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Evaluating the Protective Performance of Municipal Firefighting Suits During Firefighter’s Motion Under Fire Exposure

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Abstract

The motion of firefighters during putting fires out significantly affects the protective performance of their suits. Due to firefighter’s motion, the suit moves periodically relative to the body causing a periodic variation in heat release form the suit to the body and a periodic cooling of the microclimate between the suit and the body. This paper investigated the variation in the protective performance of municipal firefighting suits as a result of firefighters’ motions. Specifically, the effect of a variation in the frequency (from 0 rps to 4 rps) and amplitude (from 0.5 mm to 3 mm) of the periodic motion of the suit relative to the body, with a mean gap width of 3 mm, on the protective performance of the suit was explored. Heat transfer through the air gaps bounded within the suit was carefully considered. The periodic variation in the thermal content of the microclimate between the suit and the body was accounted for as well. The results showed the protective performance of the suit was enhanced by the increase in the motion frequency and was worsened by the increase in the motion amplitude.

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Abbreviations

c P :

Specific heat at constant pressure

c v :

Specific heat at constant volume

f :

Frequency

G :

Incident irradiation

h :

Convection heat transfer coefficient

I :

Irradiation intensity

k :

Thermal conductivity

P :

Pre-exponential factor

\(q^{\prime\prime}\) :

Heat flux

\(\mathop{r}\limits^{\rightharpoonup} \) :

Position vector

R :

Universal gas constant

rps:

Revolutions per second

\(\hat{s}\) :

Unit vector

T :

Temperature

t :

Time

y :

Vertical coordinate

\(\Omega\) :

Solid angle

\(\phi\) :

Quantitative coefficient of skin damage

\(\Delta E\) :

Skin activation energy

\(\varepsilon\) :

Emissivity

\(\gamma\) :

Extinction coefficient

\(\kappa\) :

Absorption coefficient

\(\rho\) :

Density or reflectivity

\(\sigma\) :

Stefan–Boltzmann constant

\(\omega\) :

Blood perfusion rate

air:

Air

amb:

Ambient surroundings

b:

Black body/human blood

cnv:

Heat transfer by convection

cr:

Body core

ep:

Epidermis skin layer

ds:

Dermis skin layers

sc:

Subcutaneous skin layers

exp:

Exposure

fab:

Fabric

g:

Hot gases

hot:

Hot air gap

lin:

Thermal liner

msr:

Moisture barrier

R:

Heat transfer by radiation

shl:

Outer shell

fl:

Flame

o:

Initial

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Jouf University, P.O. Box 2014, Sakaka, Aljouf, Saudi Arabia

    Ahmed Ghazy

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  1. Ahmed Ghazy
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Correspondence to Ahmed Ghazy.

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Ghazy, A. Evaluating the Protective Performance of Municipal Firefighting Suits During Firefighter’s Motion Under Fire Exposure. Fire Technol 57, 1827–1846 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-021-01095-0

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