MOSCOW, 19 Apr. DSTU researchers have proposed the concept of a smart heated jacket that can be transformed into a sleeping bag. The developed clothing model works on the principle of hypothermia prevention. It warms certain areas of the body even before a person feels discomfort, the press service of the university reported.
The thermal state of a person is regulated by many external and internal factors. The person himself can not always track the change in temperature of individual parts of the body. Therefore, sometimes it does not take all the necessary measures in order to protect itself from hypothermia, scientists of the Don State Technical University (DSTU) explained. data-url=»https://ria.ru/20230220/izobretenie-1853052217.html» data-title='Russian scientists have created a «smart» fabric resistant to fire and water'>< br />Today, there are clothes on the market with heating, which can be turned on or off manually by a person according to the sensations. But it has drawbacks and limitations in use.
«A person intuitively tries to 'not freeze' as a whole, often creating excessive thermal insulation where it is not biologically required. Other parts of the body may not be adequately protected. Heated clothing supplies heat to the entire underwear space. This disrupts the thermoregulation system,» said the graduate student. department of engineering, technology and design ISOiP, branch of DSTU in the city of Shakhty Maria Stenkina.
In addition, according to the researchers, the functionality of such clothing requires constant monitoring and is not currently used in all possible cases, for example, in a dream. for many parameters: physical indicators of clothing materials, air around and under clothing, as well as human activity.
The researchers used a mathematical model to analyze the data they received. The algorithm makes it possible to predict a further change in a person's temperature regime even before he feels it, experts note.
If information is received that somewhere the temperature may drop to a dangerous value, the smart jacket heats this zone using built-in elements . Moreover, the heat supply is provided in sufficient, but not in excess, which allows saving the heating resource. ://ria.ru/20220317/misis-1778251903.html» data->
«Our main result is that human thermal protection has acquired «mobility» — the ability to choose the right place and the efficiency of heat supply of the product depending on the situation. And also save biological and artificial energy resources at the same time,» said the professor of the department «Design, technology and design » ISOiP DSTU Irina Cherunova.
If a person in dangerous weather or production conditions needs rest, then the jacket can be transformed into a sleeping bag. And the smart heating system will automatically adjust to provide the amount of heat needed by a sleeping person, the researchers noted.
«We believe that our development can be useful for both Arctic explorers and tourists traveling to places with a cold climate.» , — explained Irina Cherunova.
According to her, in a smart jacket, a person can continuously stay in the cold for 20% longer than prescribed in the norms of the mode of operation in a cold climate. For example, at a temperature of -20°C, taking into account a slight wind (about 1.3 m/s), in the case of low physical activity, a person in new clothes can safely work continuously in the cold for up to four hours, instead of the recommended 3.4 hours.
The price of a finished garment depends on many conditions: materials for the top of the jacket, the volume of the batch being made, and so on.
«At the current stage, we only made preliminary estimates of the expected cost, based on of the existing market offers, in comparison with which various versions of our product are competitive in price,» said Cherunova.
She added that negotiations are underway with industrial partners on the introduction of a model of a smart jacket — a sleeping bag in industrial production.
Don State Technical University is a participant of the «Priority-2030» program.