This study aimed to compare the cooling effect of specific body parts to increase workers' thermal comfort. The parts to be cooled comprised the head and neck; the coolant was a phase change material. The participants were ten men in their 20s of aver...
This study aimed to compare the cooling effect of specific body parts to increase workers' thermal comfort. The parts to be cooled comprised the head and neck; the coolant was a phase change material. The participants were ten men in their 20s of average size according to the 8th Size Korea. The experiment was conducted under the following conditions: 28.0 ± 0.5℃, 60.0 ± 5.0% RH, and 0.2 ± 0.1m/s. The exercise consisted of participants moving for 15 min at a constant speed of 80 BPM; later, a subjective sensation was performed, and the clothing surface temperature was measured. In doing so, heat, wetness, and discomfort after exercise were confirmed to have increased without a coolant. Significant differences over time appeared only when no coolant was used, showing that thermal comfort decreased. Despite the addition of coolant, the clothing surface temperature gradually increased over time, but it decreased with coolant rather than without it. Therefore, additional coolant areas, a lower temperature, and simultaneous cooling convection were required to improve thermal comfort.