Experimental Examination on the Cooling of a Helmet using Microencapsulated Phase Change Material

A helmet is the important personal protective equipment for the motorcyclist. This work analyses the use of the microencapsulated phase change material (MPCM) to cool the helmet and also investigate the effect of the inside heat generation rate, simulated radiation and wind speed on the cooling systems. The results indicate that with MPCM packed helmet has the ability to sustain constant temperature for more time when compared to the normal helmet. The findings also show that the head heat generation rate is the main factor that will affect the cooling time of the system. The wind speed and simulated radiation did not affect much on the cooling time. The results depicted that the extension of the helmet cooling time is based on the amount of MPCM embedded inside the helmet. Even though this investigation concentrates on cooling of helmet, the findings would also be helpful for the improvement of MPCM in many other applications.