Human Factors Assessment of Prototype Lightweight Thermal Undergarment Systems for the Clothe-the-Soldier Programme.

摘要

The thermal undergarment system currently in-service in the Canadian Forces (CF) has demonstrated a number of deficiencies. It is one of the clothing items identified for replacement as part of the Clothe-the-Soldier Programme. Recent developments in fabric technology and garment design have led to significant improvements in the thermal protection, comfort, form, fit and bulk characteristics of commercially available thermal undergarments. This project evaluated several candidate light-weight thermal undergarment (LWTU) systems according to human factors criteria. Five light-weight thermal underwear (LWTU) candidates (all available commercial off-the-shelf) and the in-service cold weather underwear, were tested during field trials as six experimental conditions (the in-service condition representing the control). One of the six LWTU conditions were issued to six different groups of 32 military personnel, totalling 192 subject participants. The LWTU were worn during sovereign exercises between January and March 1997. Temperatures ranged from slightly above 0 deg C to -68 deg C (including wind chill). The LWTU was worn with standard issue winter clothing. The LWTU conditions were issued during a fitting trial where anthropometric measurements of the participants were taken, and the participants were assessed for proper fit of the clothing. Initial fit and initial acceptance questionnaires were administered at the time of issue. Data on subjective thermal comfort were collected using a weekly questionnaire. An exit questionnaire was administered at the end of the trial period. The data were analyzed for comparative subjective ratings of each LWTU condition. It was concluded that two of the candidates appeared to best meet the requirements of the participants, although each had some areas where improvement was needed. It also was clear from the results that all of the prototypes were far superior to the in-service thermal underwear.