Abstract
When two systems with different energies are in contact, the heat from the higher energy system will move into the lower energy system and the two will reach equilibrium. Humans in extreme cold environments will perish if they do not keep appropriate heat contained within their system and thus it is the object of much historic research to maintain heat within a system for as long as possible. Research and development of cold weather clothing focuses on a range of methods regulating heat flow between clothing layers. Modern research focuses on air gaps between layers of clothing, development of new conventional insulating textiles and contemporary solutions such as the use of Phases Change [1]. The purpose of this paper is to conglomerate all of the current research into one meta-analysis highlighting the gaps in the research and potential areas in need of further study, and to propose a new article of cold weather apparel utilizing the most effective advancements from the papers collected in this study. It was found that each component of cold climate clothing affects an aspect of thermal resistivity. Thickness affects the windchill resistance, the specific heat increases thermal resistance of the fabric, while humidity increases thermal conductivity, air gaps reduce it and the rigidity affects all of these factors. Our findings suggest if the air gaps are above 8 mm, natural convection currents can occur which increase the thermal and moisture transfer between clothing layers. By analysing all of these factors, a new prototype garment was able to be proposed.
 Keywords: Cold environment; clothing; thermoregulation.
Highlights
Since its inception, clothing has been used to protect humans from the environment
Synthetic materials have been developed in place of traditional insulators, and recent research in the scope of this paper has focused on developments such as Phase Change materials, materials with a high heat of fusion that make them able to store large amounts of energy [2,1]; Chemical solutions that can be applied to the outer layer of clothing to increase the thermal resistance of the clothing [3]; and advancements in conventional insulating materials, determining the effect of different parameters on the effectiveness of an article of clothing as an insulator
Papers that dealt with topics not strictly related to the materials in clothing were considered where they were relevant to thermodynamics, addressing other factors related to thermal insulation such as optimal air gap size and humidity
Summary
Colder and harsher environments, new advancements came in the form of naturally available insulating materials such as fur or wool. Synthetic materials have been developed in place of traditional insulators, and recent research in the scope of this paper has focused on developments such as Phase Change materials, materials with a high heat of fusion that make them able to store large amounts of energy [2,1]; Chemical solutions that can be applied to the outer layer of clothing to increase the thermal resistance of the clothing [3]; and advancements in conventional insulating materials, determining the effect of different parameters on the effectiveness of an article of clothing as an insulator. By finding the optimal methods of insulating against the cold, and combining these findings into a proposed article of cold weather apparel, we can use mathematical modelling to predict the efficacy of this theoretical apparel and compare it with existing clothing
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