The clothing properties depend not only on the properties of the fabric alone but, to a great extent, on the thickness and the shape of the layers of air trapped within the clothing. The determination of parameters of the air layers is as important as the knowledge of properties of the fabric itself. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the shape of these air layers using a 3D body scanner, expressed as contact area and thickness of the air gap between clothing and the skin under various wearing conditions.

Contact
Dr. Agnieszka Psikuta

The temperature range in the cockpit of the solar impulse airplane is varying from -10°C during the night up to approx. 25°C on a sunny day. Due to the limited space in the cockpit, the pilot is hardly able to adapt to this temperature changes by changing clothing. The clothing should therefore offer a sufficient thermal insulation and a good moisture transport. The project’s goal is the development of a clothing system with an adaptive insulation, offering the pilot a good wearing comfort for all the different temperatures.

Links
www.solarimpulse.com

Contact
Markus Weder

The goal of this project was the development of new socks and shoes for the Swiss Army. The main focus was the reduction of blister formation by optimizing the friction and moisture transport properties of the system sock/shoe. The sweat transport and absorption of different sock structures and fiber types were microscopically analyzed using X-ray tomography. Several sock prototypes were then characterized using a sweating foot model, validated in human subject tests in the climatic chamber as well as in the field.

Contact
Dr. René Rossi

Prospie aims at supplying working people with personal protective equipment that enables them to work longer in protective clothing with less discomfort. Innovative cooling methods, like forced ventilation, phase change materials and encapsulated endothermic salts, will be integrated with protective clothing. Sensors in the suit will measure relevant physiological data, such as skin temperature, heat flux and heart rate, to assess the thermal status of the worker, and the environmental conditions (temperature, relative humidity). The physiological signals will be used in an algorithm that will generate a warning signal when a certain safety threshold is surpassed.

Links
www.prospie.eu

Contact
Dr. Ana-Maria Popa

The typical working environment of a firefighter is hot and very moist. Sweat produced while working in this environment is caught in the clothing layers and hardly escapes to the environment. The moisture trapped in the clothing layers not only affects the heat transfer properties but it may also cause steam burns. If a wet clothing combination is exposed to a sudden temperature rise or to thermal radiation, the moisture inside the clothing layers evaporates and moves towards the skin where it can cause burns.
Aim of the project is to understand the process of heat and moisture transfer in firefighter protective clothing and to define propositions for new textile combinations in order to prevent steam burns.

Contact
Dr. René Rossi

Motorcycle helmets offer vital protection to the wearer in case of an accident. Nevertheless, heat transfer in such helmets is an issue with obvious importance in warm climates, where protection is often sacrificed to improve comfort. This suggests a need to understand the possible effects of such helmets on, e.g., the concentration of the rider, which could influence the accident likelihood. We study the heat transfer of integral motorcycle helmets and the influence of such helmets on comfort and cognitive abilities of subjects, in the framework of COST 357.

Links
www.COST357.org

Contact
Dr. René Rossi

The overall objective of the project is to develop a physiological assessment model of the thermal environment in order to enhance applications related to health and wellbeing.
Body heat loss and the perception of temperature are influenced by many factors including local wind, sunlight and the clothing worn. To this aim, a universal thermal climate index is now under development. Empa is presently developing an advanced thermal manikin coupled with a detailed thermo-physiological model capable of simulating the human thermal response under well-defined climatic conditions.

Project partners
Uni Karlsruhe (D), Uni De Montfort (UK), Uni Loughborough (UK), MeteoSchweiz

Links
www.utci.org

Contact
Dr. Agnieszka Psikuta

Personal protective clothing should protect the wearer against excessive overheating or overcooling. In this project, the effects of radiation, wind and wetting on the heat loss of the body were investigated for a range of clothing and climates using thermal manikin and human studies. Significant deviations of heat loss predicted using existing standards were evident under some conditions. Thus the results of this project have provided new insights into the transport of heat and mass through protective clothing and demonstrated the need for new clothing standards to be developed.

Project partners
Loughborough University (UK), Lund University (SE), TNO (NL), CNRS (F), IfaDo (D), VTT (FIN), W.L. Gore (D)

Contact
Dr. René Rossi