Combined effects of moisture and radiation on thermal performance of protective clothing: Experiments by a sweating manikin exposed to low level radiation
International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology
ISSN: 0955-6222
Article publication date: 2 November 2015
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the combined effects of moisture and radiation on thermal protective performance of protective clothing exposed to low level radiation.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sweating manikin, the effect of radiation and moisture on heat and moisture transfer was initially analyzed under the dry manikin with sweating rate of 100 g/(m2h) exposed to 2.5 kW/m2, and then studied at 200 and 300 g/(m2h) exposed to 2 and 3 kW/m2, respectively. Finally, the combined effects of thermal radiation and moisture were predicted by fitting the relationships among heat loss and wet skin surface temperature, with the sweating rate and radiation intensity.
Findings
The results show that the heat loss and the wet skin surface temperature are affected by the combined effects of moisture and radiation, with two distinctly different trends. Heat loss from the manikin is increasing with the sweating rate, and decreasing with thermal radiation intensity. However, the wet skin surface temperature has an opposite situation.
Originality/value
Two filling equations are given to present the relationships among heat loss and wet skin surface temperature, with the sweating rate and radiation intensity. With these two equations, the heat loss and the wet skin surface temperature when exposed to radiation can be predicted by only measuring the mean radiant and ambient temperatures and controlling the sweating rate.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51076073 and 91024024), China National Key Basic Research Special Funds Project (Grant No. 2012CB719705), and Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program (Grant No. 2012THZ02160), and Open Foundation of Hefei Institute for Public Safety Research, Tsinghua University.
Citation
Fu, M., Weng, W. and Yuan, H. (2015), "Combined effects of moisture and radiation on thermal performance of protective clothing: Experiments by a sweating manikin exposed to low level radiation", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 27 No. 6, pp. 818-834. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCST-05-2014-0064
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited