2018 journal article

Functional Design and Evaluation of Structural Firefighter Turnout Suits for Improved Thermal Comfort: Thermal Manikin and Physiological Modeling

CLOTHING AND TEXTILES RESEARCH JOURNAL, 36(3), 165–179.

co-author countries: United States of America 🇺🇸
author keywords: functional design; protective clothing; comfort; firefighter; heat loss
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 6, 2018

Structural firefighter prototype designs incorporating ventilation, stretch, and modularity were developed following Watkins’ functional design process. Prototypes were designed and manufactured, including single-layer, vented, stretch, and combination prototypes. Prototype garments were evaluated for improved thermal comfort and heat loss using sweating thermal manikin assessments in two conditions: static (standing still with no wind) and dynamic (walking with wind). Raw thermal and evaporative resistance data from the manikin testing were input into a thermal modeling software system (RadTherm®) and physiological responses (core temperature, skin temperature, and sweat rate) were predicted for each prototype. A significant improvement in heat loss was measured when ventilation openings and modularity were added to the design of the clothing system. The single-layer, vented, and combination prototypes also had significantly lower increases in predicted physiological responses.