Heat Stress in Chemical Warfare Clothing

This paper presents an analysis of heat flow mechanisms which operate in a chemical warfare (CW) suit in order to estimate the extent to which it might be possible to alleviate heat stress without resorting to artificial cooling. The analysis uses Canadian, UK and US thermal and water vapour resistance measurements of CW materials/clothing and shows that little improvement in heat dissipation can be expected with material improvements alone. It is proposed that heat stress could be substantially reduced by making the CW suit with a minimal number of independent fabric layers and as close fitting as possible. Physiological tests are required to confirm the validity of this theory. Abstract in French.