Highly Thermal-Wet Comfortable and Conformal Silk-Based Electrodes for On-Skin Sensors with Sweat Tolerance.

Noninvasive and seamless interfacing between the sensors and human skin is highly desired for wearable healthcare. Thin-film-based soft and stretchable sensors can to some extent form conformal contact with skin even under dynamic movements for high-fidelity signals acquisition. However, sweat accumulation underneath these sensors for long-term monitoring would compromise the thermal-wet comfort, electrode adherence to the skin, and signal fidelity.

On the Improvement of Thermal Protection for Temperature-Responsive Protective Clothing Incorporated with Shape Memory Alloy.

This study explored the application of shape memory alloy (SMA) springs in a multilayer protective fabric assembly for intelligent insulation that responded to thermal environment changes. Once the SMA spring was actuated, clothing layers were separated, creating an adjustable air gap between the adjacent fabric layers. The impacts of six different SMA arrangement modes and two different spring sizes on thermal protection against either a radiant heat exposure (12 kW/m²) or a hot surface exposure (400 °C) were investigated.

Interaction effects of washing and abrasion on thermal protective performance of flame-retardant fabrics.

In this study, common flame-retardant fabrics were treated with single washing or abrasion and their interactions to simulate wearing away during use. The changes in thickness, mass/m and protective performance of the fabrics under both flame and radiation environments were evaluated. Results demonstrated that the protective performance was firstly increased after washing or abrasion, and then decreased with further increasing washing or abrasion cycles.

Development and performance assessment of electrically heated gloves with smart temperature control function.

A pair of lightweight electrically heated gloves (EHG) with smart temperature control function was developed. To evaluate the thermoregulation properties of the EHG, human trials were conducted in a climate chamber (2.5 °C, 60% RH).

Investigation of the thermal hazardous effect of protective clothing caused by stored energy discharge.

In addition to direct thermal energy from a heating source, a large amount of thermal energy stored in clothing will continuously discharge to skin after exposure. Investigating the thermal hazardous effect of clothing caused by stored energy discharge is crucial for the reliability of thermal protective clothing. In this study several indices were proposed and applied to evaluate the impact of thermal energy discharge on human skin.

Effect of two sweating simulation methods on clothing evaporative resistance in a so-called isothermal condition.

The effect of sweating simulation methods on clothing evaporative resistance was investigated in a so-called isothermal condition (T manikin  = T a  = T r ). Two sweating simulation methods, namely, the pre-wetted fabric "skin" (PW) and the water supplied sweating (WS), were applied to determine clothing evaporative resistance on a "Newton" thermal manikin. Results indicated that the clothing evaporative resistance determined by the WS method was significantly lower than that measured by the PW method.

A novel personal cooling system (PCS) incorporated with phase change materials (PCMs) and ventilation fans: An investigation on its cooling efficiency.

Personal cooling systems (PCS) have been developed to mitigate the impact of severe heat stress for humans working in hot environments. It is still a great challenge to develop PCSs that are portable, inexpensive, and effective. We studied the performance of a new hybrid PCS incorporating both ventilation fans and phase change materials (PCMs).

Correction of the heat loss method for calculating clothing real evaporative resistance.

In the so-called isothermal condition (i.e., Tair [air temperature]=Tmanikin [manikin temperature]=Tr [radiant temperature]), the actual energy used for moisture evaporation detected by most sweating manikins was underestimated due to the uncontrolled fabric 'skin' temperature Tsk,f (i.

Effect of sweating set rate on clothing real evaporative resistance determined on a sweating thermal manikin in a so-called isothermal condition (T manikin = T a = T r).

The ASTM F2370 (2010) is the only standard with regard to measurement of clothing real evaporative resistance by means of a sweating manikin. However, the sweating set-point is not recommended in the standard. In this study, the effect of sweating rate on clothing real evaporative resistance was investigated on a 34-zone "Newton" sweating thermal manikin in a so-called isothermal condition (T manikin = T a = T r).

Clothing resultant thermal insulation determined on a movable thermal manikin. Part II: effects of wind and body movement on local insulation.

Part II of this two-part series study was focused on examining the effects of wind and body movement on local clothing thermal insulation. Seventeen clothing ensembles with different layers (i.e.

Clothing resultant thermal insulation determined on a movable thermal manikin. Part I: effects of wind and body movement on total insulation.

In this serial study, 486 thermal manikin tests were carried out to examine the effects of air velocity and walking speed on both total and local clothing thermal insulations. Seventeen clothing ensembles with different layers (i.e.

Performance study of protective clothing against hot water splashes: from bench scale test to instrumented manikin test.

Hot liquid hazards existing in work environments are shown to be a considerable risk for industrial workers. In this study, the predicted protection from fabric was assessed by a modified hot liquid splash tester. In these tests, conditions with and without an air spacer were applied.

A novel approach for fit analysis of thermal protective clothing using three-dimensional body scanning.

The garment fit played an important role in protective performance, comfort and mobility. The purpose of this study is to quantify the air gap to quantitatively characterize a three-dimensional (3-D) garment fit using a 3-D body scanning technique. A method for processing of scanned data was developed to investigate the air gap size and distribution between the clothing and human body.

Analysing performance of protective clothing upon hot liquid exposure using instrumented spray manikin.

Hot liquid hazards existing in work environments present a common risk in workplace safety in numerous industries. In this study, a newly developed instrumented manikin system was used to assess the protective performance provided by protective clothing against hot liquid splash. The skin burn injury and its distribution for the selected clothing system were predicted and the effects of clothing design features (fabric properties and garment size) on protective performance were investigated.