Article
Thermodynamics
Jiazhen He, Yehu Lu, Si Chen, Jia Lv
Summary: Thermal protective clothing can have a dual impact on human skin, both resisting heat transfer and causing thermal hazard through stored energy discharge. The size and position of the air gap in clothing affect the heat protective performance and thermal-hazardous performance.
CASE STUDIES IN THERMAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Biology
Ronald Heus, Boris R. M. Kingma, Birgit M. A. van Berlo, Douwe Mol, Hein A. M. Daanen, Kalev Kuklane
Summary: Process operators play a crucial role in monitoring the petrochemical industry. They are often the first responders and take measures to mitigate the effects of process disruptions and incidents. Personal protective equipment is necessary as operators may be exposed to dangerous circumstances, such as high heat radiation levels during fires. This study investigated the protective clothing of operators by exposing professional firefighters to different heat radiation levels. The experiments showed that operators can be safely exposed to certain levels of heat radiation for a specific time period.
Article
Thermodynamics
Jingxian Xu, Agnes Psikuta, Jun Li, Yehu Lu
Summary: With the advantage of presenting physical phenomenon in a three-dimensional vision, computational fluid dynamics was used to simulate and reveal heat transfer in the air gap/layer between human body and clothing. The study found that the thermal plume, airflow through clothing openings, and pathway at armhole led to uneven distribution of heat transfer underneath clothing, even for clothing with homogeneous air layers. The results provide insight into heat transfer in the air gap and can contribute to improving the accuracy of analytical human-clothing-environment models in clothing thermal engineering.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Qiaoran Zhang, Lei Ma, Tiantian Xue, Jing Tian, Wei Fan, Tianxi Liu
Summary: This study introduces a novel double-layer smart textile made of polyimide aerogel fiber, which combines excellent fire resistance with thermal regulation. The outer layer reduces peak heat release rate, exhibiting outstanding fire resistance, while the inner layer delays temperature rise during phase change, providing cool somatosensory temperature for firefighters. The double-layer textile extends the time to pain threshold of human skin, showing great potential for next-generation firefighting clothing.
COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Anica Hursa Sajatovic, Sandra Flincec Grgac, Daniela Zavec
Summary: This study investigates the clothing system for protection against heat and flame using a fire manikin and analyzes the damage caused after testing. The results show that the examined clothing system provides effective protection to users and reduces the risk to their health and life.
Article
Materials Science, Paper & Wood
Xiang Liu, Qingqing Shao, Jiqiang Cao, Zhaoqun Du, Weidong Yu
Summary: By utilizing a special coating technique, cotton fabric is endowed with superamphiphobic and flame-retardant properties, not only protecting the fabric surface but also reducing dirt from water and oil, thus maintaining good cleanliness.
Article
Materials Science, Textiles
Ah Young Won, Changsang Yun
Summary: The study found that residual detergent and thermal energy contributed to the degradation of flame retardant performance in firefighter clothing, but spin-drying speed and number of rinses did not have an impact. Therefore, to minimize fabric damage, lowering spin-drying speed and reducing exposure to heat are recommended.
FIBERS AND POLYMERS
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Agnes Psikuta, Fawzy Sherif, Emel Mert, Sumit Mandal, Simon Annaheim
Summary: This study used 3D body scanning technology to investigate the differences in air layer distribution in firefighters' clothing in different postures, and found that body posture significantly affects the thermal performance of the clothing. Therefore, body posture should be considered in the evaluation of clothing protective performance, and improvements should be made based on the clothing properties in real-life exposure.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Textiles
Rochak Rathour, Apurba Das, Ramasamy Alagirusamy
Summary: Firefighters' turnout gear must balance thermal protection and comfort, which are inherently incompatible. The study found that Nomex IIIA material is suitable for thermal protection. A system equation was developed to predict protection time and its accuracy was verified through experiments.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL TEXTILES
(2022)
Review
Materials Science, Textiles
Farshad Shakeriaski, Maryam Ghodrat, David James Nelson
Summary: Firefighters work in risky and extreme environments, requiring special protective clothing for their health and safety. In the past two decades, research on the design of Firefighting Protective Clothing has increased, focusing on heat transfer properties and performance factors, while also exploring the application of new technologies.
JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Yun Su, Yuwei Fan, Yanliu Ma, Yunyi Wang, Guangju Liu
Summary: Phase change material (PCM) can enhance the thermal protection of clothing by adjusting heat transfer performance through thermal storage. A study was conducted to prepare PCM coated fabric with flame-retardant (FR) properties for firefighting protective clothing. The effects of FR type, FR content, and phase change temperature (PCT) on FR performance were analyzed. Experimental investigation revealed that the FR of organic silicon significantly reduced the heat release rate, while the phosphorus-nitrogen FR expanded the ignition time. The selection and configuration design of PCM coated fabric for firefighting protective clothing can benefit from this study.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THERMAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Textiles
Jiaxin Dai, Xiaohui Li
Summary: This study focuses on the performance optimization of honeycomb structure insulation layer. Laser cutting technology was used to prepare insulation layers of different profiles on non-woven fabric, and it was found that the honeycomb fabric system has better thermal protection compared to the conventional solid fabric system. A-type structure showed superior thermal protective performance compared to I-type structure.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL TEXTILES
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Meng Deng, Agnes Psikuta, Yunyi Wang, Simon Annaheim, Rene M. Rossi
Summary: The study highlights the importance of realistic assumptions about the heterogeneous distribution of air gaps underneath firefighter clothing for accurate prediction of thermal protective performance. The research found that differences in heat transfer and skin burn injuries were greater between heterogeneous air gaps with contact folds and equivalent homogeneous air gaps compared to non-contact folds. Fold aspect ratios had a more prominent impact on heat transfer and skin burn times in the case of contact folds.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Manorama Tripathi, Surekha Parthasarathy, Raju Yadav, Prasun Kumar Roy
Summary: This study develops flexible syntactic foams based on silicone and hollow glass microballoons for use as lightweight thermal cum vapor barriers in fire-protective ensembles. The inclusion of microballoons significantly reduces the weight while improving the level of protection. Coating syntactic foam onto glass fabric enhances the thermal protective performance. This research demonstrates the potential of syntactic foam-coated glass fabric as a vapor cum thermal barrier in fire protective clothing.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Xiaojing Lv, Chen Xi, Jisiyuan Qin, Hong Pan, Shihua Wang, Genyang Cao, Dan Tao, Shan Jiang
Summary: To develop fire-protective clothing with good flame retardancy and comfort, polyimide (PI)/wool blended woven fabrics were made by mixing different ratios of PI and wool fibers. The addition of more PI fibers improved the thermal stability. The blending ratio of 80/20 PI/wool showed significant improvement in the LOI value and reduction in heat release rate. This can be attributed to the formation of a confined space by the thin molten layer of wool and PI fibers.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE
(2023)
