Effects of Microclimate Cooling on Physiology and Performance While Flying the UH-60 Helicopter Simulator in NBC Conditions in a Controlled Heat Environment.

摘要

The effects of microclimate cooling on aviator performance and physiology in nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) individual protective equipment (IPE) were evaluated in the USAARL UH-60 research flight simulator. Sixteen male aviators flew the simulator in two temperature conditions, 95 deg F and 105 deg F, both at 50 percent relative humidity (RH). Two thermoelectric conditioning units were used, one providing cooled blown air, the other cooled water to the aviators. At each temperature, they flew for up to 6 hours in NBC IPE with no cooling, air cooling, and liquid cooling. There was an extra condition at 105 deg F when vent air with no cooling was blown through the air vest, making a total of seven test conditions. There were significant improvements in flight performance as a result of the cooling, more so at the higher temperature. Also, there were differences between the two cooling systems at 105 deg F, with the air system producing significantly lower flight error rates. Survival time was based on the length of time each subject stayed in the condition before reaching physiological withdrawal criteria (rectal temperature of 39 deg C or heart rate of 150 beats per minute for 15 minutes) or exercising their option to retire early. There were considerable increases in survival time with the use of microclimate cooling. The mean survival time at 95 deg F was increased to 385 minutes with the liquid system from 285 minutes without cooling. At 105 deg F to 333 minutes for the air system from 79 minutes with no cooling, the improvement was even more dramatic. There were significant differences between the two cooling systems at 105 deg F with the air system producing longer survival times.