed to show differences in the types of clothing worn. It was concluded that the use of core temperature to assess heat stress imposed by wearing clothing during exercise may lead to erroneous conclusions.     

Work tolerance and physiological responses to thermal environment wearing protective NBC clothing

Abstract

Six young, healthy male subjects performed a series of experiments in a climatic chamber in different environmental conditions wearing protective ventilated NBC clothing. Ambient temperature, TA, ranged from -20 to 35°C, relative humidity, RH, from 20 to 85%, and air velocity, VA, from 0·1 to 5·0 ms^?1. In addition, thermal radiation, measured by the temperature of the globothermometer, TG, was artificially increased in some experiments. A total of 32 experiments were performed. The subject had to exercise on a bicycle ergometer at a mechanical power of 60 W for 120 min. Heart rate, HR, oxygen uptake, VO₂, skin temperature, T_sk and rectal temperature, T_re, were measured during the experiments together with the temperature of the space between skin and garment, T_u. Sweat loss was determined as the difference of the body weight before and after the experiment. T_u was well correlated with the chamber environmental parameters. During heat exposure work duration began to decrease progressively from a T_u 30°C, reducing to 40 min at the highest thermal load. About the same value of T_u, marked the departure of HR, VO₂, T_sk and T_re from the values measured during the same work load in neutral conditions. Also, during cold exposure at -20°C work duration was reduced below 1 h, but the limit appeared to be the cold at the extremities. From these findings it appears that T_u is a good indicator of the thermal load and is related to the environmental condition by the equation: T_u = 9·93 + 0·56 TA + 0·023 TG + 0·14 RH (T in °C, RH in %. For better comfort and performance T_u should be monitored whenever a subject has to work wearing an NBC garment and the ventilating system must be adequate to fulfil the needs imposed on the subject by an adverse environment, in particular a high relative humidity.     

基于图像检测技术的室内人员服装热阻测量研究

目前服装热阻主要采用人工问卷调查的方式测量,需要受试者多次填写问卷,估计过程复杂且不易实时测量,而且传统估计方法只对静态热阻做预测,没有考虑人员运动状态、室内风速的影响。图像检测方面,基于Mask RCNN网络的服装检测方法存在多尺度特征信息丢失、融合不佳等问题。针对这些情况,提出一种改进的Mask RCNN服装检测网络方法,应用并实现室内人员动态服装热阻的系统设计。首先,通过CCD相机进行图像采集,经过改进的Mask RCNN网络检测着衣量。然后,查表映射法对室内服装热阻进行初步估计。最后,利用测量仪器测得风速、行走速度对服装热阻修正,得到动态服装热阻估计结果。实验结果表明,改进的Mask RCNN网络平均识别精度比原方法提高了1.1%,在动态服装热阻估计方面,与传统方法相比,能修正0.13的平均偏差。     

The approximation between thermal sensation votes (TSV) and predicted mean vote (PMV): A comparative analysis

The Fanger's predicted mean vote (PMV) model is used to evaluate thermal comfort. However, when PMV is compared to people's real thermal sensations, collected in field studies, some discrepancies are verified. One of the components for the calculation of PMV is clothing surface temperature (t_cl), which can be a factor that contributes towards these discrepancies. The aim of this study was to propose alternative methods for predicted mean vote, seeking to reduce these discrepancies. The mathematical Newton's method was applied to obtaining t_cl values. The PMV₁ was determined by replacing the t_cl values in the traditional equation of PMV as described by ISO 7730 (2005). The second model of thermal prediction, named as PMV₂, was obtained by a multiple linear regression considering the thermal sensation votes, the metabolic rate and the six heat exchange mechanisms. Two groups (welders and army officers) were used to verify the accuracy of the methods used in this research. The results show that both methods were able to describe the thermal sensation votes. For the welder group, both PMV₁ and PMV₂ overestimated the results: when people voted TSV = 0, PMV₁ = 0.64 and PMV₂ = 0.23. In the case of the army officers group, applying PMV₁, when TSV = 0, PMV₁ = 1.47. The application of the multiple regression increased the potential of PMV₂ to obtain responses closer to those provided by the occupants of the thermal environment studied: when TSV = 0, PMV₂ = 0.0068, demonstrating a greater effectiveness of this method.