Three-dimensional analysis model of electric heating fabrics considering the skin metabolism

Abstract

In low temperature environment, electric heating clothing can provide extra heat for human body through built-in heat source, so it has better thermal insulation effect. The thermal analysis is the initial step for electric heating clothing design. The current thermal analysis of electric heating textiles focuses on the fabric itself instead of the effect of skin tissue metabolism and heat production. In order to improve the accuracy of skin surface temperature prediction, the biological heat transfer need be modeled to analyze the internal temperature distribution of the heating suit system. In this paper, a three-dimensional (3D) thermal analysis model of electric heating clothing combined with human skin tissue is established. Firstly, the coupling analysis of Fourier heat conduction and Pennes biological heat transfer equation is carried out. Then the reliability of the 3D thermal analysis model is verified by finite element analysis (FEA). The results show that the fitting error between the three-dimensional model analysis data and FEA simulation data is 5°C, which proves that the model can accurately predict the system temperature. Finally, we make further research about the effects of ambient temperature, clothing layer thickness, and input power on the maximum skin surface temperature. This study provides theoretical foundation for the design of wearable thermal management fabric.