Effect of Increased Body Clothing Insulation on Hand Temperature in a Cold Environment

摘要

Thermal protection of personnel who must remain relatively inactive while performing tasks outdoors in the cold is a continuing problem. Provision of comfort and allowing for mobility are design difficulty experienced by persons working in the cold at tasks for which manual dexterity is required is thermal protection of the hands. In such situations only very light handwear can be worn and often, mitts or gloves must be removed in order to perform the task. A particular example of such a task exists at the CF Satellite Tracking and Identification Unit at St. Margaret's, New Brunswick. The telescope which is used for tracking satellites is located outdoors when operational. To minimize optical interference, the area around the telescope cannot be heated in winter. During the course of tracking sequence, which takes about 30 minutes, the operator must be in contact with the large metal mass of the telescope. In addition, the operation of the steering control button requires that if any handwear is worn, it must be very thin. Operating temperatures as low as -20 C are often experienced. It was found that, as predicted, if additional insulation was applied to the whole body of the man, the temperature of his hands could be maintained for a longer period of time. Additional keywords: Canada; French language.