Analysis of sweating efficiency and its effects on the heat strain alleviation of clothed subjects

Sweating efficiency (SE) is essential for evaluating heat strain. The dripping of sweat off the skin surface of a nude subject occurs locally at an area where the secreted sweat exceeds the local evaporative capacity. However, in clothed subjects, dripping sweat is absorbed by clothing. In the present paper, the cooling efficiency of the sweating of a clothed subject is analyzed in relation to SE. First, typical patterns for the regional distribution of the sweat rate (SR) and the capacity of evaporation (CE) of a nude subject were introduced, and the dripping sweat rate was derived as a surplus of the SR over the CE; an equation of SE was derived from combinations of the two typical SR patterns and the uniform CE pattern. Then, the values of SE were calculated numerically, and the results were found to be approximately equal to those obtained experimentally by Alber-Wallerstrom & Holmer and theoretically from the equation of 1 - 0.5w(sw)(2) used in ISO7933. Based on these results, the SE was improved by arranging the distribution of the CE by controlling air velocities over the body surface. Further, the improved SE was found to contribute to the heat strain alleviation of clothed subjects.

Automated summary

This study analyzed the cooling efficiency of sweating in clothed subjects in relation to SE. The results showed that improving the distribution of CE by controlling air velocities over the body surface can enhance SE and alleviate heat strain in clothed subjects.