Measurement of the clothing ventilation index

Abstract

In order to achieve thermal comfort while wearing protective clothing, heat loss from the body by convection and by the evaporation of sweat must be readily controlled by the wearer's thermoregulatory system. This can only be achieved if air is flowing through the clothing micro-environment in sufficient quantity to remove sensible and insensible heat as required. The volume flow of air through the clothing assembly is therefore an important determinant of thermal comfort. This paper describes a new procedure for estimating under working conditions, the volume of air flowing through the micro-environment. The method is based on two techniques: the first gives a measure of the volume of the micro-environment; the other uses a trace gas to measure the rate of air exchange. Algebraic combination of the results enables the air exchange characteristics of a garment to be described in terms of a Ventilation Index. It is proposed that this index be used to describe the performance of protective clothing assemblies.