The mining industry is one of the largest industries in the world. As the depth of exploitation levels increases, miners face severe working environments in ambient temperature and humidity, which lead to an increase of work accidents and a reduction in productivity. Several researchers have validated the effectiveness of individual cooling garments in reducing the thermal stress caused by workers subjected to extreme weather conditions. Unfortunately, the specifications of these existing cooling garments, in terms of their autonomy, their masses, their compatibility with the protective equipment of the miners and their efficiency in a hot and almost saturated humidity environment, make them incompatible with the reality of work in deep mines. As a result, the main objective of this project is to develop a cooling garment adapted to this extreme environment.
The developed prototype assists the body of the miner to evacuate excess accumulated sweat, by creating a microenvironment below the garment, favorable to the evaporation of sweat. To generate this microenvironment, the atmospheric expansion of compressed carbon dioxide to cool and dehumidify a constant airflow is used. This prototype, with autonomy of 90 minutes, weighs 5.1 kg. It is able to generate a maximum of 184 Wh of cooling for the first 40 minutes of operation, followed by a maximum cooling of 57 Wh for the last 50 minutes.
The effect of wearing this prototype on the subjective perceptions and physiological responses of human beings was validated by a study involving 19 subjects in simulated conditions. The results and analyzes showed the effectiveness of this cooling prototype in reducing the thermal stress of humans. Changes in the physiological parameters in terms of internal temperatures (tympanic) and heart rates, as well as in the level of perceived physical exertion, thermal comfort, well-being and moisture level of the skin of the subjects, were measured.
Finally, to continue the development of this prototype until the marketing phase, several recommendations and changes are suggested, in terms of autonomy, agronomy, operating and controlling the cooling system.
| Date | 11 Dec 2018 |
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| Original language | French |
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| Awarding Institution | - École de technologie supérieure
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| Supervisor | Stéphane Hallé (Supervisor) |
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Al Sayed, C. (Author),
Hallé (Supervisor),
11 Dec 2018Student thesis: Doctoral thesis › Doctorate in Engineering: Engineering