Experimental evaluation of heat and moisture transmission characteristics of the working ensemble of hot coal mines using the thermal manikin.

In this paper, the thermal transmission capability (thermal insulation) and the moisture transmission characteristic (evaporative resistance) of the working ensemble for Chinese hot coal miners (from lining Anju coal mine, a typical hot coal mine in China) were measured and analyzed using a thermal sweating manikin ("Newton") in a climatic chamber. It is found that the thermal insulation of the old (used) mining ensemble worn for one year changes slightly from the new one, but the evaporative resistance decreases about 15%; there are notable differences of local thermal insulation and local evaporative resistance of the mining ensemble among different body zones; the thermal insulation and the evaporative resistance of the mining ensemble change slightly under different thermal conditions, but vary significantly under different humid conditions. The measured data of thermal insulation and the evaporative resistance can provide technical and data support for mining ensemble design, and also are valuable data for evaluating thermal strain of workers in hot coal mines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]