Assessment of thermal protective performance of firefighter’s clothing by a sweating manikin in low-level radiation

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the thermal protective performance of firefighter’s clothing by a sweating manikin in low-level radiation. Design/methodology/approach A new method and a novel objective index based on measurements of the sweating thermal manikin are proposed to measure the thermal protection performance of firefighter’s clothing under low-level radiation exposure of 3.0 kW/m2. Finally, the effect of thermal insulation on thermal protective performance of firefighter’s clothing was analyzed. Findings The results reveal that the new index which used the changing rate of core temperature of the clothed manikin is a vital indicator of the thermal protection performance. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that there is a linear correlation between thermal protection performance of firefighter’s clothing and the thermal insulation. Originality/value A new method and a novel objective index are proposed to quantify the thermal protective performance of firefighter’s clothing in low-level radiation.