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

Yehu Lu; Fanru Wei; Dandan Lai; Wen Shi; Faming Wang; Chuansi Gao; Guowen Song

doi:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.07.002

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

J Therm Biol. 2015 Aug:52:137-46. doi: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.07.002. Epub 2015 Jul 8.

Authors

Yehu Lu¹, Fanru Wei², Dandan Lai², Wen Shi², Faming Wang³, Chuansi Gao⁴, Guowen Song⁵

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory for Clothing Physiology and Ergonomics (LCPE), The National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China; Department of Fashion Design and Engineering, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021, China.
² Department of Fashion Design and Engineering, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021, China.
³ Laboratory for Clothing Physiology and Ergonomics (LCPE), The National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China; Department of Fashion Design and Engineering, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021, China. Electronic address: dr.famingwang@gmail.com.
⁴ Thermal Environment Laboratory, Department of Design Science, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden.
⁵ Department of AESHM, Iowa State University, Ames IA 50011, USA.

PMID: 26267508
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.07.002

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∼78min cooling in HH condition. In contrast, the PCMs only offered a 19-39min 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 315W 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.

Keywords: Cooling efficiency; Personal cooling system; Phase change material; Ventilation fans.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Conditioning / instrumentation
Air Conditioning / methods*
Body Temperature Regulation / physiology
Clothing
Environment
Hot Temperature
Humans
Humidity
Manikins
Temperature
Ventilation / instrumentation
Ventilation / methods*