THERMAL RESISTANCE COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO GARMENT DESIGNS DRIVEN BY FABRIC PROPERTIES USING A THERMAL MANIKIN

摘要

The Laboratory for Engineered Human Protection (LEHP) has developed prototype garments for the purpose of improving comfort while protecting warfighters. This paper examines the difference in thermal resistance to dry heat loss of four LEHP-designed garments. The effect of garment design has been investigated previously (McCullough, et al., 1983). In this study, the garment design was driven by fabric characteristics (stretch versus non-stretch) and therefore resulted in two designs, one having a closer or tight fit to the body (Design T) and the second having a loose fit (Design L). The stretch material is referred to as Material A, while the non-stretch material is referred to as Material B. One set of comparisons is made between designs T and L produced from the same material. A second set of comparisons is performed between garments, produced from Material A (a stretch fabric) and Material B (a non-stretch fabric) in the same garment design. Our goal is to elucidate the effects of fabric characteristics and fit on thermal resistance, and ultimately use our knowledge of the thermal properties as a guide to construct garments with the optimal design and fabric combinations.