Analysing performance of protective clothing upon hot liquid exposure using instrumented spray manikin

Hot liquid hazards existing in work environments present a common risk in workplace safety in numerous industries. In this study, a newly developed instrumented manikin system was used to assess the protective performance provided by protective clothing against hot liquid splash. The skin burn injury and its distribution for the selected clothing system were predicted and the effects of clothing design features (fabric properties and garment size) on protective performance were investigated. The air gap size and distribution existing between protective clothing and human skin were characterized using 3D body scanning, and their relation to skin burn injury was identified. The mechanism associated with heat and mass transfer under exposure to hot liquid splashes was discussed. The findings provided technical bases to improve the performance of protective clothing. For protective clothing design, minimizing mass transfer through clothing system is very important to provide high performance. Keeping the air gap between the garment and the human body is an essential approach to improve thermal performance. This can be achieved by proper design in size and fit, or applying functional textile materials.