Development of a new testing protocol to evaluate cooling systems

Abstract

Thermal comfort is defined as the user's sensation of thermal well-being. This sensation can be modified by extreme environmental conditions changing the body temperature of the user. Different mechanisms, the thermoregulatory system itself or an external textile system, are required to allow the body to return to their state of well-being. A cooling vest is an example of a smart garment that helps to reduce the user’s body temperature in situations of heat stress. There are two different standards to evaluate the performance of this type of clothing: the ASTM F2371-16 standard that uses a thermal manikin and the ASTM F2300-10 standard that uses human subjects for the evaluation. There is a need for simple, objective and affordable tests to evaluate the thermal comfort associated with personal protective equipment use. The aim of this work is to develop a new testing method that combines a thermal manikin with a simulation software and allows to study physiological parameters of a human subject in the body of the thermal manikin.

Keywords

• personal cooling systems
• sweating manikin
• thermal comfort
• thermoregulation
• heat stress
• simulation