Computer Modeling for Individual Thermal Protection

The goal of this work is to use computer modeling to enhance individual thermal protection of clothing materials. This modeling can evaluate current clothing fabrics and also provide guidance for the development of improved materials. Calculations are performed on human skin simulant materials and also on the thermal protective fabric Nomex. Some comparisons are made between calculated and experimental results. In addition, the computer model is used to predict the protective effects of Nomex from heat fluxes of a flash fire, a CO2 laser or a nuclear explosion. The model also is used to evaluate the importance of several material parameters (density, specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity) in the thermal protection by Nomex. Finally, the thermal computer code is used to facilitate experimental work pertaining to protection from thermal effects of nuclear weapons by making correlations between nuclear pulses and trapezoidal pulses (which can be obtained in the laboratory).