Numerical simulation of heat transfer in protective clothing with various heat exposure distances

This paper reports on a model of heat transfer through multi-layer firefighter protective clothing with an air gap under radiant heat flux of 8.5 kW/m². The model considers the dynamical changes of heat exposure distance due to human body movement. The predictive results were found in good agreement with the experimental measurements. Numerical model was employed to study the effects of heat exposure distance and moving speed on heat transfer in multi-layer fabric system. The results showed that the heat exposure distance had an significant impact on skin burn. The safe zones for firefighting operation were more than 0.3 m for 2nd degree burn and 0.15 m for 3rd degree burn when the fabric system was exposed to 8.5 kW/m² for 300 s. However, the moving speed could speed up the time to 2nd degree burn but alleviate the time to 3rd degree burn.