Measurements of local clothing resistances and local area factors under various conditions

Abstract

The local dry thermal resistances of typical office ensembles was measured according to EN- ISO 15831 on a sweating agile manikin for different air speeds and body movement. Also, the local clothing area factors were estimated based on 3D scans. The results of five representative office outfits are discussed in this paper. Measured local insulation values and estimated local area factors differ from data in other studies. Since literature data are mostly between values obtained for regular and loose fit in this study, this difference is likely due to the garment fit on the manikin and reveals the necessity of reporting clothing fit parameters (e.g. ease allowance) in the publications. The increased air speed and body movement mostly decrease the local dry thermal insulation. We emphasize the need for well documented garment parameters and measurements to get reproducible results and to choose accurate clothing parameters for thermo-physiological and thermal sensation modelling