Thermal Protective Performance and Moisture Transmission of Firefighter Protective Clothing Based on Orthogonal Design

This study is to investigate thermal protection and moisture transmission of firefighter clothing and how combinations of materials influence the thermal protection and moisture transmission. An orthogonal design is applied for planning the experiment. Eight different material combinations, which simulate three-layer firefighter protective clothing system, are studied. The thermal protective performance (TPP) and water vapor transmission rate of combinations are tested. The experiment data are discussed by analysis of range and variance. Meanwhile, influence of each layer on clothing performance is also studied. Results show that outer shell fabric and moisture barrier layer have significant effects on TPP and moisture transmission property, respectively.