Mathematical Simulation of Heat and Moisture Transfer in a Human-Clothing-Environment System

TLDR

A mathematical model describes dynamic heat and moisture transport in clothing and its interaction with human thermoregulation, accounting for coupled sorption/desorption of water vapor in fibers. The study aims to predict body thermoregulatory responses and clothing temperature/moisture profiles given specified physical activity and ambient conditions. The authors modify Gagge's two-node model to simulate physiological regulation and validate it by comparing experimental measurements from garments with different hygroscopic fibers to model predictions. The model shows good agreement with experiments for skin and fabric temperatures and clothing microclimate humidity.

Abstract

A mathematical model has been developed to describe the dynamic heat and moisture transport behavior of clothing and its interaction with the human thermoregulation system under transient wear conditions. A modification of Gagge's two-node model is used to simulate the human physiological regulatory responses. In clothing, heat and moisture transport is coupled with the sorption or desorption of water vapor in the fibers and the associated energy changes. If the physical activity and ambient conditions are specified, the model can predict the thermoregulatory responses of the body, to gether with the temperature and moisture profiles of the clothing. Experimental mea surements with garments made from fibers with different levels of hygroscopicity are compared with predictions by the model. There is good agreement between prediction and experiment for skin and fabric temperatures and the relative humidity of the cloth ing microclimate.