Abstract
A test method to evaluate the cooling capability of a 30.5 cm × 30.5 cm or smaller liquid-cooled textile system used in liquid cooling garment development has been developed. The equipment used in this method is the sweating guarded hotplate, which is used primarily to measure thermal and evaporative resistance of clothing materials in accordance with ASTM F 1868. Using the sweating guarded hotplate, a constant heat flux from the hotplate to cold liquid can be obtained. Using the conductive heat transfer equation for data analysis, this test method provides consistent and reliable evaluation of the cooling capability over a wide range of cold liquid temperatures. This method can differentiate the cooling capabilities of alternative textile systems that might vary by fabric composition, tubing material, total tubing length, and other variables of interest. Based on the zero-intercept linear regression, the thermal resistance of the textile system can be estimated, and the cold temperature requirement for a target cooling capability can be predicted.
