PPE HEAT STRESS CALCULATOR

Product Development

HeatCommander™ was developed by GEOMET Technologies, LLC, with technical/financial support from the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG, www.tswg.gov). Many of the algorithms used in the HSC were developed by Dr. Ralph Goldman, a physiologist and consultant to GEOMET, who is one of the world’s foremost authorities in the areas of heat and cold stress. Much of his expertise was gained while serving as Director of the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) for many years.

A key distinguishing feature of the PPE Heat Stress Calculator is the use of specific clothing properties – permeability and insulation – as an integral part of the predictions. For the project under which the application was developed, a sophisticated, 16-section, heated manikin, whose sintered metal surface could be wetted by independently controlled flow of moisture to each section, was used to obtain insulation and permeability values for all ensembles currently included in the application.

Shown above are pictures of the manikin, both undressed and clothed with one of the ensembles tested under the project.