Study of skin model and geometry effects on thermal performance of thermal protective fabrics

Thermal protective clothing has steadily improved over the years as new materials and improved designs have reached the market. A significant method that has brought these improvements to the fire service is the NFPA 1971 standard on structural fire fighters’ protective clothing. However, this testing often neglects the effects of cylindrical geometry on heat transmission in flame resistant fabrics. This paper deals with methods to develop cylindrical geometry testing apparatus incorporating novel skin bioheat transfer model to test flame resistant fabrics used in firefighting. Results show that fabrics which shrink during the test can have reduced thermal protective performance compared with the qualities measured with a planar geometry tester. Results of temperature differences between skin simulant sensors of planar and cylindrical tester are also compared. This test method provides a new technique to accurately and precisely characterize the thermal performance of thermal protective fabrics.