Heat stress of helicopter aircrew wearing immersion suit.
نویسنده
چکیده
The objectives of the present study were to define the lowest ambient air and cabin temperatures at which aircrews wearing immersion protection are starting to experience thermal discomfort and heat stress during flight operations, and to characterize during a flight simulation in laboratory, the severity of the heat stress during exposure to a typical northern summer ambient condition (25 degrees C, 40% RH). Twenty male helicopter aircrews wearing immersion suits (insulation of 2.2 Clo in air) performed 26 flights within an 8-month period at ambient temperatures ranging between -15 and 25 degrees C, and cabin temperatures ranging between 3 and 28 degrees C. It was observed based on thermal comfort ratings that the aircrews were starting to experience thermal discomfort and heat stress at ambient and cabin air conditions above 18 degrees C and at a WBGT index of 16 degrees C. In a subsequent study, seven aircrews dressed with the same clothing were exposed for 140 min to 25 degrees C and 40% RH in a climatic chamber. During the exposure, the aircrews simulated pilot flight maneuvers for 80 min followed with backender/flight engineer activities for 60 min. By the end of the 140 min exposure, the skin temperature, rectal temperature and heart rate had increased significantly to 35.7 +/- 0.2 degrees C, 38.4 +/- 0.2 degrees C and between 110 and 160 beats/min depending on the level of physical activity. The body sweat rate averaged 0.58 kg/h and the relative humidity inside the clothing was at saturation by the end of the exposure. It was concluded that aircrews wearing immersion suits during the summer months in northern climates might experience thermal discomfort and heat stress at ambient or cabin air temperature as low as 18 degrees C.
منابع مشابه
Desensitizing a pilot with a phobic response to required helicopter underwater escape training.
INTRODUCTION A systematic desensitization program designed to help aircrew who have a phobic anxiety of the Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) has been developed. CASE PRESENTATION A student pilot presented with a severe phobic anxiety of the HUET course--a result of a being trapped underwater on a marine survival training course. A treatment team was assembled and concluded his pho...
متن کاملI Thermal Stress in Helicopter Pilots : Evaluation of Two Survival
On the Norwegian coastline, sea temperatures are low throughout the year, and the personnel operating Sea King rescue helicopters are required to wear survival suits during over-sea flights. Paradoxically, this may lead to a situation where the pilots are subject to heat stress during flight (1). Thermal stress may result in fatigue and impaired pilot performance, which may raise the risk of pi...
متن کاملG-tolerance standards for aircrew training and selection.
G tolerance widely among individuals. It stands to reason that aircrew with higher G tolerance are less likely to experience symptoms of G stress in flight than are those with lower G tolerance, and that they can fly highly maneuverable aircraft with greater safety and effectiveness. To assure that aircrew with abnormally low G tolerance are not assigned to aircraft that operate in the high-G e...
متن کاملEnvironmental factors in helicopter operations.
The environmental problems affecting aircrew are partly those which all soldiers face, such as noise, heat and cold, and partly peculiar to the medium and the vehicle in which aircrew train and fight, such as disorientation and decompression. The cockpit environment of the modern helicopter is luxurious in comparison with many of its predecessors, yet most of the adverse effects of flight on th...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Industrial health
دوره 44 3 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2006