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Figure 1. The cooling vest along with the backpack which contains all necessary components
Figure 2. Animation of the flow of coolant through the front of the vest
Background
Background
Active outdoor workers exposed to hot and humid environments face the threat of heat related illnesses, such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and heat cramps. These illnesses can develop when the body's natural cooling methods, such as sweating, insufficiently cool the body against the extreme heat of the environment. Heat stroke, the most severe heat related illness, occurs when one’s core temperature exceeds 104℉, and can lead to permanent organ damage and death in extreme cases [1]. On average, 702 heat related deaths occurred each year in the time period from 2004 and 2018, and since most heat related illnesses are non-fatal, they go unreported [2]. Some common treatments are hydration, rest, and heat extraction. This project aims to extract heat from the user’s body through the usage of thermoelectric cooling to serve as a preventative measure for heat related illness.
Figure 2: Conveys the differences in symptoms for heat stroke and heat exhaustion (ABC10 News).
Objective
Objective
The objective of this project is to create a cooling system that extracts enough heat from the body to significantly decrease the user’s risk of developing a heat related illness. A minimum of 150 W of heat must be expelled from the system while operating for at least one hour. The storage of the hardware must be optimized from previous project iterations so that excess space is limited, and the pack fits comfortably on the user without exceeding 15 pounds. As for controls, the vest must be easily operable with an on/off switch.
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