Using Artificial Neural Network Modeling to Analyze the Thermal Protective and Thermo-Physiological Comfort Performance of Textile Fabrics Used in Oilfield Workers’ Clothing

Most of the fatalities and injuries of oilfield workers result from inadequate protection and comfort by their clothing under various work hazards and ambient environments. Both the thermal protective performance and thermo-physiological comfort performance of textile fabrics used in clothing significantly contribute to the mitigation of workers’ skin burns and heat-stress-related deaths. This study aimed to apply the ANN modeling approach to analyze clothing performance considering the wearers’ sweat moisture and the microclimate air gap that is generated in between their body and clothing. Firstly, thermal protective and thermo-physiological comfort performance of fire protective textiles used in oilfield workers’ clothing were characterized. Different fabric properties (e.g., thickness, weight, fabric count), thermal protective performance, and thermo-physiological comfort performance were measured. The key fabric property that affects thermal protective and thermo-physiological performance was identified as thickness by statistical analysis. The ANN modeling approach could be successfully implemented to analyze the performance of fabrics in order to predict the performance more conveniently based on the fabric properties. It is expected that the developed models could inform on-duty oilfield workers about protective and thermo-physiological comfort performance and provide them with occupational health and safety.

Development of Industrial and Firefighter Protective Cloth of Base Fabric and Comparison of Fire Retardant Performance

To develop industrial and firefighter thermal protection cloth, 12 base fabrics were prepared from a combination of several types of sample, and their thermal performances were evaluated. Thermal performance comprises flame retardant capability, radiant protective performance, and thermal protective performance. Thermal protection performance has been assessed in accordance with ISO 15025, ISO 9151, ISO 6942, and ISO 17492. In this study, however, thermal protective performance was assessed only in accordance with ISO 15025. The results showed that Samples 1-6 satisfied the fire resistance criteria, whereas Samples 7-12 did not satisfy the fire resistance criteria. Additional thermal performance tests need to be conducted in follow-up studies.

Characterization of Heat Protective Aerogel-Enhanced Textile Packages

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aerogel application on the thermal properties of textile packages intended for use in protective clothing. The packages were prepared in the form of removable inserts filled with aerogel, differing in terms of fabric and design. The developed packages were tested for resistance to the three major types of heat: radiant, convective, and contact. The package variant with superior thermal performance was also evaluated for water vapor resistance. The package after incorporation of aerogel was found to approximately double radiant and convective heat resistance, with an approx. eightfold improvement for contact heat at the highest test temperature 250℃. Threshold time increased from (17.7±0.7) s to (139.9±4.9) s for the optimum aerogel-enhanced package variant with the greatest number of pouches, which met the criteria of the highest performance level. The thermal conductivity and thermal resistance of three fabrics selected for testing were tested in order to determine their basic thermal insulation properties. In general, packages containing a larger number of narrower pouches exhibited higher thermal protective performance. The results show that the developed textile packages with aerogel can be successfully used in thermal protective clothing.

Investigating the Thermal-Protective Performance of Fire-Retardant Fabrics Considering Garment Aperture Structures Exposed to Flames

The application of fire-retardant fabrics is essential for providing thermal protective function of the garments. Appropriate clothing design are beneficial for preventing the wearers from skin burn injuries and heat strains simultaneously. The intention of this work was to investigate the effects of clothing ventilation designs on its thermal protective performance by bench-scale tests. Four boundary conditions were designed to simulate the garment aperture structures on fabric level. Tests of thermal shrinkage, mass loss and time-to-second-degree-burns were performed with and without air gap under three heat-flux levels for two kinds of inherently fire-retardant fabrics. The impacts of fabric type, heat-flux level, air gap and boundary condition were analyzed. The presence of a 6.4-mm air gap could improve thermal protective performance of the fabrics, however, the garment openings would decrease this positive effects. More severe thermal aging found for spaced test configuration indicated the importance of balancing the service life and thermal protective performance of the clothing. The findings of this study implied that the characteristics of fabric type, air gap, boundary condition, and their effects on fabric thermal aging should be considered during clothing ventilation designs, to balance the thermal protection and comfort of the protective gear.

Investigation of the Thermal Protective Performance of Shape Memory Fabric System: Effect of Moisture and Position of Shape Memory Alloy

A prototype of temperature-responsive protective fabric assembly with shape memory alloy (SMA) spring was developed. The effect of moisture on the thermal protective performance of fabric was investigated under radiant heat exposure and hot surface contact. The thermal liner of fabric system was pretreated with moisture amount of 25%, 50%, and 100%. Meanwhile, the thermal protection of fabric assembly with SMA springs in different positions between the fabric layers was explored. The results showed that moisture above 25% had a positive influence on thermal protective performance of both traditional and SMA fabric assembly under two hazardous environments. The effect of moisture in SMA fabric assembly was more remarkable than that in fabric without spring. And the SMA spring located between thermal liner and moisture barrier provided better thermal protective performance. The research findings will be beneficial for manufacturing high-performance temperature-responsive fabric.