2007, Piran, Slovenia

Environmental Ergonomics XII
Igor B. Mekjavic, Stelios N. Kounalakis & Nigel A.S. Taylor (Eds.), © BIOMED, Ljubljana 2007
398
P (W)
360
300
240
180
120
60
0
PCG
PCG+female clothing
PCG+male clothing
Figure 6 Decreased heat loss by placing the clothing typical for female and male on the
manikin. The error bars represent one standard deviation.
P (W)
240
180
120
60
0
standing still walking
P (W)
240
180
120
60
0
standing still walking
A B
Figure 7 Increased heat loss by walking in clothing typical for female (A) and male (B). The
error bars represent one standard deviation.
DISCUSSION
The results of the present study indicated that the heat loss increased with the thinner
membrane being in contact with the air. Moreover, the heat loss was also increased by a good
fit of the PCG on the surface of the manikin. Conversely, heat loss decreased with placing
different fabrics over the PCG. As could be expected, the rate of decreases was dependent on
the increase in thermal and water vapour resistance due to fabrics placed on top of the PCG.
These results in practice suggest that if the membrane contacting the air is thinner, and if the
PCG is in a good contact with the skin surface, the decrease in the temperature of the skin will
be higher. However, the decrease in skin temperature is impaired by wearing clothing on top
of the PCG. Furthermore, walking increased water evaporation due to higher ventilation over
the surface of the PCG under the clothing. To evaluate the effect of wearing a PCG in
reducing the symptoms of MS, a clinical study is planned.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors whish to express the gratitude to UNICO Swiss tex GmbH, Alpnachstad for
providing the PCG.
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