Design and Product Development

Cooling System Embedded Turnout Coat Liner Prototype Development of Personal Protective Equipment

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Abstract

The study aims to create a turnout gear coat liner prototype with an active cooling system and evaluate its performance with an Infrared (IR) camera, CO2, and sweat mannequin. The final fabric was made by integrating the Carbon Nanotube (CNT) sheet into the existing liner layup materials. As a result, 1) the study successfully created the first prototype cooling system embedded coat,which has a core guard, cooling apparatus with fans, filter, coolants, battery,and turn-on/off switch. 2) The study evaluated the cooling system's effectiveness using an IR camera and a CO2 sensor with variations of blower fans and coolants to select the best cooling materials. 3) The National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health results clearly show the effectiveness of integrated CNT-embedded cooling systems. The study confirmed that the performance of the active cooling system works better than the standard liner at ambient temperature and heated conditions.

Keywords: Turnout Gear, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Active Cooling System

How to Cite:

Kim, M., Fang, Q., Cooley, C., Kubley, A., Shanov, V., Schulz, M. & Wu, I., (2024) “Cooling System Embedded Turnout Coat Liner Prototype Development of Personal Protective Equipment”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 80(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.17350