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Thermal Protective Clothing for Firefighters

A brief background on thermal protective clothing for firefighters Fires and thermal environments Uncontrolled fires Wildfires Structural building fires Vehicle fires Present scenario on uncontrolled fires in the United States Thermal environments faced by firefighters Thermal intensity faced by firefighters Types of thermal exposures faced by firefighters Skin burn injuries and heat stress/fatalities Burn injuries First-degree burns Second-degree burns Third-degree burns Fourth-degree burns Skin burns models Heat stress/fatalities Bio-heat transfer model Chen and Holmes model Weinbaum, Jiji, and Lemos model Present scenario on firefighter injuries and fatalities in the United States Development of high performance W7 thermal protective clothing Development of fire-retardant/resistant fibers Chemically modified fire-retardant fibers Inherently fire-resistant fibers Summary and conclusion Development of high performance fabrics Shell fabrics Thermal liners Moisture barriers Composite fabrics Development of thermal protective clothing Performance evaluation of thermal protective clothing Softening/melting temperature and flammability evaluation Thermal protective performance evaluation Development and application of different sensor types Evaluation of thermal protective performance using bench-scale tests Evaluation of thermal protective performance using full-scale stationary manikin systems Evaluation of thermal protective performance using full-scale dynamic manikin systems Clothing comfort (physiological) evaluation Evaluation/calculation and assessment of thermal resistance, evaporative resistance, and THL of fabrics Thermal resistance evaluation Evaporative resistance evaluation THL calculation Assessment of thermal resistance, evaporative resistance, and THL Evaluation/calculation and assessment of thermal and evaporative resistance of clothing Thermal resistance evaluation Evaporative resistance evaluation Working principles of various manikins to evaluate thermal and evaporative resistance Assessment of thermal and evaporative resistance Evaluation and assessment of physiological clothing comfort using human trials Evaluation of clothing comfort using human trials Modeling and its implications on performance of thermal protective clothing Heat and/or mass transfer models Analytical models Numerical models Summary and recommendations Metabolic heat and/or sweat-vapor transfer models Analytical models Numerical models Further research directions Effects of various factors on performance of thermal protective clothing Fiber properties Fineness or linear density Cross-section Length Crimp Yarn Properties Types Twist Configuration Fabric properties Surface properties Structural properties (weave/knit design and porosity)Physical properties (weight, thickness, and density)Thermal properties (thermal conductivity or diffusivity, heat capacity)Moisture accumulation properties Clothing features Stitch and seam Fit, closures, and location of fastener Microclimate region Key issues related to thermal protective clothing Thermal protective performance evaluation Design of thermal protective clothing

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