ASSESSMENT OF THERMAL RESPONSE OF SUBJECTS WEARING FUNCTIONALLY DESIGNED PROTECTIVE CLOTHING.

摘要

The objective of this research was to assess and compare the perception of thermal comfort and sensation and the accompanying physiological responses associated with selected fabrics and designs, under controlled environmental conditions, simulating Michigan summer weather conditions. This study, conducted at the Institute for Environmental Research, Kansas State University, was one component of a major research project aimed at developing functionally designed protective clothing for pesticide applicators that offered thermal comfort and social acceptability.; Three fabrics, whose resistance to pesticide penetration was known, were chosen. A spun-bonded olefin and a nylon three-layer laminate served as the protective fabrics. A cotton chambray was chosen to reflect what is commonly worn by applicators. Three designs were specified, two coverall variations and a shirt-and-jeans combination.; The dependent variables included: weighted skin temperature, rectal temperature, percentage of evaporated sweat, and thermal comfort and sensation votes.; A 3 x 3 complete factorial experimental design with six replications was used. Fifty-four male Kansas State University students served as test subjects. Each wore one test garment for one two-hour test session. An activity level of three mets was maintained.; Data analysis involved first an examination of the dependent measures by fabric and design over time and second, hypothesis testing. Since thermal-comfort assessment includes physical and perceptual measures as related aspects of a single response, multivariate statistical analysis was used to analyze the dependent measures as a whole.; Examination of the graphs for the three fabrics showed a consistent trend. Subjects wearing the spun-bonded olefin garments exhibited higher temperature readings and greater thermal dissatisfaction than subjects in the other two test fabrics. Thus, one of the protective fabrics offered a comfort level similar to chambray. The MANOVA analysis indicated a statistically significant difference for fabric at the .0001 level.; The graphs of the dependent measures for design showed an inconsistent pattern. There was a tendency for higher physical and perceptual measures for the coverall with the ventilating panel. The MANOVA results for design were not statistically significant.