Heat Transfer in Microscopical Air Layers between Skin and Clothing.

In order to examine the influence of heat transfer in microscopical air layer between skin and clothing on heat transfer in clothing during wearing, the heat dissipation and the heat transfer characteristics of a sealed and an unsealed air layer with various widths (<1.0mm) which installed in a prototype heat transfer measurement apparatus were investigated. The heat dissipation behavior by on the thickness of the air layer was clearly different between the sealed and the unsealed air layer. This difference is due to the difference in the heat transmission path of each air layer. Since the sealed air layer has a minute air flow in it, the heat transfer in the sealed air layer is suggested to be due to the horizontal heat transfer influenced by the air flow. On the other hand, the heat transfer in the unsealed air layer is found to be conducted simultaneously by both the horizontal heat transfer similar to that of the sealed air layer and the vertical heat transfer through the space around the heat transfer measuring unit. The ratio of the latter to the amount of heat transfer increases as the air layer thickness increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]