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Assessment of Thermal Discomfort when Wearing Bicycle Helmets – A Modelling Framework

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Author

  • Peter Bröde
  • Jean-Marie Aerts
  • Guido De Bruyne
  • Tiago Sotto Mayor
  • Kalev Kuklane
  • Dusan Fiala

Editor

  • Dietmar Otte

Summary, in English

Excessive sweating is a major ergonomic concern in bicycle helmet use and low wearing rates are suspected to originate, at least partly, from impaired thermal comfort due to accumulated sweat increasing skin wettedness at the head region. As a development from COST Action TU1101 WG4, we introduce a modelling framework for assessing the thermal comfort of bicy-cle helmet use. We predicted local sweat rate (LSR) at the head region as ratio to gross sweat rate (GSR) of the whole body and also based on sudomotor sensitivity (SUD), which relates the change in LSR to the change in body core temperature (ΔTre). We coupled those local models with models of thermoregulation predicting ΔTre and GSR, thus modelling head sweating in re-sponse to the characteristics of the thermal environment, clothing, level of activity, and expo-sure duration. We then validated the predictions of several local models (SUD, LSR/GSR) com-bined with different whole-body models against head sweat rates measured in the laboratory. Eventually, we developed thermal comfort criteria from head LSR by relating skin wettedness to the thermal properties of bicycle helmets. We discuss the potential of this approach as well as needs for further research.

Publishing year

2015

Language

English

Publication/Series

International Cycling Safety Conference 2015

Document type

Conference paper

Publisher

Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Germany

Topic

  • Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics
  • Physiology

Keywords

  • bicycle helmet human factors thermal Comfort sweating model

Conference name

4th International Cycling Safety Conference

Conference date

2015-09-15 - 2015-09-16

Conference place

Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Germany

Status

Published

Research group

  • Thermal Environment Laboratory