USRIEM Heat Strain Model: New Algorithms Incorporating Effect of High Terrestrial Altitude

摘要

This report describes modifications made to the USARIEM model to extend its applicability to high terrestrial altitude environments. Current deployments of U.S. forces to high altitude regions in and around Afghanistan provided the immediate impetus for this effort. Primary focus has been placed on elevations ranging from 0 (sea level) and 4000 meters (13,123 ft). The approach draws exclusively on previously published work, and is necessarily based on a combination of rational and empirically derived relationships compatible with the USARIEM model's computational structure. The modifying algorithms use atmospheric pressure and are applied to the convective and evaporative heat transfer components of the USARIEM model, specifically the thermal resistance L(SUB T) and maximum evaporative power of the environment E(sub max) algorithm derivations. These two modifications are minimally invasive to the USARIEM model computational engine and should be applicable to hyperbaric as well as more drastic hypobaric environments.