An innovative thermal protective clothing system for firefighters

Authors

  • Gilda Santos CITEVE - Technological Centre for the Textile and Clothing Industries of Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5303-8772
  • Rita Marques CITEVE – Technological Center for the Textile and Clothing Industries of Portugal, V. N. Famalicão, Portugal
  • Francisca Marques CeNTI – Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials, V. N. Famalicão, Portugal
  • João Ribeiro CeNTI – Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials, V. N. Famalicão, Portugal
  • André Fonseca CEFT – Transport Phenomena Research Center, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, s/n Rua Dr. Roberto Frias 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
  • João M. Miranda CEFT – Transport Phenomena Research Center, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, s/n Rua Dr. Roberto Frias 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
  • João B. L. M. Campos CEFT – Transport Phenomena Research Center, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, s/n Rua Dr. Roberto Frias 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
  • Soraia F. Neves CEFT – Transport Phenomena Research Center, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, s/n Rua Dr. Roberto Frias 4200-465 Porto, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25367/cdatp.2022.3.p146-155

Keywords:

Thermal Protective Clothing, Firefighters, Phase Change Materials, Heat Protection

Abstract

Nowadays, despite the evolution of personal protective equipment (PPE), the number of firefighters injured and burned during fire extinguishing operations is still very high, leading in some cases to loss of life. Therefore, the research and development of new solutions to minimize firefighters’ heat load and skin burns, with consecutive improvements of commercial firefighters’ suits, is of extreme importance. The integration of phase change materials (PCMs) in a protective clothing system has been used to significantly reduce the incoming heat flux from the fire environment. This study consists in the development of a protective clothing system composed by a vest, specially designed to protect the torso (back, chest and abdomen) with a layer of PCM pouches, to be worn over a fire-resistant jacket – selection and design based on numerical models’ predictions. Therefore, several mockups were made, varying the number of PCM pouches and their distribution in the vest, allowing the creation of air ducts to increase the breathability of the vest. The most promising solutions are being evaluated in a real controlled environment, at a Portuguese National School of Firefighters (ENB) simulation site, using a fire manikin and thermocouples to monitor vest temperature during heat and flame exposure, and consequently to verify PCMs influence in heat protection. Results regarding the development of a PCM vest will be presented, focusing on the integration of PCM pouches and the thermal performance of the most promising solutions.

References

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Thermal performance of the materials used in the vest without PCM integration

Published

2022-09-03 — Updated on 2022-09-03

Versions

How to Cite

Santos, G., Marques, R., Marques, F., Ribeiro, J., Fonseca, A., M. Miranda, J., B. L. M. Campos, J., & F. Neves, S. (2022). An innovative thermal protective clothing system for firefighters. Communications in Development and Assembling of Textile Products, 3(2), 146-155. https://doi.org/10.25367/cdatp.2022.3.p146-155

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2022)

Section

Peer-reviewed articles

Copyright (c) 2022 Gilda Santos, Rita Marques, Francisca Marques , João Ribeiro , André Fonseca , João M. Miranda , João B. L. M. Campos, Soraia F. Neves

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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