Quantification of the energy storage caused dual performance of thermal protective clothing containing with moisture exposed to hot steam

Abstract

Except for providing thermal protection, thermal protective clothing (TPC) may also impose thermal hazards on human skin due to the discharge of energy storage. The dual thermal protective/thermal hazardous performance of TPC is rather complicated when TPC gets wet from internal and external sources and especially when it is exposed to conditions of pressurized hot steam. In this study, several indices were used to quantitatively investigate the influences of moisture location, moisture content within TPC, and their combined effect on the energy storage caused dual performance of TPC under exposure to steam. Results showed that both the increasing of external and internal moisture could decrease heat absorption of the skin and increase burn injury time under steam exposure through heat storage, but the positive effect of the external moisture amount was more obvious. The external moisture amount had no significant effect on heat discharge from TPC to the skin, whereas the internal moisture amount increased heat discharge. Empirical models were successfully established to predict the energy absorption of human skin and the burn injury time. Research outcomes of this study will contribute to thoroughly understanding the impact of moisture on dual performance under steam exposure and provide new insights into the development of functional textile materials.

Characterization and Modeling of Thermal Protective and Thermo-Physiological Comfort Performance of Polymeric Textile Materials—A Review

“…He, Yu, and Jie (2019) [100] Fabrics get wet internally and externally under steam exposure and that can store heat, which lowers the transmission of heat and thereby enhanced the thermal protection.…”

“…In the future, it is required to extend this study with wide range of fabrics in order to develop an effective model for predicting the performance. By using the similar equipment shown in Figure 4 , He, Yu, and Jie (2019) [ 100 ] quantified the stored energy within the moistened fabrics under steam exposures. They concluded that fabrics get wet internally and externally under steam exposure and that can store heat; as a result, transmission of the heat gets lower and that can enhance the thermal protective performance of fabrics.…”

Characterizing Steam Penetration through Thermal Protective Fabric Materials

“…They recommended that it is essential to place a moisture barrier with zero air permeability in the outer layer of multilayered fabric systems in order to achieve a high SPP. This air-impermeable moisture barrier will immediately stop the steam penetration through the fabric system, which will considerably decrease the chances of burns on the bodies of wearers [7,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Along with air permeability, Desruelle et al (2002) indicated that the thickness of the fabric systems has a considerable impact on its steam protective performance [25].…”

“…Although previous researchers extensively studied steam penetration through fabrics by evaluating the SPP, only a few studies focused considerably on the TTTE through fabrics in steam exposure of a certain duration [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. This paper studied experimentally both the SPP and TTTE and identified fabric features affecting both.…”

Effects of Radiant Heat and Frictional Abrasion on Thermal Protective Performance of Clothing Against High Pressurized Steam

“…Sati et al (2008) mentioned that higher steam pressure and shorter distance between the steam and the fabric would accelerate steam transfer through the fabric. He et al (2019) indicated that the presence of moisture in the innermost fabric layer of a textile assembly reduced heat transfer when pressurized steam jetted on the fabric, but after steam exposure this moisture caused greater heat discharge to the skin, which could potentially increase burn injuries.…”