Study on heat transfer of liquid cooling garment based on a novel thermal manikin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the heat transfer and establish a heat transfer model of an extravehicular liquid cooling garment based on a thermal manikin covered with soft simulated skin. Design/methodology/approach The thermal manikin applied in this study was a copper manikin, typical of which was its soft simulated skin – a newly thermoplastic elastomer material. Based on this novel thermal manikin, the heat transfer analysis of an extravehicular liquid cooling garment was performed. To satisfy the practical engineering application and simplify analysis, the hypotheses were proposed, and then the heat transfer model was established by heat transfer theory, in which the heat exchange equation of the liquid cooling garment with the thermal manikin and with the air layer, and the garment's total heat dissipating capacity were derived. Findings The verification experiments performed in a climatic chamber by a thermal manikin wearing a liquid cooling garment at different surface temperatures of the thermal manikin show that the modeling value fits well with the experimental value, and the heat transfer model of the liquid cooling garment has a high accuracy. Meanwhile, the relationship between the heat‐dissipating capacity of the liquid cooling garment and its design parameters – inlet temperature and liquid velocity – is suggested as being based on the heat transfer model. Originality/value The paper shows that it is an effective method to control the heat‐dissipating capacity of a liquid cooling garment by changing the inlet temperature to some degree, but not by changing the liquid velocity.