Investigation of the Contribution of Garment Design to Thermal Protection. Part 1: Characterizing Air Gaps using Three-dimensional Body Scanning for Women’s Protective Clothing

This research investigated the relative degree of thermal protection provided to women when wearing garments designed for women compared to garments designed for men. Air gaps between a female mannequin and protective coveralls were used to determine the effect of garment style and fit on thermal performance. In Part 1, a procedure using a three-dimensional body scanner was developed in order to measure the size and distribution of these air gaps. The findings demonstrated that air gap sizes were not evenly distributed over the mannequin, and were dependent on garment style and fit, as well as body contour. There were a greater number of smaller air gaps over the mannequin than larger ones. In Part 2, garment style and fit, evaluated in terms of air gaps, were related to thermal protection based on instrumented mannequin flash fire evaluation.