Biophysical Characteristics of Chemical Protective Ensemble With and Without Body Armor.

摘要

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) personal protective equipment (PPE) ensembles are designed to both provide individual protection from CBRN threats, and allow the individual's sufficient freedom of motion to complete mission-essential tasks. Encapsulation in PPE significantly increases the risk of heat strain. Heat strain is a particularly serious risk for CBRN missions where the individual's ability to dissipate excess metabolic heat is significantly reduced. The Department of Defense (DoD) has been tasked with improving the current issue PPE, with one of the goals being to optimize the balance between CBRN protection and thermal burden. Methods: A sweating thermal manikin in a climate-controlled wind tunnel was used to measure the thermal insulation, vapor permeability, and wind velocity effects for each ensemble. This report provides quantitative biophysical assessments of 14 CBRN ensembles, including candidate prototypes and current issue suits, and ranks each by level of associated thermal burden. From this assessment a tradeoff analysis between CBRN protection and thermal strain can be conducted.