Cooling Effect of Phase Change Materials Applied in Undergarments of Mine Rescuers in Simulated Utility Conditions on Thermal Manikin

The cooling effect of new undergarments (T-shirt) with PCM was measured using heat flux on a thermal manikin according to four tests variants: in T-shirt without PCM, in T-shirt with PCM, in T-shirt without PCM and with outerwear, in T-shirt with PCM and with outerwear. The tests were done in the climatic chamber under controlled conditions: t(a) = 32 °C, RH = 70% and V(a) = 1 m/s. The cooling effect was confirmed by thermograms taken by thermal imaging cameras located on the front and back of the manikin. The results showed that in the case of using a T-shirt with PCM, the effect of heat absorption was observed during the first several dozen minutes of operation. The mean value of the heat flux density (ΔHc) received from the manikin was +15 W/m(2). In the case of using outerwear with a T-shirt with PCM, the mean value of the heat flux density (ΔHc) received from the manikin was +31.5 W/m(2).