Assessment of the human responses to the influence of personal liquid cooling system in the hot environment

Abstract

Purpose – People working in the hot environment are constantly exposed to the overheating, that can lead to cardiovascular disorders and as a consequence result in occupational diseases. The purpose of this paper is to present developed personal liquid cooling system that is able to efficiently draw excess heat from the human organism, protecting against thermal stress. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents study concerning the assessment of effect of the coolant temperature in the developed liquid cooling garment (LCG) on physiological parameters of the subjects (heart rate, body temperature, skin temperature) and parameters of the undergarment microclimate, as well as subjective sensations reported by volunteers exercising in hot microclimate while wearing LCG and without LCG. Findings – Obtained results of physiological parameters measurements, as well as undergarment physical parameters and volunteers subjective sensations, proved satisfactory level of thermal stress reduction while working in the aluminized protective clothing in hot environment by the developed personal liquid cooling system for the variant with coolant temperature 19°C and the flow rate 0.9 dm3/min. Originality/value – This paper presents a new clothing construction intended for LCG that can efficiently support human thermoregulation processes while working in the hot environment.