Publicação
The effect of air gap entrapped in firefighter protective garment on thermal behaviour
| Resumo: | The main objective of this work is to investigate the thermal protective performance (TPP) of firefighter’s garments under 10s/20s of various thermal exposures, shedding light on the effect of the air gap, the effect of fabric thickness and the radiant heat intensity (using Kevlar/PBI and Nomex fabrics) on skin burn predictions. The numerical simulations were performed using the ANSYS software in accordance with the temperature-dependent thermal properties of the materials. A numerical calculation model by finite elements is developed considering the blood perfusion rate. The model is validated against experimental tests and against numerical results from other authors. A parametric analysis was developed upon a set of 500 simulations. The results obtained are treated to evaluate and study the effect of the above-mentioned factors on TPP of firefighter’s garments and skin burn predictions. Finally, based on the numerical results determined for high flash fire and for high exposure time (20 s), a new proposal is presented to determine the time to reach the first, second and third-degree skin burn. |
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| Autores principais: | Rahmani, Abderraouf |
| Assunto: | Fire safety Air gap Firefighters protective clothing Thermal insulation Skin injuries |
| Ano: | 2021 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Instituto Politécnico de Bragança |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Biblioteca Digital do IPB |
| Resumo: | The main objective of this work is to investigate the thermal protective performance (TPP) of firefighter’s garments under 10s/20s of various thermal exposures, shedding light on the effect of the air gap, the effect of fabric thickness and the radiant heat intensity (using Kevlar/PBI and Nomex fabrics) on skin burn predictions. The numerical simulations were performed using the ANSYS software in accordance with the temperature-dependent thermal properties of the materials. A numerical calculation model by finite elements is developed considering the blood perfusion rate. The model is validated against experimental tests and against numerical results from other authors. A parametric analysis was developed upon a set of 500 simulations. The results obtained are treated to evaluate and study the effect of the above-mentioned factors on TPP of firefighter’s garments and skin burn predictions. Finally, based on the numerical results determined for high flash fire and for high exposure time (20 s), a new proposal is presented to determine the time to reach the first, second and third-degree skin burn. |
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