Indian Journal of Fibre & Textile Research

Vol. 22, December 1997, pp. 297-296

Protective clothing for extreme cold region

G N Mathur , Hans Raj & Nishkam Kasturiya
Defence Materials Stores Research & Development Establishment , Kanpur 208 013 , India

The advancement in the warfare technology has taken wars and battles to the places till now deemed
unfit for normal human life and habitation due to the extreme weather conditions. Cold mountains and
Siachin region are examples of such areas . In these areas, temperature goes down to as low as -40°C.
In different countries, the range of sub-zero region varies but the period of exposure of the forces to the
extreme cold is lesser than that faced by Indian troops. For the people exposed to sub-zero region for a
long time at a stretch the requirement of the protective clothing is very critical. This paper discusses, in
brief, the human endurance in cold climate, various factors that influence the protection of an individual
in a cold environment, the component materials for protective clothing for extreme cold regions, and the
development of clothing systems at DMSRDE, Kanpur.

Keywords: Composite multilayered garment, Protective clothing, Thermal insulation

1 Human Endurance in Cold Climate Subsequently, a number of studies were taken up

to understand and appreciate these effects. The
The individual liking and disliking for cold and
altitude IS associated with lower ambient
warm conditions and climate is very personalized,
temperature but USARIEM (U.S. Army Research
and so the endurance limit for cold and warm
Institute of Environmental Medicine) studies have
environment may also vary to some extent, but
shown 2 that when subjects were exposed to high
there are certain limits beyond which all normal
altitude in a chamber at the same temperature level
human beings cannot bear extreme cold. A number
as at sea, they felt cold and a fall in skin
of studies have been conducted to quantify these
temperature was noted. This may be attributed to
endurance limits so that clothing, equipments,
an increased diffusion loss of perspiration at
shelters, etc . may be designed accordingly. It has
altitude. USARIEM studies 3 brought out effects of
been brought out that the mean skin temperature of
temperature and wind chill on a neutral human
human beings who are at rest and are thermally
body and indicated that sensation of warmth and
comfortable is approximately 33°C, and metabolic
cold at wind velocities between 2 mls to 32 mls
heat generation at this level is 150 watts I . Under
may be summarized as follows:
cold conditions, body generates more heat by
muscular exertion and shivering to balance the 32°C Hot
temperature difference. The blood supply to skin is 28°C Pleasant
reduced to create thermal insulating layer. Further, 22°C Cool
16°C Very cool
at the same temperature, the feeling of cold would
lOoC Cold
be more in damp..-conditions. This is because air SoC Very cold
being bad conduc'tor of heat, the heat losses would O°C Bitterly cold
be less in dry air but when some water vapour to -S oC Exposed flesh freezes
the air is added, the convection heat losses are (travel and life in temporary shelters
increased. Generally, heat losses are 25 times become disagreeable)
greater in water than in dry air at the same Exposed area of face freezes within
temperature. To maintain thermal balance and one minute
comfort in the water, the water temperature should (travel and life in temporary shelters
be around 34°C. The problems and effects of high become dangerous)
altitude were raised by India in 1965 in the Exposed area of face freezes within
y, minute
Commonwealth Conference on Defence Clothings.
 MATHUR e/ at. : PROTECTIVE C LOTHING FOR EXTREME COLD REGION 293

The effect of cooling power of wind on exposed important, because 80% of heat losses are due to
flesh , expressed as an equivalent temperature wind chilI effect.
(under calm conditions), is shown in Table 1. Wind chill factor can be derived from Siple
The protection of an individual in a cold Passel formula 7
environment would depend on following main K o = (.Jv x 100 + 10.45- v) (33- TA )
factors 4. 6 : (i) Metabolic heat, (ii) Wind chill, (iii) where,
Thermal insulation, (iv) Air permeability, and (v) Ko = Cooling power of the atmosphere In
Moisture vapour transmission. kcallm 21h,
The survival depends on the balance of heat v = Wind velocity in mis, and
losses due to (ii)- (v) and heat output due to (i). TA= Air temperature in dc.
33°C is taken as the skin temperature under calm
1.1 Metabolic Heat
The heat output due to metabolism depends on conditions. The significance of wind chill factor
the body parameters as well as the activity may be understood by reviewing its effect on the
involved. This heat output would be lowest at rest freezing time of exposed flesh. At a wind chill
and maximum during hard work. For a normal factor of 1000, an individual would feel very cold
youth of 18-30 years weighing 70 kg, the heat out- and at 1200, bitterly cold. When the wind . chill
put would be of the order of 60 kcallh during rest factor is 1400, the exposed flesh would freeze in
20 min, at wind chill factor of 1800, the exposed
or sleeping,100 kcallh during guard duty, 250
kcallh during patrolling and 425 kcallh during hard flesh would freeze in 10 min and when the wind
work. However, the garment system should r be chill factor is 2400, exposed flesh freezes in I min
capable of providing protection at the lowest level only.
of activity i.e. sleeping or rest. This should be kept
in view while designing protective clothing. 1.3 Thermal InsulationS
The protection against cold is dependent on
1.2 Wind Chill thermal resistance or thermal insulation of the
Wind chill 6.7 depends on the temperature as well garment or clothing.
as velocity of the wind. In the cold climate, The measurement of thermal insulation of a
consideration of wind chill effect IS very fabric surface is made by measuring heat flow in

Table I--Cooling power of wind on exposed flesh expressed as an equivalent temperature) (under calm conditions)

Estimated Actual thennometer reading

wind speed 50 40 30 20 10 0 -10 -20 -30 -40 -SO - 60
mph
Equivalent temperature (OF)

Calm 50 40 30 20 0 -30 - 50 -60

5 48 37. 27 16 -36 -S7 -68
10 40 28 16 4 -83 -95
15 36 22 9 -5 -45 -99 -122
20 32 18 4 -10 -25 -S3 -67 -96 -110 -124
25 30 16 0 -15 -29 -44 -59 -74 -104 -118 -133
30 28 13 -2 -18 -33 -48 -63 -79 -94 -\09 -125 -140
35 27 II -4 -21 - 35 - 51 -67 -82 - 98 -113 - 129 -145
40 26 10 -6 -21 -37 -S3 -69 -85 -100 -116 -132 - 148
(Wind speeds LITTLE DANGER INCREASING GREAT DANGER
greater than 40 (for properly clothed DANGER
mph have little person) Danger from
additional Maximum danger of freezing of
effect) false sense of security exposed flesh

Trenchfoot and immersion foot may occur at any point on this chart.
294 INDI AN 1. FIBR E T EXT. RES ., DECEMBER 1997

unit time from unit area of the surface. The thermal 18

insulation is the ratio of the temperature difference REFLECTING
between the two faces of the fabric to the rate of l-l.
heat flow .
1·2
R=(T,-T)/H
~ 10
where T, and Tz are the temperatures of the fabric Z
BLACKENED
::l 0 ·8
surfaces; and H , the heat flux through the fabric (:l
(flow of heat in unit time from unit area of the 00
,... '6
surface) .
Air is a good thermal insulator and the 0 -2
insulation of air is defined b-y the equation: OL-__~L-__~~__~~__~~__~~
2-7 52 10 ·2 15 ·2 20 ·2 25 -4
l 4=(Tc -T;JIH THICKN ESS (m m)
where,
Tc = Clothin g surface temperature, Fig. I- Effect of in sulation with increasing thickness in
refl ectin g and blackened surfaces
TA= Air temperature,
l A = Air insulation , and
H = Heat flux through the clothing . view . In winter, it is possible that water vapour
Generally, we see decrease in insulation for produced by perspiration at the skin can be
wider spaces which may be attributed to condensed to the liquid , which may subsequently
development of more convection currents when freeze to ice as the water molecules move towards
vo id becomes wider. The therm al insulation effects the cold air at the external surface. If a fabric can
between two surfaces (polished or blackened) have not permit sufficiently rapid di sposal of water to
been studi ed and the results have been summari zed occur, perspiration related discomfort would be
in Fig. 1. The insul ation achieved with the polished felt. A serious drain of body heat may also be
surfaces is 40% hi gher to that achieved with reali zed because of the diminished thermal
blackened surfaces. Thus, narrow voids separated resistance of the wet cloth and the tendency of
by reflecting partitions are an excellent form of reevaporation of the water to take place . The
thermal insulation . To make an insulating material movement of water can be increased by either
effective , it should have low compression setlhigh increasing water vapour permeability or enhancing
resiliency to maintain the still air entrapped into the ability of the fabric to transport liquid water to
the material. the surface. The ability of water vapour
transmission can be increased by increasing pore
1.4 Air Permeability 9. 11 size whereas liquid transport can be increased by
The interlacement of yams in a fabric structure reducing pore size to increase capillary action .
is such that a large volume of fabric consists of air
space. These air spaces influence a number of 2 Component Materials for Protective Clothing
important fabric properties such as warmth, The protective clothing are generally composite
protection against wind and rain. In general , a multilayered garments developed in view of
wearer would be more comfortable with a fabric of various factors mentioned above . Each of the
high air permeability than with a fabric of less air component materials for these composite garments
permeability. However, the open structure would has a specific role to play and so their roles,
enhance the effect of wind chill. The thermal requirements and expected performance are
resistance obtained in still air with a fabric of a necessary to be discussed.
particular structure would be ineffective even In
cold breeze if the air permeability is high. 2.1 Outer Fabrics
The outermost cover for most of the protective
1.5 Moisture Vapour Transmission clothing and equipments should create a barrier for
The tTansmission of water through a fabric is a wind and provide moisture vapour transmission so
very critical parameter l 2 from comfort point of that the wearer is comfortable and protected from
 MATHUR e/ al. : PROTECTIVE CLOTH I G FOR EXTREME COLD REG ION 295

Table 2---Characteri stics of acrylic woven and knitted pil e fabrics and polyester batting
Type of fabri c Composition Weight per Thickness under Therillal Warillth to
unita rea 7 g / C1ll 1 in sul ation we ight factor
g/ml pressure, Illill Tog cl ax 1000
(a) (b) (c)
Woven acry li c (9 mm) Acryl ic/cotton (67:33) 470 5.8 2.9 6
Knitted acrylic (9 mm) Acrylic/cotton (65:35) 469 5.3 3 6.4
Polyester batting 3-6 denier crimped fibre ; 120 4.5 1.65 13.75
40 mm staple lengt h

wind chill and allied factors. The choice falls on and lower moi sture absorption than that of wool.
light weight coated fabrics. The coatings act as a New advancement of fibre tec hnology has
wind barrier. After experimentation with different introduced a number of synthetic insulating
weight, types and classes of coatings, the materials IS. Some of them are Thinsulate,
polyurethane coated nylon fabric has been found to Thintech, Primaloft, Thermoloft,Hydrofil and
provide the 'wind barrier' effect with flexibility Goretex .
and lightness of the basic fabric. The Goretex
which has a breathable microporous polyurethane 2.4 Multilayered C lothin g
coat~ng is also used for special breathable
The thermal resi stance of a single layered
protective clothing. clothing would depend on the individual and
cumulative resistance effect of the layer of textile
2.2 Reflective Inner Liner material , air adjacent to textile material , and the air
The studies were made to assess the effect of entrapped between skin and textile layers. When
heat losse~ with different liners. It was observed 13 the clothing is made of a multilayered textile
that a reflective liner like aluminium foil placed at material, these effects would get further increased
a distance of 8 mm from woollen gabardine due to the cumulative resistance of textile layers,
showed decrease in heat losses to the extent of air entrapped between different textile layers and
27% . This has laid way for the use of reflective air entrapped between skin and tex tile assembly.
material to improve thermal insulation properties. Thus, the thermal protection provided by a
At present, aluminium foil is becoming popular for protective clothing having multi layers would be
such applications . The knitted light weight nylon better than that of a single layered clothing.
fabric laminated with aluminium film is used for
thermal insulation in the protective clothing. 3 Development of Clothing Systems
A number of clothing items for the extreme cold
2.3 Thermal Insulating Materials region have been developed by DMSRDE, Kanpur,
The woollen piles and fabrics which are based on the parameters discussed above . These
generally useful for other regions are not sufficient clothing items were extensively evaluated by a
to meet the requirements of the extreme cold number of army units deployed in the extreme cold
region . For this purpose, in other countries the regions . These stores have been accepted for
down feathers of good quality are successfully introduction in the army, on the basis of the reports
used, but the down feathers of Indian birds do not of the trial units . Some of these clothings have
provide the requisite warmth, most probably due to been used by the Antarctica expedition teams and
the climatic conditions prevailing in the area. A the performance of these protective clothings
critical observation 14 of insulatiorilweight ratio brought laurels to DMSRDE, Kanpur. A brief
shown in Table 2 reveals that this value is much description of the thermal protective systems of
higher for polyester batting and it is very useful for some of these successfully accepted stores, viz.
the purpose of insulation in the extreme cold jackets, trousers, caps and gloves, is summarized
region. Acrylic pile fabric is also very useful due here to give an overview of practical applications
to its good dimensional stability, low rate of creep . of the facts and theories discussed. All these
296 I DIAN J. FII3RE TEXT RES, DECEMBER 199 7
clothing systems for extreme cold weather are
based on the multiple layer principle for better
thermal protection.
3, I Jackets
These jackets are basically three-layered
system. The innermost layer is like a waist coat
and is made of acrylic pile fabric. The second layer
is an insulating liner consisting of polyester batting
and aluminised fabric. The aluminised surface is
kept towards the body to prevent heat loss. The
outermost layer is a wind cheater made up of
polyurethane coated nylon fabric.
3,2 Trousers
These trousers are two-layered clothing. The
inner insulating layer itself is multicomponent and
multilayered . It consists of one layer of polyester 3
batting and one layer of aluminised fabric
sandwiched between two layers of siliconised
nylon fabric of different weights. The outer layer 4
of the trousers is wind cheater made up of
polyurethane coated nylon fabric.
3,3 Caps
The outer part of the cap is made up of
6 Morris J V, Development in cold weatlrer c/o thing, paper
siliconised and fluorochemical-treated nylon fabric
having flame , water and oil repellency. The inner
portions coming in contact with the body are lined
7 Siple P A & Passel C F, Proc, American PhYSiological
with acrylic pile fabric.
3.4 Gloves
Heat losses involved in the five fingured gloves 9
are higher due to a number of terminal extremities
of fingers coming into play . So, for extreme cold 10
region , three-compartment gloves on the principle
II
of the mitten are more favourable . The three
compartments are for (i) thumb , (ii) fore finger and 12
(iii) remaining three fingers . The outer layer of
dorsal side of glove is made up of polyurethane-
13
coated nylon . The inner side is made up of soft
variety of Napa leather. An inner layer of acrylic
pile is used for insulation in these gloves. For 14
further added insulation, polyester batting is used
on the dorsal side.
4 Conclusion
Development of protective clothing for extreme
cold regions is a complicated and difficult task and
depends on a number of theories of heat losses and
thermal insulation . The choice of materials, design
parameters, fibre and fabric properties all play
critical roles in the designing o f a protective
clothing, However, for an efficient protective
system a multilayered garment having different
layers of different textile materials should be used .
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