Thermal behavior of human clothing in real-life conditions and its reflections on thermal comfort


Mert Cüce A. P., Cüce E., Sen H., Priya S. S., Sukumaran S.

World Journal of Textile Engineering and Technology, cilt.7, ss.25-35, 2021 (Hakemli Dergi)

Özet

Clothes are materials that protect the human body both in daily life and working conditions. With the developing textile technology, there are products for almost every environmental condition. It is important to evaluate the thermophysical properties of textile products in real-life conditions. It is seen that products with high insulation properties not only have their heat conduction properties but also the air gaps in the skin-clothing interaction are important in reallife conditions. Therefore, the measurement of air gaps is important in obtaining the correct insulation values. While air gaps up to a certain thickness provide insulation, after a certain point, it shows conductive properties with the effect of natural convection. Human skin exposed to high temperature and heat flux under dangerous working conditions has a critical protection time. This period also depends on the thermophysical properties of the suit and environmental conditions. Not all parts of the human body show the same thermal properties. Changes in the insulation properties of the suit while in motion or at rest play an important role in choosing the right suit by affecting thermal comfort. For this reason, thermal properties should be tested by simulating real-life conditions. For energy saving, making local heating and cooling mechanisms from the right regions contributes to energy saving by increasing thermal efficiency. The detection of these regions varies according to different physical conditions.