Abstract:

In order to migrate heat strain on underground mining workers, this paper introduces the development of a set of cooling clothing making use of phase change materials (PCMs) working in a simulated environment of temperature 30 ℃, relative humidity 80%. In human trials, skin temperatures and perceptual responses of thermal and wetness sensation from the subjects were acquired to evaluate the cooling effect of the PCM cooling clothing. The research shows that wearing the PCM cooling clothing is able to reduce significantly the local skin temperature, the average skin temperature and the torso temperature. Discrete cooling effects at different body sites were captured: the local skin temperature saw the largest decrease at the lower back and abdomen, and the cooling duration was the shortest at the thigh; the average skin temperature and the average torso temperature had a maximum decline of about 0.91 ℃ and 1.70 ℃, respectively; subjective hot sensation declined and thermal comfort sensation improved, but the wetness sensation remained almost the same. The research indicates that the PCM cooling clothing can effectively mitigate the heat strain on miners.

Key words: phase change material, heat strain, cooling clothing, clothing for miners, skin temperature, comfort sensation