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A novel personal cooling system (PCS) incorporated with phase change materials (PCMs) and ventilation fans: An investigation on its cooling efficiency

Lu, Yehu ; Wei, Fanru ; Lai, Dandan ; Shi, Wen ; Wang, Faming ; Gao, Chuansi LU and Song, Guowen (2015) In Journal of Thermal Biology 52. p.137-146
Abstract
Personal cooling systems (PCS) have been developed to mitigate the impact of severe heat stress for humans working in hot environments. It is still a great challenge to develop PCSs that are portable, inexpensive, and effective. We studied the performance of a new hybrid PCS incorporating both ventilation fans and phase change materials (PCMs). The cooling efficiency of the newly developed PCS was investigated on a sweating manikin in two hot conditions: hot humid (HH, 34 °C, 75% RH) and hot dry (HD, 34 °C, 28% RH). Four test scenarios were selected: fans off with no PCMs (i.e., Fan-off, the CONTROL), fans on with no PCMs (i.e., Fan-on), fans off with fully solidified PCMs (i.e., PCM+Fan-off), and fans on with fully solidified PCMs (i.e.,... (More)
Personal cooling systems (PCS) have been developed to mitigate the impact of severe heat stress for humans working in hot environments. It is still a great challenge to develop PCSs that are portable, inexpensive, and effective. We studied the performance of a new hybrid PCS incorporating both ventilation fans and phase change materials (PCMs). The cooling efficiency of the newly developed PCS was investigated on a sweating manikin in two hot conditions: hot humid (HH, 34 °C, 75% RH) and hot dry (HD, 34 °C, 28% RH). Four test scenarios were selected: fans off with no PCMs (i.e., Fan-off, the CONTROL), fans on with no PCMs (i.e., Fan-on), fans off with fully solidified PCMs (i.e., PCM+Fan-off), and fans on with fully solidified PCMs (i.e., PCM+Fan-on). It was found that the addition of PCMs provided a 54∼78 min cooling in HH condition. In contrast, the PCMs only offered a 19–39 min cooling in HD condition. In both conditions, the ventilation fans greatly enhanced the evaporative heat loss compared with Fan-off. The hybrid PCS (i.e., PCM+Fan-on) provided a continuous cooling effect during the three-hour test and the average cooling rate for the whole body was around 111 and 315 W in HH and HD conditions, respectively. Overall, the new hybrid PCS may be an effective means of ameliorating symptoms of heat stress in both hot-humid and hot-dry environments. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Ventilation fans, Phase change material, Cooling efficiency, Personal cooling system
in
Journal of Thermal Biology
volume
52
pages
137 - 146
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:26267508
  • wos:000360773300017
  • scopus:84936934703
  • pmid:26267508
ISSN
0306-4565
DOI
10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.07.002
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
40394b73-02b9-49ac-8a47-fdaf10c76442 (old id 7851940)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:40:24
date last changed
2022-04-22 04:35:17
@article{40394b73-02b9-49ac-8a47-fdaf10c76442,
  abstract     = {{Personal cooling systems (PCS) have been developed to mitigate the impact of severe heat stress for humans working in hot environments. It is still a great challenge to develop PCSs that are portable, inexpensive, and effective. We studied the performance of a new hybrid PCS incorporating both ventilation fans and phase change materials (PCMs). The cooling efficiency of the newly developed PCS was investigated on a sweating manikin in two hot conditions: hot humid (HH, 34 °C, 75% RH) and hot dry (HD, 34 °C, 28% RH). Four test scenarios were selected: fans off with no PCMs (i.e., Fan-off, the CONTROL), fans on with no PCMs (i.e., Fan-on), fans off with fully solidified PCMs (i.e., PCM+Fan-off), and fans on with fully solidified PCMs (i.e., PCM+Fan-on). It was found that the addition of PCMs provided a 54∼78 min cooling in HH condition. In contrast, the PCMs only offered a 19–39 min cooling in HD condition. In both conditions, the ventilation fans greatly enhanced the evaporative heat loss compared with Fan-off. The hybrid PCS (i.e., PCM+Fan-on) provided a continuous cooling effect during the three-hour test and the average cooling rate for the whole body was around 111 and 315 W in HH and HD conditions, respectively. Overall, the new hybrid PCS may be an effective means of ameliorating symptoms of heat stress in both hot-humid and hot-dry environments.}},
  author       = {{Lu, Yehu and Wei, Fanru and Lai, Dandan and Shi, Wen and Wang, Faming and Gao, Chuansi and Song, Guowen}},
  issn         = {{0306-4565}},
  keywords     = {{Ventilation fans; Phase change material; Cooling efficiency; Personal cooling system}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{137--146}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Thermal Biology}},
  title        = {{A novel personal cooling system (PCS) incorporated with phase change materials (PCMs) and ventilation fans: An investigation on its cooling efficiency}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4102594/7864632.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.07.002}},
  volume       = {{52}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}