Evaporative cooling and heat transfer in functional underwear

Purpose - The purpose of this investigation is to measure seven different underwears on a sweating torso with differing relative air humidity (30, 50, 80 and 95 per cent RH) and at a fixed ambient temperature of 30°C to determine the influence of the water vapour partial pressure of the environment...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of clothing science and technology 2008-02, Vol.20 (2), p.68-78
Main Authors: Weder, Markus, Rossi, René M, Chaigneau, Cyril, Tillmann, Brice
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clothing industry
Cooling
Evaporation
Fabric analysis
Heat conductivity
Heat transfer
Humidity
Insulation
Investigations
Microclimate
Physiology
Polymers
Product design
Product testing
Skin
Studies
Sweating
Temperature
Textiles
Underwear
Water
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Summary:Purpose - The purpose of this investigation is to measure seven different underwears on a sweating torso with differing relative air humidity (30, 50, 80 and 95 per cent RH) and at a fixed ambient temperature of 30°C to determine the influence of the water vapour partial pressure of the environment on the moisture transport properties of various materials.Design methodology approach - All measurements in this investigation were accomplished with the authors' sweating torso which simulates the thermal- and humidity release of the human body. Four different sweating rates (50, 75, 100 and 150 g h*torso) were selected for this investigation.Findings - It was established that the partial pressure difference did not correlate directly with the evaporative cooling. In general, higher evaporation rates were observed in the dry climate conditions. However, with low-sweat rates, the highest relative humidity (95 per cent) generally resulted in greater evaporative cooling than the lowest surrounding humidity conditions (30 per cent). In this investigation, a blended fabric made of PES Vinal exhibited the most efficient evaporative cooling for all the sweat rates, as well as for the four relative humidity conditions chosen.Research limitations implications - All received results are based on a surrounding temperature of 30°C (summer climate), for other temperatures the results may be different.Originality value - The investigation shows that both the relative humidity and the sweat rate have a major influence on the heat loss.
ISSN:0955-6222
1758-5953
DOI:10.1108/09556220810850450