Textile heat fluxmeter characterization

Initially, the sensitivity of textile heat fluxmeters was calibrated in order to compare their performance amongst them and also against a commercial heat fluxmeter (Captec Entreprise, France). Afterward, the heat fluxmeters were characterized with the Skin Model with regard to a physiological application. Finally, the characterization of the coupling between the heat and mass transfers was carried out. 

Instead of using sensitivity given by the manufacturer, also called nominal sensitivity, heat flux performance of the commercial reference heat fluxmeter was characterized under the same conditions as textile heat fluxmeters with the Skin Model simulation tool. 

If the first characterization method (sensitivity calibration with a heating resistance) is compared with the second one (performance for physiological applications with Skin Model), the results have the same trend and the textile heat fluxmeter PES/CO satin gives the higher sensitivity among all the THFs. 

Large-sized textile heat fluxmeters (5x5 cm) were characterized in order to analyze the impact of humidity on heat transfer properties. Three different heat flux densities (273 W/m, 369 W/m, and 464 W/m ) were used to supply heating resistance. 

The second part focused on the textile heat fluxmeter development and characterization. Different methods showed that the heat flux performances of the THFs are in the same range as the reference one. The textile heat fluxmeter PES/CO with a satin stmc-ture gives slightly higher sensitivity values than the fluxmeters PES3 and PES/CO2. Therefore, PES/CO2 can be preferred as a heat fluxmeta- for future physiological applications. 

The characterization of the couphng between heat and mass transfers showed that textile heat fluxmeters take into account the evaporation phenomenon. This coupling is mainly influenced by the THE material. 

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