This study found that soldiers should balance loads, avoiding load placement on the non-dominant side front torso, thus minimising mobility restriction and potential injury risk. Implications for armour vest design modifications can also be found in the results.

No abstract

The selection of an inner fabric layer is an important aspect in the development of a liquid cooling garment (LCG). The desired characteristics of an inner fabric layer in LCGs include good thermal conductivity, moisture management, and tactile properties. Good thermal conductivity can improve cooling efficiency, and good moisture management and tactile properties can make the wearer more comfortable. Eighteen fabrics that differed in fiber content, fabric structure and thickness were investigated in this study for their suitability for use as an inner fabric layer for a LCG. Thermal resistance, evaporative resistance, wicking, and water distribution were measured. Correlation among the three moisture management tests was studied. The effects of metal-containment and fabric thickness on thermal and evaporative resistance were determined. The most suitable fabric among the 18 tested fabrics was selected in this study.

QuadGard™ arm and leg protection systems were developed to better protect key areas of arms and legs from blast fragments. The purpose of this investigation was to use sweating thermal manikin Walter™ and examine the intrinsic clothing insulation (R cl ), intrinsic clothing evaporative resistance (R ecl ), micro-climate temperature, and moisture retention of three QuadGard™ systems (QG II, QG IV Ventilated, and QG IV Not Ventilated) constructed with two ballistic materials, Dyneema 1 and Kevlar 1 . With similar protection level, the ballistic material Dyneema 1 , consistently measured lower in R cl and R ecl than the ballistic material Kevlar 1 , indicating body armor made with ballistic material Dyneema 1 is more comfortable. There was no significant difference between QG II and QG IV Ventilated in R cl and there was no significant difference between the three armor systems in R ecl . This indicated that design features have the potential to reduce thermal stress on the human body when protective clothing is necessary.

This study investigates the effect of wearing body armor while walking on lower body mobility using a motion capture system. Seven male participants participated in a walking test while markers were attached to anatomical points on their joints under two garment conditions. The treatment garment was an 18-lb ballistic outer tactical vest with inserted ceramic front and back plates and the control garment was a pair of sports shorts. The walking test was repeated 5 times per subject. Wearing the outer tactical vest significantly increased stance phase, double support, knee flexion, foot plantar flexion at the ankle, and anterior pelvic tilt. Wearing the outer tactical vest significantly decreased swing phase, posterior pelvic tilt, and pelvic rotation. The increase in knee flexion and plantar flexion while wearing the outer tactical vest may accelerate fatigue and increase energy expenditure, which can negatively affect soldiers' performance and safety by increasing injury risk.