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Applied Sciences
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Advances in Protective Clothing Research Meeting the Challenges in the...
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Advances in Protective Clothing Research Meeting the Challenges in the Changing World

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 November 2023) | Viewed by 3493

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Anna Dąbrowska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Personal Protective Equipment, Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute, Wierzbowa 48, 90-133 Lodz, Poland
Interests: protective clothing; OSH; PPE; smart materials; smart clothing; ergonomics; thermal comfort; wearables; IoT
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Kalev Kuklane

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Netherlands Institute for Public Safety (NIPV), P.O. Box 7112, NL-2701 AC Zoetermeer, The Netherlands
Interests: protective clothing; human factors; ergonomics; extreme environments; heat; cold; smart garments; sustainability; modular protection concept; functional design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue contains the full papers of the selected contributions from the 10th European Conference on Protective Clothing (ECPC 2023).

The 10th European Conference on Protective Clothing (ECPC 2023). The aim of the conference is to promote research and cooperation in the area of personal protection. The functional and comfortable use of protective clothing is a key element for a successful implementation of preventive and protective measures in the workplace. This conference covers a broad spectrum of the subject of protective clothing and has become an internationally qualified source of new, valuable and useful information for the advancement of the knowledge and the application of protective clothing. The conference has become a platform to disseminate, exchange and discuss the results of research, project developments and implementation programmes related to protective clothing, with a strong focus on user protection and well-being. Ergonomics is still a strong component of the conference, especially in regard to the new contexts and challenges of climate change, pandemics and the development of digital technology, with new smart functions being an integrated part of textiles and modern PPE. Issues related to sustainability, the durability of the products and the consideration of the full life cycle of PPE are now high on the agenda. The changing business landscape requires support from legislation, and work on standardization must continue at a pace which allows safe products to quickly reach the market.

This conference invites industries, public authorities and academic organizations—researchers, designers, manufacturers, purchasers, health and safety experts, human factor experts, procurement specialists and end-users to exchange and discuss research and project development for personal protective clothing (PPC) and equipment (PPE).

Dr. Anna Dąbrowska
Dr. Kalev Kuklane
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • innovation in clothing materials and technology
  • smart garments
  • sustainability of protective clothing
  • protection of first responders and military
  • protection from extreme environments: heat and cold
  • physiological impact of environment and protective clothing
  • testing and evaluation methods
  • CBRN protection
  • ergonomic and compatibility of protective clothing and equipment
  • modelling of PPC and exposure
  • standardization, rules, regulations and legislation

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2127 KiB  
Article
Alternative Method for Predicting Thermal Response in Two-Layer Systems
by Edgar Garcia Torres and Emiel DenHartog
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(9), 3576; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14093576 - 24 Apr 2024
Viewed by 226
Abstract
Thermal balance is paramount to human comfort and safety. To better understand the effects of the material and environment, a modified sweating-hot-plate test was used to incorporate environmental parameters such as the ventilation and microclimate thickness. It was found that at wind speeds [...] Read more.
Thermal balance is paramount to human comfort and safety. To better understand the effects of the material and environment, a modified sweating-hot-plate test was used to incorporate environmental parameters such as the ventilation and microclimate thickness. It was found that at wind speeds ≤ 0.5 m/s, the environment has the most significant effect on the insulation. However, at an increased wind speed (1.3 m/s), the construction of the material has a large influence on the insulation of the system. At a low metabolic rate, the heat storage can be compensated for through dry heat loss; but, at a higher metabolic rate, substantial differences in the sweating rates are required based on the material and environment. The various aspects of the environment wind speed, microclimate thickness, and ventilation are crucial, but, in certain combinations, the material can have a significant impact as well. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Protective Clothing Research Meeting the Challenges in the Changing World)
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19 pages, 4476 KiB  
Article
Integration of Active Clothing with a Personal Cooling System within the NGIoT Architecture for the Improved Comfort of Construction Workers
by Anna Dąbrowska, Monika Kobus, Piotr Sowiński, Łukasz Starzak and Bartosz Pękosławski
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(2), 586; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14020586 - 10 Jan 2024
Viewed by 930
Abstract
Intense physical activity and high ambient temperature cause construction workers to be exposed to an increased risk of overheating, especially in the summer season. Personal cooling systems have great potential to support workers’ thermoregulation and reduce this risk. In particular, solutions based on [...] Read more.
Intense physical activity and high ambient temperature cause construction workers to be exposed to an increased risk of overheating, especially in the summer season. Personal cooling systems have great potential to support workers’ thermoregulation and reduce this risk. In particular, solutions based on the thermoelectric effect can provide high cooling effectiveness and ergonomics at the same time. In this paper, a newly developed active clothing solution with flexible thermoelectric modules intended for outdoor activities is presented. The active clothing was subjected to utility tests on a treadmill under laboratory conditions with the participation of potential end users. A comparison of results from cooled and uncooled places indicated a reduction in local skin temperature of as much as 2.7 °C. Moreover, a gradual decrease in temperature in the uncooled place during the experiment was observed. Based on the positive results from this evaluation, the personal cooling system was integrated into active clothing within the ASSIST-IoT NGIoT reference architecture. This allows contextual and personalized adjustment of the cooling power to be provided using AI techniques and, additionally, by using data from a weather station and a smartwatch. Training procedures and models for the AI system are proposed, with special attention paid to the privacy aspect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Protective Clothing Research Meeting the Challenges in the Changing World)
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12 pages, 13113 KiB  
Article
Smart Firefighters PPE: Impact of Phase Change Materials
by Gilda Santos, Soraia F. Neves, Margarida Silva, João M. Miranda, João B. L. M. Campos, João Ribeiro, Adriana Moreira, Patrícia Fernandes, Francisca Miranda and Rita Marques
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(18), 10318; https://doi.org/10.3390/app131810318 - 14 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 910
Abstract
Considering the high level of heat and flame exposure firefighters encounter while performing their work activities, personal protective equipment (PPE) is of the utmost importance to enhance their safety. Phase change materials (PCMs) are known as advanced materials able to absorb high amounts [...] Read more.
Considering the high level of heat and flame exposure firefighters encounter while performing their work activities, personal protective equipment (PPE) is of the utmost importance to enhance their safety. Phase change materials (PCMs) are known as advanced materials able to absorb high amounts of thermal energy, with the potential to increase the thermal performance of protective clothing. In this work, a PCM-vest was developed for the first time, and its thermal performance was evaluated. A three-stage approach was followed: (1) at a small scale in the laboratory, the effect of different encapsulated PCMs on a multilayer assembly performance was evaluated; (2) in the laboratory, the essential requirements of heat and flame tests were assessed; and (3) in a simulated urban fire, the thermal performance of three different PCM-vests (different textiles and designs) was studied. As the main conclusions, the PCMs significantly affected the heating rate of the multilayer assembly, particularly when a PCM with higher latent heat was used. In some cases, the heat transfer index (HTI) doubled by comparison with the sample without PCMs. As a drawback and as expected, the cooling time was increased. The PCM-vest sample ensured the requirements of the heat and flame tests. Through this study, the positive impact of using PCMs to enhance the heat protection of conventional PPE can be highlighted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Protective Clothing Research Meeting the Challenges in the Changing World)
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22 pages, 12257 KiB  
Article
Applicability of Human Thermophysiological Model for Prediction of Thermal Strain in PPE
by Kamila Lunerová, Barbora Řehák Kopečková, Jan Pokorný, Michal Mašín, David Kaiser, Vladimíra Fialová and Jan Fišer
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(12), 7170; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13127170 - 15 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 919
Abstract
The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential to protect the human body in hazardous environments or where there is a risk of CBRN agents. However, PPE also poses a barrier to evaporative heat dissipation, therefore increasing heat accumulation in the body. [...] Read more.
The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential to protect the human body in hazardous environments or where there is a risk of CBRN agents. However, PPE also poses a barrier to evaporative heat dissipation, therefore increasing heat accumulation in the body. In our research, we investigated the applicability of thermophysiological models for the prediction of thermal strain and the permissible working time in a contaminated environment when the usage of protective ensembles is required. We investigated the relationship between the thermal insulation characteristics of four types of PPE against CBRN agents and the induced thermal strain in a set of real physiological strain tests with human probands wearing the PPE in a climatic chamber. Based on the results, we compared the predictions using two thermophysiological models—Predicted Heat Strain Index (PHS) and FIALA-based model of thermal comfort (FMTK)—with the experimental data. In order to provide a user-friendly platform for the estimation of thermal stress in PPE, a user-friendly computational tool, Predictor of Thermal Stress (PTS), was developed. The PTS tool is based on an extensive database of simulated calculations using an FMTK model based on PPE characteristics, environmental conditions, individual parameters, and expected workload. The PTS tool was validated by means of the results from real tests in a climatic chamber. The PTS was shown to be an easy-to-use computational tool, which can be run on a regular PC, based on real data applicable for the estimation of the permissible work time limit with regard to thermal strain in PPE under various conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Protective Clothing Research Meeting the Challenges in the Changing World)
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