Design of Liquid–Air Hybrid Cooling Garment and Its Effect on Local Thermal Comfort

Abstract

Personal cooling garments were reported effective in improving thermal comfort in hot environments. In this study, three liquid–air hybrid cooling garments and one control garment were designed and made: aluminum-tube fan cooling (AAL), silicone-tube fan cooling (SAL), silicone-tube fan cooling with inner yarn fabric (YAL), and a control garment (CON) without the cooling sources. Subject trials were performed by eight female subjects in a climate chamber to simulate a summer indoor working environment at 32 °C and 50% relative humidity. The results showed that the liquid–air hybrid cooling garment provided effective convective and conductive heat dissipation compared with the no-cooling (CON) stat, chest, belly, shoulder, back, hand, thigh, and calf. The horizontal e, resulting in a decrease in local body skin temperature. Compared with the CON, the liquid–air cooling garment resulted in a maximum reduction of 1 °C for the mean torso skin temperature and 1.5 °C for the localized shoulder skin temperature. The AAL had a better cooling effect on the torso skin temperature compared with the SAL, and the cooling of the AAL was 0.5 °C lower than that of the SAL for the shoulder skin temperature. The presented liquid–air hybrid cooling garments were effective in cooling the body and improving thermal comfort. They were portable, accessible, and sustainable in hot indoor environments compared with air conditioners. Therefore, they could save energy.

Keywords

• hybrid cooling
• skin temperature
• perceptual response
• hot environment