Comparison of thermal manikins of different body shapes and size

Abstract

Differences between manikins may be present due to manikin body shapes (male versus female). In order to examine such differences a study was designed. Comparisons were carried out based on: (1) tight versus loose clothing; (2) serial versus parallel calculation models; (3) even versus uneven clothing (insulation) distribution; and (4) the effect of donning clothes. Differences were observed between female and male manikins depending on body shape. However, these differences were within the range that was observed in the Subzero project, and were comparable with differences between manikins of male body shapes. Manikins behaved differently according to clothing adjustments. Tight-fitting clothes resulted in smaller differences. The effects of donning clothes were more pronounced with the serial calculation model, while the results generated by the serial and parallel calculation models differed more if the insulation was unevenly distributed (24% and 12% respectively). In order to examine the effect of body size, two baby manikins were compared to an adult manikin. The experimental conditions involved air layer insulation measurements (AL), lying on the back on an insulating surface (OB), and lying on the back on an insulating surface, covered with a sheet (OBS, baby manikins only). The acquired AL insulation for all manikins were very similar. The insulation value of adult manikin tested under condition OB differed from the others. This was related to flexible joints allowing the arms and legs to be in contact with the insulating surface, while baby manikins retained their arms and legs in the air. The baby manikins performed similarly in OBS tests.

Interactions of the surface heat and moisture transfer from the human body under varying climatic conditions and walking speeds

“…Fan and Keighley (1991) reported that the surface insulation in ''still'' air decreases 25% with the environment temperature reducing from 20 to À20 1C. On the other hand, environmental humidity (Meinander et al, 2003), and the size and shape of the body (Kuklane et al, 2004) was found to have little effect on the surface insulation. Due to the variations in the so-called ''still'' air conditions, this value varies in the literature.…”

Evaluation of the thermal insulation of clothing of infants sleeping outdoors in Northern winter

“…The size of the manikin was identical with the study infants and the clothes were well-Wtted, strengthening the reliability of the study (Kuklane et al 2004). However, there are number of factors, that could not be taken into consideration in the evaluation of clothing insulation, such as variation in how well the clothes Wt diVerent infants, diVerent kinds of prams or whether the covers were tightly or loosely placed over the infant, the reduction in insulation of clothes that have been washed or wetted a lot as well as body movements (ISO 9920, 2007) and sleep posture (Wilson and Chu 2005).…”

Calculation of Clothing Insulation by Serial and Parallel Methods: Effects on Clothing Choice by IREQ and Thermal Responses in the Cold

“…The tests on manikins required for human test planning were carried out earlier in this project and the results have been discussed elsewhere [9]. The data from the present study with some additional test conditions has also been used for validation of a checklist for assessment of cold related risk factors [10], thus linking the work to the Barents Interreg IIA [11] programme on risk assessment and management of cold related hazards in arctic workplaces.…”

“…The activity level for ensemble C (CM) was reduced compared to the SZ condition by 20% by taking into account weight distribution (footwear weight) and effect of stiff and bulky clothes [7,14,15,16]. The effective clothing insulation (I cle ) was measured on the thermal manikin [1,9,12]. Walking speeds were chosen [17] so that the activity level at the chosen ambient condition would correspond to thermal neutrality according to IREQ [2] as was also done in the SZ project [18].…”