Smart Firefighters PPE: Impact of Phase Change Materials
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 t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/18/10318 |
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| author | Gilda Santos Soraia F. Neves Margarida Silva João M. Miranda João B. L. M. Campos João Ribeiro Adriana Moreira Patrícia Fernandes Francisca Miranda Rita Marques |
| author_facet | Gilda Santos Soraia F. Neves Margarida Silva João M. Miranda João B. L. M. Campos João Ribeiro Adriana Moreira Patrícia Fernandes Francisca Miranda Rita Marques |
| author_sort | Gilda Santos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:04:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19a33a7497364a77889a084464ef7aca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:04:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-19a33a7497364a77889a084464ef7aca2023-11-19T09:26:05ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-09-0113181031810.3390/app131810318Smart Firefighters PPE: Impact of Phase Change MaterialsGilda Santos0Soraia F. Neves1Margarida Silva2João M. Miranda3João B. L. M. Campos4João Ribeiro5Adriana Moreira6Patrícia Fernandes7Francisca Miranda8Rita Marques9CITEVE—Technological Center for Textile and Clothing Industries of Portugal, 4760-034 Vila Nova de Famalicão, PortugalCEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalCEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalCEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalCEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, PortugalCeNTI—Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials, 4760-034 Vila Nova de Famalicão, PortugalCeNTI—Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials, 4760-034 Vila Nova de Famalicão, PortugalCeNTI—Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials, 4760-034 Vila Nova de Famalicão, PortugalCeNTI—Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials, 4760-034 Vila Nova de Famalicão, PortugalCITEVE—Technological Center for Textile and Clothing Industries of Portugal, 4760-034 Vila Nova de Famalicão, PortugalConsidering 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/18/10318phase change materialsthermal protectionfirefighterssmart personal protective equipmentsmart protectionadvanced materials |
| spellingShingle | Gilda Santos Soraia F. Neves Margarida Silva João M. Miranda João B. L. M. Campos João Ribeiro Adriana Moreira Patrícia Fernandes Francisca Miranda Rita Marques Smart Firefighters PPE: Impact of Phase Change Materials Applied Sciences phase change materials thermal protection firefighters smart personal protective equipment smart protection advanced materials |
| title | Smart Firefighters PPE: Impact of Phase Change Materials |
| title_full | Smart Firefighters PPE: Impact of Phase Change Materials |
| title_fullStr | Smart Firefighters PPE: Impact of Phase Change Materials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Smart Firefighters PPE: Impact of Phase Change Materials |
| title_short | Smart Firefighters PPE: Impact of Phase Change Materials |
| title_sort | smart firefighters ppe impact of phase change materials |
| topic | phase change materials thermal protection firefighters smart personal protective equipment smart protection advanced materials |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/18/10318 |
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