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Cooling Dynamics of Wet Clothing

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Advances in Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 489))

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Abstract

Protective clothing is frequently used to provide safety and comfort for persons exposed to various temperature environments. Water absorbed by clothing can significantly influence the heat transfer characteristics of the clothing material. Understanding the dynamics of evaporative fabric cooling is important in the development of new garments. To investigate the cooling dynamics associated with wet clothing, a series of experiments was conducted to document the cooling created by single and multi-layered fabric samples exposed to controlled temperature, humidity and airflow conditions. The results revealed that the onset and the magnitude of evaporative cooling are determined by the amount of water absorbed in a fabric. The number of fabric layers used in turn, determines the amount of water retained within a material. This information can now provide the basis for determining the number of fabric layers to be used in new garment design and development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725, USA

    Uwe Reischl, Kylie Pace & Conrad Colby

  2. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Ravindra Goonitelleke

Authors
  1. Uwe Reischl
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  2. Kylie Pace
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  3. Conrad Colby
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  4. Ravindra Goonitelleke
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Uwe Reischl .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Ravindra Goonetilleke

  2. University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida, USA

    Waldemar Karwowski

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Reischl, U., Pace, K., Colby, C., Goonitelleke, R. (2016). Cooling Dynamics of Wet Clothing. In: Goonetilleke, R., Karwowski, W. (eds) Advances in Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 489. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41694-6_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41694-6_32

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-41693-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-41694-6

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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