Evaluation of Electrical Heating Performance and Thermal Insulation of Commercial Electrically Heated Inner Suit for a Dry Immersion Suit
Vol. 58, No. 2, pp. 87-98,
Apr. 2021
10.12772/TSE.2021.58.087
PDF
Abstract
In this study, the electric heating performance of a smart heated inner suit was
evaluated as basic data for localization of a dry immersion suit being developed abroad to
prevent hypothermia, and its thermal insulation capability was analyzed using a thermal
mannequin. Accordingly, two types of smart heated inner suits, namely a dry suit (Suit_IN)
and a dry immersion suit (Suit_OUT), were selected along with a location for measuring
the thermal insulation in accordance with KS V ISO 15027-3. Then, the surface and inner
temperatures of the suits were measured, and the thermal resistance and thermal insulation
properties were analyzed using the mannequin. Upon supplying power, the inner
temperature of Suit_IN was approximately 45 °C, with a slightly higher value of about 53 °C
in the stomach area. In addition, it was confirmed that the hand portions had the highest
temperature of approximately 55 °C. After wearing Suit_IN and Suit_OUT, the inner temperature
of the hand part increased by approximately 25 °C compared to wearing only
Suit_IN, whereas the temperatures of the other parts improved by 5-10 °C, thereby improving
the total heat generation performance. To confirm the thermal insulation of each part
for each sample, measurements were obtained using a thermal mannequin under environmental
conditions similar to the underwater environment in winter. The thermal resistance
was observed to be large in and around the stomach area where power was supplied, and
the thermal resistances of the hand and foot areas were low owing to the presence of
openings. In addition, the thermal insulation property (Clo) when wearing both Suit_IN
and Suit_OUT was approximately twice that of wearing only a single suit. Therefore, wearing
both suits would enable maintaining the body temperature and preventing hypothermia
in extreme underwater environments.
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