Citation

Ciuha U, Grönkvist M, Mekjavić IB, Eiken O. Ergonomics 2015; 59(2): 298-309.

Affiliation

a Department of Automation , Biocybernetics and Robotics, Jozef Stefan Institute , Ljubljana , Slovenia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00140139.2015.1061142

PMID

26094700

Abstract

The study evaluated the efficiency of two heat dissipation strategies under simulated desert patrol missions. Ten men participated in four trials, during which they walked on a treadmill (45°C, 20% relative humidity), carrying a load of 35 kg; two 50-min walks were separated by a 20-min rest. Cooling strategies, provided by an ambient air ventilated vest (active cooling condition; AC), or water spraying of the skin during the rest (passive cooling condition; PC), in addition to reduced clothing and open zippers, were compared to conditions with full protective (FP) clothing and naked condition (NC). Skin temperature was higher during NC (37.9 ± 0.4°C; p < 0.001), and rectal temperature and heart rate were higher during FP (38.6 ± 0.4°C, p < 0.001 and 145 ± 12, p < 0.001, respectively), compared to other conditions. Four subjects terminated the trial prematurely due to signs of heat exhaustion in FP. Both cooling strategies substantially improved evaporative cooling.

Language: en