Effects of body posture on air gap and heat transfer of clothed infant using a baby manikin

Abstract

Body posture affects the heat transfer between infants and surroundings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the air gap thickness as well as the heat transfer at the infant’s body surface when the infant posture changed from standing to lying down (supine). Visual and quantitative air gap distributions were achieved using 3D body scanning technology and reverse engineering software. Global and local heat transfer coefficients were also obtained by baby manikin test. The results showed that the local air gap thickness significantly decreased in supine posture compared to standing, especially at the diaper zone. Moreover, the supine posture reduced the local heat exchange although the corresponding air gap thickness decreased. The different linear regression models between air gap thickness and heat transfer coefficient were therefore built in both standing and supine postures. For the air gap thickness with the range of 4.00-9.05 mm, the coefficient was always lower when lying down than standing. The findings provided useful information for the improvement of infant clothing design and the modelling of heat and mass transfer in infant clothing for different body postures.