New Test Method for Determination of Emissivity and Reflection Properties of Protective Materials Exposed to Radiant Heat

Abstract

A new test method has been developed for rapid testing of protective materials' behavior when exposed to infrared IR radiation. The test equipment uses an IR thermometer, which, without contact with the test specimen, calculates the surface temperatures by measuring the IR radiation emitted from the object. The thermometer is updated every ¼ s. Several protective materials have been studied, and emissivity has been measured from 0.1 to 1.0. Reflection has been calculated from 0.0 to 0.9. Dynamic temperature measurements have been performed on the “cool” side of the protective material when the other side was suddenly exposed to radiant heat. The results show great differences for various protective materials. The authors conclude that the method has a capacity that makes it possible to select radiant heat protective clothing materials. The method is also useful for dynamic temperature measurements, showing the time required to heat and cool the material. Four types of dynamic heat behavior were observed when the whole heating and cooling phase was measured. This method should be discussed as a standard method by ASTM Committee F-23 on Protective Clothing.