HEATED MANNEQUINS AS A TOOL FOR EVALUATING CLOTHING

More than 50 manikins are in use world-wide. They represent various le vels of development in terms of technique and performance. The more so phisticated are articulated manikins able to assume different postures and body movements. They are electrically heated and divided into sev eral (up to 36) individually controlled segments. A few may even allow for controlled sweating and water immersion. The continuing and growi ng interest in manikins is based on the fact that they: represent a re alistic and objective method for assessment of clothing thermal functi on; comprise a quick, accurate and reproducible method for measurement of thermal insulation; are cost-effective instruments for comparative measurements and for produce development; and provide input values fo r thermal modelling and prediction of safe and comfortable working con ditions. It must be borne in mind, however, that manikin data at best only represent the performance of clothing under specified test condit ions. Size, fit, posture, type and intensity of work movements, wind, wetting and other factors influence clothing heat transfer in such a w ay that the resulting insulation provided by an ensemble during real c onditions may be much lower than the measured standard value. Walking movements alone may reduce insulation by 20-30% The manikin value does not account for individual variation in terms of requirement and pref erences. Therefore, manikin measurements rely extensively on experienc e and knowledge derived from human experiments and should be regarded as complementary to, rather than a replacement for, practical testing.