Physiological assessment of Soldiers wearing military uniforms of different fabrics during intermittent exercise

Authors

  • William R Santee Biophysics and Biomedical Modeling Division, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Massachusetts 01760, USA
  • Larry G Berglund
  • Armand V Cardello U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (CCDC SC), 10 General Greene Avenue, Natick, Massachusetts 01760, USA
  • Carloe A Winterhalter U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (CCDC SC), 10 General Greene Avenue, Natick, Massachusetts 01760, USA
  • David P Looney Biophysics and Biomedical Modeling Division, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Massachusetts 01760, USA
  • Julio A Gonzalez Biophysics and Biomedical Modeling Division, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Massachusetts 01760, USA
  • Adam W Potter U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12922/jshp.v8i1.167

Keywords:

skin wettedness, sweat response, body temperature, skin temperature

Abstract

Quantifying the relationship between the physical properties of clothing worn at or near comfortable conditions to the wearer’s physiological responses is of significant interest to a broad range of users and developers. This study developed and evaluated methods for quantifying these relationships. The physiological responses of nine healthy Soldier Volunteers (1 female, 8 males) (23 ± 4 yr; 174.2 ± 5.8 cm; 73.4 ± 6.5 kg; 17.90 ± 3.99% body fat) were collected and analyzed during sitting (rest) and activity. Soldiers repeated four chamber trials while wearing four different style uniforms with different material properties. The thermal and evaporative resistances and physical properties were evaluated for each ensemble prior to testing. During each trial, Soldiers alternated walking on a treadmill at 1.34 m×s-1 (3 mph) for 30 minutes, then sitting for 10 minutes. That test sequence was repeated four times, for a total of 170 min. Testing was conducted controlled climate chambers in two environmental conditions: a neutral condition (NC) with an air temperature (Ta) of 20°C, and relative humidity (RH) of 50%, and wind velocity (Vw) of 1.1 ms-1, and a warm humid (WH) condition (27°C, 75% RH, Vw 1.1 ms-1). Minute-by-minute measures of rectal temperature (Tre) were collected, along with continuous measures of relative humidity under clothing (RHuc), and skin temperature (Tsk) measured at 3 sites. Total body temperature (Tb) was calculated from Tre and mean Tsk (sk), and skin wettedness (ω) was calculated from RHuc and Tsk. Although there were a few overall significant differences (a ≤ 0.5) for Tre, Tsk, Tb, RHuc or ω, post hoc testing (Tukey’s Studentized Range Test, a ≤ 0.5) indicated no significant differences between any two garments. Results for sweating, water loss and retention in clothing for the NC (20°C) environment were not significant. For the WH (27°C) environment, differences for sweat retained in clothing (Swcl) were significant between the wool garment and each of the other 3 garments. Between clothing fabric types there was also significant difference in the rate of evaporative water loss (Rev).

Author Biography

  • Adam W Potter, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM)
    Adam Potter is a Research Physiologist and Deputy Chief of the Biophysics and Biomedical Modeling Division (BBMD) at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM). Prior to his work in research, he served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps, participating in real-world operations in Kosovo, Iraq, and Liberia. His military awards include: the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal (w/Bronze Star), the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (w/Bronze Star). Dr. Potter holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology from Cambridge College, a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and a Master of Science (MS) in Sports and Health Sciences from American Military University, and a PhD in Biomedical and Health Informatics with a concentration in Nanomedicine from Rutgers University. As a Principle Investigator at USARIEM he leads non-human and human research protocols in the areas of thermal manikins, thermoregulatory modeling, metabolic cost studies, and real-time monitoring of physiological responses to various military operational activities. His research portfolio spans across the applied sciences, e.g., manikin testing, to the cutting-edge of product development, e.g., computer-based decision aids and wearable sensors.

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Published

2020-05-29

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2020): Journal of Sport and Human Performance

Section

Original Research Articles

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