Thermal performance of protective clothing (firefighter) under extreme ambient conditions

Abstract

Protective clothing is made up of multiple layers of textile, which include thermal barrier, moisture barrier, chemical protection and heat radiation protection layers etc. This clothing is commonly used by workers working in the chemical industry, blast furnaces, glass industry, industrial boilers and many more. The ambient conditions for these workplaces are humid and hot in which the clothing is designed for the external protection of heat and fluids but the neglected issue is the internal heat and moisture accumulation. This makes the clothing extremely uncomfortable and significantly reduces the workability of the wearer. The multi-layered structure of this clothing causes the body moisture and heat to trap in between layers, which in extreme ambient conditions like working near the furnace or flash fire causes body burns, these “steam burns” are common and considered to be caused by the condensed moisture trapped in the layers of protective garment. This research aims to firstly investigate the moisture flow through hybrid textile layers and its effect on heat transfer and then secondly to see the impact of extreme radiation flux on the moisture flow inside the textile layers and improvement by using Aerogels.