2017 Volume 24 Issue 2 Pages 37-46
Abstract: We measured the solar absorption, reflection, and transmission coefficients for seven fabrics made of the same polyester with different color. The solar transmission coefficient for the white one was larger than that for the black one. Considering the increase of surface area by clothing, we proposed a model to analyze solar absorptions at skin and clothing and the sensible heat transfer between skin and the surrounding environment. To calculate the mean solar absorption coefficient at the clothing and that at the skin for the whole body, we derived the weighting coefficients for body parts through heat transfer analysis. Using the proposed model, we estimated the operative temperature including the effect of solar radiation for the person wearing the summer sport uniform made of the same polyester with different colors. The light color brought the larger solar reflection at the clothing and the larger solar absorption at skin than the dark color. As the result, the operative temperature was almost the same despite the difference in color. The comparison of our operative temperature with the values calculated by existent methods made it clear that the operative temperature differed significantly depending on the evaluation method of solar radiation and clothing distribution.
