Donald Thompson

Comparison of Methods Used to Predict the Burn Injuries in Tests of Thermal Protective Fabrics

A study was conducted to compare the two methods, Henriques Burn Integral and Stoll criteria, in thermal protective performance evaluation on firefighter clothing composites exposed to various thermal hazards. The thermal hazards that the firefighter may encounter during fire fighting are low level thermal radiation and high intensity flashover fire. With the simulation of these thermal hazards in the lab, the heat flux behind exposed clothing composites are characterized with flux rise rate and peak heat flux. Comparisons were performed on the prediction differences of clothing system made using Henriques Burn integral and Stoll criteria under different conditions. The study demonstrated that in some cases less difference is predicted by the two methods, while in other cases a significant difference is observed. Several recommendations were made for the qualitative prediction of garment and fabric thermal protective performance under different situations.

Effects of Simulated Flash Fire and Variations in Skin Model on Manikin Fire Test

An established numerical model of a manikin fire test, which has the capability of predicting heat transfer through thermally protective clothing exposed to an intense heat environment, is described in this paper. The model considers the fire characteristics simulated in a manikin chamber as well as the insulating air layers between protective garments and the skin surface. The numerical model is applied to analyze the effects of simulated flash fire and variations in a skin model on a manikin test. The study demonstrates that the heat flux measured by 122 thermal sensors over the surface of the manikin exhibits a bell-shaped Gaussian distribution for a short duration in calibration burn. A series of flash fire data with different distributions was generated statistically, and the effects on burn predictions were investigated. The results suggest that the fire distribution affects the burn predictions for 4 s of exposure. The effects of initial temperature distribution, thermal properties, as well as involvement of blood perfusion in a skin model on burn predictions are also discussed. The model predictions demonstrate that the initial temperature distribution in a skin model has a large effect on burn predictions for a one-layer garment exposed to short duration flash fire conditions.

A CB Protective Firefighter Turnout Suit

This paper describes research that developed a prototype chemical and biological (CB) protective firefighter suit. It is presented as a case study demonstrating an integrated systems approach to designing, developing and evaluating a protective clothing ensemble based on end user requirements. It includes a discussion of the process that was used to gain an understanding of firefighter performance needs for a structural turnout suit that also incorporated chemical protection. It describes the design features of the turnout suit that were developed to meet these expectations as well as the program of testing and evaluation used to characterize garment performance. It discusses ensemble level performance evaluations in instrumented fire manikin tests and man-in-stimulant test procedures. It describes studies conducted to determine the impact of prototype garment design features on heat stress, wear comfort and ergonomic function in structural firefighting applications.