Test Method for Thermal Protective Performance of Materials for Protective Clothing for Hot Surface Contact

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Protective Clothing ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Thermal Protective Performance ◽  
Surface Contact ◽  
Hot Surface ◽  
Protective Performance

Characterizing thermal protective fabrics of firefighters’ clothing in hot surface contact

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 622-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumit Mandal ◽  
Guowen Song
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Conductive Heat Transfer ◽  
Conductive Heat ◽  
Thermal Protective Performance ◽  
Surface Contact ◽  
Fabric System ◽  
Layered Fabric ◽  
Protective Fabrics ◽  
Hot Surface ◽  
Protective Performance

This study characterizes the thermal protective fabrics of firefighters’ clothing under the exposure of hot surface contact. For this, thermal protective performance of different fabrics was evaluated using a laboratory-simulated hot surface contact test, and various factors affecting the performance were statistically identified. Additionally, heat transfer mechanisms during testing were analytically and mathematically modeled. It has been found that fabric’s constructional features and properties are the key factors to affect its thermal protective performance. In this study, the presence of a thicker thermal liner in a layered fabric system resulted in higher performance; in contrast, a multi-layered fabric system incorporating a moisture barrier in its outer layer displayed the lowest performance. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that a fabric’s air permeability has a minimal impact on performance, whereas weight, thickness, and thermal resistance have a significant positive impact on performance. Based on the analytical and mathematical models developed, it was apparent that conductive heat transfer mainly occurs through fabric during testing, and this conductive heat transfer depends upon the surface roughness and thermal properties (thermal conductivity, density, and specific heat) of the tested fabric. Here, thermal contact resistance between the hot surface and fabric also plays a crucial role in the heat transfer or thermal protective performance of fabric. Moreover, the heat transfer gradually decreases across fabric thickness, which can substantially affect thermal protective performance. This study can advance the theory of textile/materials science through better understanding of heat transfer in fabrics. This understanding can help in developing an integrated knowledge of fabric properties, heat transfer through fabrics, and thermal protective performance of fabrics. The findings from this study can also assist textile/material engineers with the development of a high performance thermal protective fabric for clothing to provide better occupational safety and health for firefighters.

scholarly journals A categorization tool for fabric systems used in firefighters' clothing based on their thermal protective and thermo-physiological comfort performances

2018 ◽  
Vol 89 (16) ◽  
pp. 3244-3259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumit Mandal ◽  
Simon Annaheim ◽  
Andre Capt ◽  
Jemma Greve ◽  
Martin Camenzind ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Performance Index ◽  
Protective Clothing ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Clustering Algorithm ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Thermal Protective Performance ◽  
Thermal Protective Clothing ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
Fabric System ◽  
Protective Performance

Fabric systems used in firefighters' thermal protective clothing should offer optimal thermal protective and thermo-physiological comfort performances. However, fabric systems that have very high thermal protective performance have very low thermo-physiological comfort performance. As these performances are inversely related, a categorization tool based on these two performances can help to find the best balance between them. Thus, this study is aimed at developing a tool for categorizing fabric systems used in protective clothing. For this, a set of commercially available fabric systems were evaluated and categorized. The thermal protective and thermo-physiological comfort performances were measured by standard tests and indexed into a normalized scale between 0 (low performance) and 1 (high performance). The indices dataset was first divided into three clusters by using the k-means algorithm. Here, each cluster had a centroid representing a typical Thermal Protective Performance Index (TPPI) value and a typical Thermo-physiological Comfort Performance Index (TCPI) value. By using the ISO 11612:2015 and EN 469:2014 guidelines related to the TPPI requirements, the clustered fabric systems were divided into two groups: Group 1 (high thermal protective performance-based fabric systems) and Group 2 (low thermal protective performance-based fabric systems). The fabric systems in each of these TPPI groups were further categorized based on the typical TCPI values obtained from the k-means clustering algorithm. In this study, these categorized fabric systems showed either high or low thermal protective performance with low, medium, or high thermo-physiological comfort performance. Finally, a tool for using these categorized fabric systems was prepared and presented graphically. The allocations of the fabric systems within the categorization tool have been verified based on their properties (e.g., thermal resistance, weight, evaporative resistance) and construction parameters (e.g., woven, nonwoven, layers), which significantly affect the performance. In this way, we identified key characteristics among the categorized fabric systems which can be used to upgrade or develop high-performance fabric systems. Overall, the categorization tool developed in this study could help clothing manufacturers or textile engineers select and/or develop appropriate fabric systems with maximum thermal protective performance and thermo-physiological comfort performance. Thermal protective clothing manufactured using this type of newly developed fabric system could provide better occupational health and safety for firefighters.

Comprehensive Evaluation on Performance of PSA Blended Fabrics

2013 ◽  
Vol 821-822 ◽  
pp. 317-320
Author(s):  
Xiao Wen Luo ◽  
Zhi Qing Shu ◽  
Jun Li
Keyword(s):  
Clustering Analysis ◽  
Protective Clothing ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Thermal Protective Performance ◽  
Gray System Theory ◽  
Gray System ◽  
Fixed Weight ◽  
Thermal Protective Clothing ◽  
Protective Performance ◽  
Selection Of

To reveal specific wearing property and principle of polysulfonamide (PSA) blended fabric, this paper aims to make a comparative study of the performance of new PSA blended fabric based on mechanical property, thermal protective performance and, at the same time, explore the performance gap between the different fabrics. Based on the gray fixed weight clustering analysis of gray system theory, several PSA blended fabric have been proved with excellent comprehensive performance, these provided a basis for the selection of thermal protective clothing fabrics.

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