Heat transfer analysis and second degree burn prediction in human skin exposed to flame and radiant heat using dual phase lag phenomenon

Abstract

Heat transfer through fabric-human skin system subjected to high intensity flame as well as radiant heat exposure has been analyzed in this work. Experiments are performed to determine heat transfer through four different fabric samples. Temperature distributions across various skin layers are obtained numerically using Dual Phase Lag Model of Bio-heat Transfer (DPLMBT) while considering temperature dependent blood perfusion rate in dermis and subcutaneous layers. Wave phenomenon is observed inside human skin. Second degree burn time is obtained using Henriques’ burn integral relation. Second degree burn times are compared with experimental results where Stoll’s criterion is used. It is concluded that present results are more realistic compared to the prediction using Stoll’s criterion. It is recommended to use DPLMBT to analyze heat transfer inside human skin subjected to such small duration of high level heat flux exposure. It is observed that temperature distribution and hence second degree burn time depends significantly on the values of heat flux and temperature gradient phase lags.