Experimental and numerical studies on efficiency characterization of firefighters' protective clothing: a review

Shakeriaski, Farshad; Ghodrat, Maryam; Nelson, D.

doi:10.1080/00405000.2021.1994739

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…Firefighters' protective clothing is one of the major personal protective equipment that keeps firefighters safe and make their job possible. 4,5 Generally, the protective clothing of structural firefighters is a multilayer assembly comprising an outer shell, a moisture barrier and a thermal liner. 6 Figure 1 illustrates these different layers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging of high‐performance fibers used in firefighters' protective clothing: State of the knowledge and path forward

Hoque

Dolez

2023

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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High-performance fibers developed since the 1960s have a wide range of applications including firefighters' protective clothing. Firefighters' protective clothing made of inherently flame-resistant high-performance fibers offers excellent protection in the new condition. However, these fibers experience aging as any polymer material. The situation is amplified due to the severe conditions associated with the firefighters' activities. And the consequences of a loss in the performance of the protective clothing can be dramatic for the firefighter's safety. This article provides a comprehensively review of the aging behavior of high-performance fibers used in firefighters' protective clothing. Residual performance data have been identified both for used firefighter garments as well as fabric specimens subjected to accelerated aging. Research shows that different aging conditions affect the different fibers to a different degree. The specific conditions in which the aging is applied also affects the outcome in terms of loss in performance. Techniques successfully used to quantify the effect of aging on the performance of fire-resistant fabrics are also briefly mentioned.Finally, the knowledge gained from this analysis of the literature as well as research gaps and further areas of investigation are discussed in this neglected yet critical topic of firefighters' protective clothing aging.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging of high‐performance fibers used in firefighters' protective clothing: State of the knowledge and path forward

Hoque

Dolez

2023

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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“…Another important limitation of wearable temperature sensors is the contact problem, which can lead to unreliable readings. 43 Most of the polymeric sensors present a very low temperature range that is not appropriate for the firefighter body temperature; the polymeric sensors have some level of increased sensitivity, nonetheless, they are still problematic in developing the response time, reproducibility of resistivity as a function of the temperature, and decrease the hysteresis of the polymeric sensors. 75 In addition, such sensors have weak durability, as the applied polymer resin might crack in repetitive and large time of fire exposures; 76,77 therefore, there is a requirement to accurately assess the mechanism of sensors for precise evaluation of thermal flux.…”

Section: Types Of Wearable Sensors and Their Weaknessesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…41,42 In recent decades, the thermophysiological effects of personal protective devices on firefighters have been investigated and analyzed in the laboratories. 43 Higher heat load can pose thermal stress, [44][45][46][47] leading to thermal exhaustion, loss of consciousness, physical fatigue, mental confusion, and dehydration influencing danger perception and productivity. To control and avoid thermal shock in firefighters, a continuous and reliable temperature sensor that is capable of assessing the real-time core temperature of firefighters' body is necessary.…”

Section: Sensor Fabrication and Their Essentialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and limitation of wearable sensors used in firefighters’ protective clothing

Shakeriaski

Ghodrat

2022

Journal of Fire Sciences

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This review aims to present recent improvements and existing challenges in the design of wearable sensors used in the firefighters’ protective clothing. Wearable sensors are generally used directly on the body or placed on wearable items to monitor data for the safety of firefighters. Recently, wearable sensors have attracted much attention from researchers and experts. Most investigations have addressed novel designs for wearable sensors to enhance firefighters’ safety measures and reduce the risk of exposure to fires. This article is an attempt to review design limitations of wearable sensors for future developments and improve existing shortcomings. The growing body of knowledge focused on the application of wearable technology to monitor firefighters’ activity, health, and body temperature. In the following, we have discussed the trials of the design of the existing sensors. Finally, moisture and radiation as common exterior parameters in fire events are discussed which received less attention and have major impact on the performance of firefighters’ wearable sensors.

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“…The thermal resistance of multilayer fabric increases with an increase in air layer thickness (from 0 to 6 mm thick air layer) and beyond that it is insignificant. Shakeriaski et al 9 reported that the thermal resistance of the multi-layered fabric assembly decreases with a decrease in air gap thickness between the fabrics. Shen et al 10 investigated the effect of multi-layer clothing on thermal insulation in extreme cold weather conditions, reported that the air layer present between two layers of fabrics plays important role in thermal insulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of layering sequence and ambient temperature on thermal insulation of multilayer high bulk nonwoven under extreme cold temperatures

Dupade

Kumari

Premachandran

et al. 2022

Journal of Industrial Textiles

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In extreme cold weather clothing ensemble, multiple layers of high bulk nonwovens are used to provide thermal insulation to the wearer. In this work, the effect of layering sequence in multi-layered high bulk thermal bonded nonwoven assembly on its thermal resistance is evaluated experimentally under sub-zero temperatures. Two multi-layered nonwovens, one made up of 1.4 denier solid (1.4 D S), 6 denier hollow (6 D H) and 15 denier hollow (15 D H) and the second made up of 3 denier hollow (3 D H), 6 denier hollow (6 D H) and 15 denier hollow (15 D H) polyester fibres were studied. The experiments were performed in a climatic chamber in the temperature range of 310 K to 210 K. Numerical simulations were carried out assuming heat transfer through the nonwovens as one-dimensional coupled conduction-radiation. The numerical methodology was developed using theoretical relations available in the literature to estimate the steady-state temperature profiles through the nonwoven layers and were validated using experimental data. The concurrence of experimental and numerical temperature profiles justifies the numerical methodology adopted in this work. Thermal resistance provided by the high bulk nonwoven increases with a decrease in ambient temperature. It is found that the thermal conductivity of nonwoven layers decreases from inner-to outer layers at a given ambient temperature. The heat flux through nonwoven layers, overall thermal conductivity and the thermal resistance of multi-layer nonwoven are independent of layering sequence if the convective heat transfer is extremely low.

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Experimental and numerical studies on efficiency characterization of firefighters' protective clothing: a review

Cited by 13 publications

References 109 publications

Aging of high‐performance fibers used in firefighters' protective clothing: State of the knowledge and path forward

Aging of high‐performance fibers used in firefighters' protective clothing: State of the knowledge and path forward

Challenges and limitation of wearable sensors used in firefighters’ protective clothing

Effect of layering sequence and ambient temperature on thermal insulation of multilayer high bulk nonwoven under extreme cold temperatures

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