Heat Loss through Wet Clothing Insulation

摘要

Experiments and calculations were performed to identify the dominant mechanisms of heat flow through clothing insulation when wet, the initial water content of the insulation being 50 to 250% of the dry mass. It was found that all the heat flow could be explained as a combination of radiation, conduction by trapped air and diffusion of water vapour. The heat loss through wet insulation was found to be principally a function of thickness and of water uptake. Thus fibres which are water repellent give better wet insulation properties.