Measurement of the human body surface heat flux using a calorimetric sensor

Publication date: Available online 28 February 2019Source: Journal of Thermal BiologyAuthor(s): Pedro Jesús Rodríguez de Rivera, Miriam Rodríguez de Rivera, Fabiola Socorro, Manuel Rodriguez de RiveraAbstractWe have developed a calorimetric sensor that can perform a local measurement of the heat flux transmitted by conduction between the human body and a thermostat located inside the sensor. This sensor has a detection area of 2×2 cm2 and, in its current configuration, allows to measure with a resolution of 10 mW. In this work, measurements on two healthy male subjects of different ages (24 and 60 years old) are presented. We study the variation of the power dissipated by the human body surface as a function of the time for a thermostat temperature set at 28 °C. We also study this power varying the thermostat temperature (from 24 to 36 °C). Measurements are performed on three surface areas of the human body: sternum, abdomen and hand. Ambient room temperature in all measurements was of 22 to 24 °C and the subjects were seated and resting. The results show that the dissipation in the trunk is much more stable than in the hand, and that the heat flux from the sternum is greater than in other areas, being higher in the younger subject (42 mW/cm2) than in the older one (35 mW/cm2). It has also been defined a thermal parameter that represents a thermal resistance between the inside of the human body and the skin. The mean value of this paramete...

Source: Journal of Thermal Biology - March 1, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research