The effect of moisture content within multilayer protective clothing on protection from radiation and steam |
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| Authors: | Yun Su Guowen Song |
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| Institution: | 1. College of Fashion and Design, Donghua University, China;2. Key Laboratory of Clothing Design and Technology, Donghua University, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China;3. Department of Apparel, Events and Hospitality Management, Iowa State University, USA |
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| Abstract: | The moisture from skin sweat and atmospheric water affects the thermal protective performance provided by multilayer protective clothing. Four levels of moisture content were selected to evaluate the impact of moisture on thermal protection under dry (thermal radiation) and wet (thermal radiation and low-pressure steam) heat exposure. Also, the role of moisture and its relationship with exposure time were analyzed based on skin heat flux and Henriques integral value. The addition of moisture to a fabric system was found to result in differences in second-degree and third-degree skin burn times. When moisture is added to a fabric system, it both acts as a thermal conductor to present a negative effect and provides a positive effect owing to thermal storage of water and evaporative heat loss. The positive or negative effects of moisture are mainly dependent on the thermal exposure time, the moisture content and the presence of hot steam. |
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| Keywords: | skin sweat hot steam skin burn protective clothing thermal protective performance |
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