14.raimundo Portugal

7th International Thermal Manikin and Modelling Meeting - University of Coimbra, September 2008
THERMOPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE OF HUMAN BEINGS WORKING IN

COLD THERMAL ENVIRONMENTS
A. M. Raimundo1, A. V. M. Oliveira2, A. R. Gaspar1 and D. A. Quintela1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra, Rua Lus Reis Santos, Plo II
3030 - 788 Coimbra, email: antonio.raimundo@dem.uc.pt Portugal, http://www.dem.uc.pt
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Rua Pedro Nunes,
Quinta da Nora, 3030-199 Coimbra, Portugal, http://www.isec.pt
Summary: In this work, the simulation of heat and mass transfer from an individual working in cold thermal
environments such as those frequently occurring in the Portuguese cold industrial activities is presented. Three
different typical cold conditions were selected corresponding to freezing chambers, refrigerating cold stores and
cool controlled air temperature manufacturing workplaces.
To obtain the present results a numerical procedure based on a modified version of the Stolwijk
thermoregulation model was used. Taking into account the temporal evolution of skin, rectal, lungs and
hypothalamus temperatures, a study was presented where it is analyzed the thermophysiological difference
between a human being working indoors in three cold spaces. For each kind of cold space two or three different
situations were selected: (i) the real situation, with the individual wearing inappropriate clothing insulation,
associated to longer exposition times and shorter recovering periods than the recommended values; (ii) one ideal
scenario, with the human being wearing proper clothing for the real exposure and recover times; (iii) another ideal
case, with the worker following the times of exposure and of recover recommend for the real clothing insulation
that he wears.
The results clearly show that, for the low temperatures characteristic of the freezing chambers associated with
deficient clothing insulation, prolonged exposures and insufficient recovering periods, the physiological strain of
human beings working on those conditions is amplified when compared to the ideal situations above described.
For the other two cases, refrigerating cold stores and manufacturing workplaces, the most frequent scenario is
characterized by the use of ensembles with an insulation value greater than the recommended. In short, deep
changes in the protection clothing used are required, particularly when a long time is needed to complete the work
tasks.
Keywords: human thermoregulation model, cold stress, cold working places, clothing insulation
Category: Case studies, Human thermal physiology and mathematical models
1. Introduction
The hazards of cold stress include health effects,
physiological adjustments, psychological responses and
behavioural reactions that have to be considered. ISO
12894 [1] addresses these matters and summarizes the
main illnesses that can arise from changes in body heat
storage. Particular attention is given to the effects of the
general hypothermia, to the local cold injuries and to
other health effects related to cold conditions, namely to
the cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic
physiological responses. Thus, the activities developed in
the cold have to be evaluated in multiple perspectives.
Cold stress is related with the increase of heat need to
maintain the body in thermal equilibrium. The most
common indices used to characterize cold stress level
are the Wind Chill index [2] and the required clothing
insulation, known as IREQ index [3, 4]. On the one hand,
since the Wind Chill index is more appropriated to predict
thermal discomfort outdoors, it is not recommended for
the present study. On the other hand, the IREQ index
has been widely used in indoors cold environments
evaluations. It is based on the global human body heat
balance in terms of the environmental conditions (air and
mean radiant temperature, air velocity and humidity), the

protection provided by clothing (thermal insulation and
vapour permeability) and the person activity (metabolic
rate). However, as stated by Holmr [5], cold stress
should be evaluated not only in terms of whole body
cooling, but also on local cooling (extremity, respiratory,
convective and conductive skin cooling). As recognized
in ISO 11399 [6] and by Gavhed and Holmr [7],
Griefahn [8] and so on, the IREQ index is not sufficient to
a complete characterization of cold stress and must be
complemented with other methods of analysis, namely
field studies and the use of thermoregulation models.
Different research studies have been developed in
order to characterise the actual indoor working conditions
through field measurements. The research activities
carried out in Japan (Tochiara [9], Kim et al. [10]), in
Denmark (Nielsen [11]), and in Portugal (Oliveira et al.
[12]) can be referred as examples of this approach.
The thermophysiological models are widely used in the
study of thermal comfort under moderate thermal
environments. Its application to the analysis of cold
stress is only attempted by a few authors. Xu and Werner
[13] achieved good compatibility between their 6
segments thermoregulation model and experimental
results for the interaction between the human body,

clothing and cold environments. Huizenga et al. [14]
validated their 16 segments thermoregulation model
comparing the simulated results with a number of
physiological studies reported by other researchers,
namely with the experimental human body temperatures
obtained by Raven and Horvath [15] for a transient cold
exposure on eleven male. The experimental results of
Raven and Horvath [15] were also used by Fiala et al.
[16] to validate their 15 segments thermoregulation
model. In order to improve its capabilities of predicting
human thermophysiological responses to cold air, this
model has been recently updated by Lichtenbelt et al.
[17] through the incorporation of individualised person
characteristics. A 16 segments thermoregulation model
has been used by Yokoyama et al. [18] for evaluating the
human adaptability to outside coastal area activities in
the winter season. A slightly good agreement between
the calculated and the measured one was reported.
However, none of the preceding numerical studies is
dedicated to the thermophysiological response of the
human being while working in cold thermal environments
such as those frequently occurring inside freezing
chambers, refrigerating cold stores or low temperature
manufacturing workplaces.
The main objective of this work is the evaluation of the
real cold thermal stress supported by individuals working
in Portuguese cold industry and the achievement of
useful guidelines for improvements in terms of protecting
clothing and of times of exposure and recovering. The
transient evolutions of skin, rectal, intestine,
hypothalamus and lungs temperatures reached by the
human body under real circumstances are compared with
situations where the recommended clothing or exposure
and recovering times are considered. The
thermophysiological response of men is obtained with a
numerical procedure based on the Stolwijk [19]
thermoregulation model, improved with recent knowledge
founded in the literature. This enhanced 89-node model
considers the human body divided in 22 segments
(Raimundo and Figueiredo [20]).
2. Cold industrial workplaces

The measurements include 32 industrial units,
corresponding to 79 different working indoors cold
spaces, from 6 activity sectors (fish, meat, milk food
production, food conservation, food distribution and
pharmaceutical distribution). These work environments
were allocated to three typical exposure categories
corresponding to 18 freezing chambers, 31 refrigerating
cold stores and 30 controlled air temperature
manufacturing workplaces. The number of people
exposed to cold thermal environments in the 32 industrial
units was 1151. The field measurements shown here is a
selection from the results of Oliveira et al. [12], where
they are revealed in a more detailed form.
After an appropriate stabilization period, the
measurement of the physical parameters was done
simultaneously during a 1 h evaluation and was carried
out according to ISO 7726 [21]. The field evaluations

were performed with mobile and portable apparatus that
incorporates three arrays of sensors, placed at 0.1, 1.1
and 1.7 m above the floor. These levels correspond to
the ankles, abdomen and head heights for a standing
worker. The physical parameters recorded are the air
temperature (Ta), mean radiant temperature (Tmr), relative
humidity (RH) and air velocity (va ).
The worker activity level (M) was estimated according
to ISO 8996 [22], using the methods of level II of
accuracy. The standard procedure consisted of adding
the metabolic rates corresponding to the posture, the
type of work, the body motion related to the work speed
and the basal metabolic rate, for each single activity.
Whenever we got permission from the workers, the
metabolic rate estimation was based on heart rate
measurements. Good agreement between both
estimation methodologies was achieved.
The intrinsic thermal insulation of the ensemble (Icl)
was calculated following ISO 9920 [23] by adding the
values corresponding to each garment. For this purpose,
a questionnaire with a set of figures representing different
types of garments was used and the workers were asked
to identify the garments worn. To assess possible
inaccuracies, the thermal insulation of cold protective
clothing was measured with a thermal manikin in a
climate chamber (Oliveira et al. [24]). The results show
that the estimated values for 21 typical indoor garments
were usually overestimated, but with no significant
differences.
The field measured parameters for the three cold
spaces considered are summed up in Table 1, where the
average and corresponding standard deviation of air
temperature (Ta , STa), mean radiant temperature (Tmr ,
STmr), relative humidity (RH, SRH) and air velocity (va ,
Sva) is shown. Workers average and standard deviation
of the estimated values for the metabolic rate (M, SM),
clothing thermal insulation (Icl , SIcl), chronometer times of
exposure to cold (ET, SET) and recovery in warm (RT,
SRT) are presented in Table 2.
As it might be expected, the results for M show that
higher physical activities are generally found in the
freezing chambers and the highest values occur in the
meat industry. The clothing insulation seems to be much
more related to the air temperature, with the highest
values obtained in the freezing chambers, where the
global Icl vary from 1.18 to 1.80 clo.
As stated in Oliveira et al. [12], a significant
percentage of freezing chambers workers are repeatedly
exposed to extreme conditions with insufficient clothing
insulation. In the majority of situations, the workers
clothing ensemble does not provide the minimum
required insulation, i.e. Icl IREQmin. Surprisingly, for the
other two cases of work in a cold environment
(refrigerating cold stores and manufacturing workplaces),
the most frequent scenario is characterized by the use of
ensembles with an insulation value greater than the
recommended (Icl IREQneutral). Therefore, further
attention must be given to these issues in order to
carefully adapt the choice of clothing according to the

work environment, times of exposure and person activity.
Table 1. Measured physical characteristics of the three working indoors colds spaces.
Ta
STa
Tmr
STmr
RH
SRH
va
Sva
Work environment
m/s
m/s
Freezing chambers
-19.3
1.5
-22.8
2.9
86
12
0.53
0.23
Refrigerating cold stores
4.5
2.1
2.4
2.2
85
0.29
0.31
Manufacturing workplaces
11.4
2.0
10.6
2.4
75
14
0.31
0.24
Table 2. Workers values for the three working indoors colds spaces.
M
SM
Icl
SIcl
ET
SET
RT
SRT
Work environment
met
met
clo
clo
Freezing chambers
2.84
0.38
1.57
0.26
0.70
0.51
0.22
0.09
2.64
0.32
1.24
0.23
0.88
1.02
Manufacturing workplaces
2.73
0.47
1.12
0.15
4.00
3. Human thermoregulation model

The thermoregulatory system of humans responds to
their environment dynamically, maintaining the body core
temperature within a narrow range. The understanding of
its principles and the development of mathematical
models for its representation has begun 50 years ago.
During this time various multisegmental thermoregulation
models for live human body have been appeared. The
most extensively used model was created by Stolwijk [19]
and has been improved, refined and further developed by
other authors, e.g. Konz et al. [25], Wissler [26],
Huizenga et al. [14], Tanabe et al. [27]. Many of these
modified models have been validated against
experimental results and are good research tools for the
simulation of human body response to different thermal
environments.
To obtain the results presented in this study, a
computer program implemented by the authors [20] is
used for the simulation of heat and mass transfer and
thermophysiological response of a man working indoors
the colds spaces under analysis. The program is
composed by six modules, for the calculation of: (i) man
thermophysiological response, (ii) heat and water
transport through the clothing, (iii) heat (by conduction,
convection and radiation) and mass exchange between
the external surface of clothing (or skin) and the
environment and surroundings, (iv) thermal comfort
analysis and quantification, (v) start and evolution of skin
injuries (pain and burn) and (vi) detection of specific
incidents within the man. Due to its interdependency, all
modules are run iteratively in each time step until a
specific convergence criterion is reached. Also, the
Not
recorded
iterative process is convergent only if the time step is

small enough to assure stabilization.
The module for simulation of man thermophysiological
response is based on the Stolwijk [19] thermoregulation
model, improved with recent knowledge founded in the
literature. This enhanced 89-node model considers the
human body divided in 22 segments (face, scalp, neck,
chest, abdomen, upper back, lower back, pelvis, left
shoulder, right shoulder, left arm, right arm, left forearm,
right forearm, left hand, right hand, left thigh, right thigh,
left leg, right leg, left foot and right foot). Each body
segment is composed of 4 layers (core, muscle, fat and
skin) and the 89th node is the central blood
compartment. The model was implemented for an
average man with 74.43 kg of body weight, 1.72 m of
height and 14 % of body fat (1.869 m2 of skin). For an
individual with other anthropometric data, the
appropriated coefficients are proportionally changed in
function of its body weight and skin area. The temporal
evolution of temperature (T ) in each node i of the human
body (except blood) is obtained by the following general
equation:
mi cpi
Ti 88
= Q j,i + MBi +Wii Wei +
t j =1
+ Shi Bi Respi Perspi Swi Cond1i
Cond 2i Convi Rad1i Rad 2i
where mi and cpi are the mass and specific heat of the
node, respectively. The term Qj,i represents the heat
transferred through the tissues within individual segments
by conduction. The rate of heat production is expressed
by the result of the basal metabolism (MBi), the internal
work (Wii), the external work or motion (Wei) and the

shivering (Shi), with the heat production by work and
shivering occurring only in the muscle layer. The
exchange of heat between all local layers and the central
blood compartment via blood circulation is taken into
account by term Bi. The loss of heat by respiration
(Respi) is compounded by a sensible and a latent part
and is supposed to occur only at the core of chest
segment (lungs). The evaporative heat loss at skin
surface has two components, perspiration (Perspi) and
sweating (Swi), both functions of clothing properties, man
thermal status, ambient water vapour pressure and
evaporative transfer characteristics at clothing external
surface (or skin for a naked segment). At the skin layer
surface, heat is lost by conduction to clothing (Cond1i)
and by direct contact of naked parts with external
surfaces (Cond2i). Also for naked skin layers, the transfer
of heat can occur by convection with the ambient air
(Convi), by infra-red radiation with known temperature
surroundings (Rad1i) and by a radiation flux from a
specific source (Rad2i). For clothed skin body parts, the
components Cond2i, Convi, Rad1i and Rad2i are not
accounted at skin layer but at external surface of the
corresponding exterior clothing. The heat balance on the
central blood compartment is
88
T
mb cpb b =
Bi
t i = 1
where mb and cpb are the mass and specific heat of
human body blood, respectively. The modelling of blood
flow heat transfer with each node takes into account the
blood flow rate, the counter-current heat exchange
between arteries and vanes, the vasodilatation and the
vasoconstriction in this layer. The controlling system
receives the instantaneous values of temperature and
temperature change rate on all layers. The person overall
thermal status is evaluated by the appropriate integration
of these warm and cold signals. The control system
translates this information into commands. These orders
are distributed to the appropriate layers where they are
used for local modulation of each internal component
presented in the equations. More detailed information
about Stolwijk base models can be obtained in the
previous referred bibliography.
The simulation of heat and water transport through
clothing is a very complicated task due to the complex
phenomena involved (e.g. Ghenaim et al. [28], Bouskill et
al. [29], Yi et al. [30]). In the present state, they are
accounted using the simplified model described in
Havenith et al. [31] and ISO 9920 [23]. This model is
based on local values for the specific human body
segment of skin area (Ask), of local clothing insulation (Icl)
and vapours permeation efficiency (ivp), of saturate
vapour pressure on the skin surface, of temperature on
skin (Tsk) and on external surface of clothing (Tcl) and of
ambient air temperature (Ta), velocity (va) and relative
humidity (RH). As stated in ISO/TR 11079 [4], Holmr et
al. [32], Havenith and Nilsson [33], Oliveira et al. [24],
between others, the ventilation of the clothing system due
to the human motion decreases clothing insulation
effectiveness and this effect must be taken into account.

In order to consider the diminution of insulation due to
body movements, the Icl value at each human body
segment is multiplied by a particular reduction factor ficl,
related with the activity level M by a simplified relation.
The convective and radiative heat fluxes calculation is
done by automatic process. The convective heat transfer
phenomena is simulated using empirical relations derived
from thermal manikin experiments by Quintela et al. [34]
for natural convection and from Havenith et al. [31] and
ISO 7730 [35] for forced convection. The effective
radiation areas and Gebhart absorption factors, needed
for the calculus of radiation components on each human
body segment, are determined automatically by the
program by approximated relations. These relations were
previous established using a radiation program
implemented by Raimundo et al. [36] and are valid for
man standing, sitting, lying with chest up and lying with
chest down postures.
The module for prediction of thermal comfort is based
on the standard ISO 7730 [35], probably the most widely
used norm for the quantification of the human thermal
sensation for moderate thermal environments. However,
the thermal environment on the working indoors cold
spaces is far from the validity of the norm ISO 7730
(moderate thermal conditions). Then, this analysis is not
valid for evaluating the thermal comfort (or discomfort) of
persons working under this conditions. Also, the modules
for the simulation of the start and evolution of skin injuries
(pain and burn) and for the detection of specific incidents
within the man are not needed for the present study.
In order to achieve confidence in the predictive abilities
of the program and its physical and mathematical
algorithms, a wide-range of validation work has been
done. The extensive conditions tested included different
types of environments (cold, cool, neutral, warm and hot),
of exposures (uniform and sudden change of conditions),
of exercise intensities (0.8 to 4 met) and of worn clothing.
The experimental results used for validation include core
temperatures (tympanic, esophageal, intestinal and
rectal), average and local skin temperatures (head, trunk,
arm, hand, leg, foot, etc.) and mean body temperature as
well as metabolic heat production and evaporative heat
loss. The accurate predictions of the program during the
validation tests are an excellent indication of its capacity
to reproduce human body thermoregulatory responses
over the range of climatic conditions investigated.
Unfortunately, on the extensive literature checked, the
experimental data found related to physiological
responses of human beings working on cold
environments is not adequately detailed for validation of
the program. Nevertheless, two model/experimental
comparisons are provided in Figures 1 and 2, where cold
environment conditions are included.
The comparisons between measured values for rectal,
tympanic and skin average temperatures and predicted
data for rectal, hypothalamus and skin average
temperatures are shown in Figure 1. The experimental
data represent averages for semi-nude, seated
situation; one ideal scenario, with the human being

wearing proper clothing for the real exposure and recover
times; and other ideal case, with the worker following the
times of exposure and of recover recommend for the real
clothing insulation that it wears.
individuals after 1 hour exposure to a range of

environment temperatures between 5 and 50 C, were
obtained for 44 persons by Wyndham et al. [37] and for
86 individuals by Werner and Reents [38]. A reasonable
agreement is shown.
180
40
Rectal
38
160
100
32
Skin average
30
80
28
60
26
40
24
20
22
Arms
Finger
Toe
Chest
Arms
Hands
Feet
Rectal
34
Temperature (C)
120
Metabolism (W/m2 )
Temperature (C)
Tympanic / Hypothalamus
34
Chest
Forehead
39
140
36
Forehead
29
Skin average
24
19
14
10
20
30
40
50
Air and radiant temperature (C)
30
60
90
120
Time (min)
Fig. 1. Comparison of measured (points) and predicted (lines)

values for rectal, tympanic (exp.) / hypothalamus (calc.) and
skin average temperatures and metabolism heat production, for
1 hour exposure with Ta = Tmr, va = 0.2 m/s, RH = 50 %, Icl = 0.1
clo and M = 0.8 met.
Fig. 2. Comparison of measured (points) and predicted (lines)

values for rectal, skin average and skin segments
temperatures, for sudden ambient temperature changes from a
warm environment (Ta = Tmr = 28.5 C, RH = 45%) to a cold
environment (Ta = Tmr = 4.7 C, RH = 70%), with va = 0.1 m/s,
Icl = 0.1 clo and M = 0.8 met.
In order to check the capabilities of the program for

simulation of sudden alterations on environment
conditions, a large range of comparisons were made for
abrupt changes from hot to cold and from cold to hot. As
an example, in Figure 2 shows a comparison between
some of the measured and predicted values
representative of the human thermo-physiological
response to a rapid change from a warm environment to
a cold environment, in still air. The experimental data was
obtained for 11 male by Raven and Horvath [39] and for
8 male by Savourey and Bittel [40]. The subjects wore
only shorts and rested in a supine position on a nylonstrip bed that was wheeled from one chamber to another.
The slightly good agreement achieved indicates an
interesting capacity of the program to predict the thermophysiological reaction of human body in dynamic
conditions.
Freezing chambers
The freezing chambers are characterised by the following
average values for Ta = - 19.3 C, Tmr = -22.8 C, RH =
86 % and va = 0.53 m/s. The thermal characteristics of
the workers recovering space are Ta = + 22.1 C,
Tmr = + 19.9 C, RH = 60 % and va = 0.49 m/s. The
physical and physiological parameters related with the
worker are shown in Table 3 for the three different
situations.
In Figures 3, 4 and 5, the temporal evolution of human
body temperatures for the three different
thermophysiological conditions detailed in Table 3 is
represented. In Figures a) temperatures on lungs,
rectum, intestine and hypothalamus are shown and in
Figures b) average skin temperatures for all body, of
head, of central body, of upper members and of lower
members are revealed. Starting from thermal neutrality,
the exposure to cold begins at instant zero in time axis
4. Results and discussion

Three different typical working in cold spaces were
selected corresponding to (i) freezing chambers, (ii)
refrigerating cold stores and (iii) cool controlled air
temperature manufacturing workplaces. For each of
them, three different cases are analyzed: the real
Table 3. Parameters for three different possibilities of working in a freezing chamber.

Freezing chamber
Case under analysis

1- Real situation
2- Proper clothing
3- Recommend times
Exposure
M
met
2.84
2.84
2.84
Icl
clo
1.57
1.99
1.57
Recover
ET
h
0.70
0.70
0.25
M
met
1.60
1.60
1.60
Icl
clo
1.18
1.18
1.18
RT
h
0.22
0.22
0.25
150
39
Temperature (C)
Intestine
Hypothalamus
Rectal
38
37
36
35
Average skin temperature (C)
40
Lungs
Head
Upper members
Central body
Lower members
Skin avrg
36
32
28
24
20
34
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
a)
3.0
3.5
-0.5
4.0
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
b)
Time (h)
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Time (h)
Fig 3. Human body temperatures obtained for the real situation of a man working in a freezing chamber:
a) core temperatures; b) average skin temperatures.
39
Temperature (C)
Intestine
Hypothalamus
Rectal
38
37
36
35
40
Lungs
34
Head
Upper members
Central body
Lower members
Skin avrg
36
32
28
24
20
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
a)
3.0
3.5
4.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
b)
Time (h)
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Time (h)
Fig 4. Human body temperatures obtained for the situation of a man working in a freezing chamber wearing proper clothing:
39
Temperature (C)
Intestine
Hypothalamus
Rectal
38
37
36
35
40
Lungs
34
a)
Head
Upper members
Central body
Lower members
Skin avrg
36
32
28
24
20
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Time (h)
3.5
4.0
-0.5
b)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
Time (h)
Fig 5. Man working in a freezing chamber following the times of exposure and of recover recommend for the real clothing
insulation that it wears: a) core temperatures; b) average skin temperatures.
4.0

the exposure to cold begins at instant zero in time axis
Comparing the real present situation of working in a
refrigerating cold store (Fig. 6) with the previous one of
working in a freezing chamber (Fig. 3), a clear distinction
can be pointed out. Now, the workers wear ensembles
with insulation higher than the required value,
representing a certain risk of hyperthermia with
progressive exposure. As can be see in Figure 6, the
existence of recovering periods is not important and, if
the assumed conditions were used, they increase the
excess of heat stored on the human body.
The results shown in Figure 7 are for the case of the
worker wearing a lighter suit than in real situation
presented in Fig. 6. It is evident that instead of wearing
an ensemble with a global insulation Icl = 1.24 clo, it is
recommended the use of clothing insulation with an Icl
value around 1 clo or less. The effect of the decrease of
clothing insulation has a greater influence on the core
temperatures, namely on lungs, than on the skin
temperatures. However, this fact doesnt warrant an
improvement of thermal comfort.
In comparison with the real situation (Fig. 3), the

wearing of more proper clothing thermal insulation (Fig.
4) avoids the decrease of body temperatures too far
away from the thermal neutrality. Alternatively, as it can
be seen on Fig. 5, for a situation with insufficient clothing
insulation, it is also possible to avoid the human body
cooling if shorter times of exposure at the cold
environment and greater times of recovering in a warm
environment are adopted.
As far as the core temperatures are concerned, the
rectal temperature has always the greatest value and the
lungs the shortest. Also, in contrast with rectal, the lungs
temperature presents a strong sensibility to the
environment temperature. This fact is related to the
intake of air by respiration. The head and central body
skin temperatures are always above of average skin
temperature and the upper and lower members skin
temperature are below.
The situation with proper clothing thermal insulation
ensures a more uniform temperature range between
different human body parts. Also, it addresses the
temperature values closer to thermal neutrality. These
facts suggest that this is the recommended situation.
However, protective clothing with insulating values above
2 clo restricts worker movements, therefore not practical.
Cool manufacturing workplaces

The cool controlled air temperature manufacturing
workplaces are characterised by the following average
values for Ta = + 11.4 C, Tmr = + 10.6 C, RH = 75 %
and va = 0.31 m/s. In the field measurements no
recovering periods were reported. The results presented
next in this work demonstrate that they are not needed.
The physical and physiological parameters related with
the worker are shown in Table 5 for the two different
situations under analysis.
In Figures 8 and 9, the temporal evolution of human
the exposure to cold begins at instant zero in time axis.

The refrigerating cold stores analysed are characterised
by the following average values for Ta = 4.5 C, Tmr = 2.4
C, RH = 85 % and va = 0.29 m/s. The recovering period
was not recorded. But, as it can be seen later, its
existence is not important. Consequently, its duration is
supposed to be 0.12 h and the thermal characteristics of
the recovering space are assumed equal as for the
previous case: Ta = 22.1 C, Tmr = 19.9 C, RH = 60 %
and va = 0.49 m/s. The physical and physiological
parameters related with the worker are shown in Table 4
for the two different situations of interest.
In Figures 6 and 7, the temporal evolution of human
Table 4. Parameters for two different possibilities of working in a refrigerating cold store.
Cold stores
Case under analysis

1- Real situation
2- Proper clothing
Exposure
M
met
2.64
2.64
Icl
clo
1.24
1.01
Recover
ET
h
0.88
4.0
M
met
1.60
-
Icl
clo
0.99
-
RT
h
0.12
-
39
40
Intestine
Hypothalamus
Rectal
Temperature (C)
Lungs
38
37
36
35
34
Upper members
Central body
Lower members
Skin avrg
36
32
28
24
20
-0.5
a)
Head
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
b)
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Time (h)
Time (h)
Fig 6. Human body temperatures obtained for the real situation of a man working in a refrigerating cold store:
39
40
Intestine
Hypothalamus
Rectal
Temperature (C)
Lungs
38
37
36
35
34
Head
Upper members
Central body
Lower members
Skin avrg
36
32
28
24
20
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
a)
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
b)
Time (h)
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Time (h)
Fig 7. Human body temperatures obtained for the situation of a man working in a refrigerating cold store wearing proper clothing:
0.83 clo or even less is evident. The decrease of clothing

insulation is essentially reflected on core temperatures,
with only a small influence in skin temperatures. It is also
of notice the existence of an initial period of time, around
1 h for the real situation and 1.5 h for the use of proper
clothing, with a notorious decrease of temperature in all
human body parts and layers.
As reported in Fig. 8, the real situation of working in a

cool manufacturing workplace is characterized by the
wearing of ensembles with insulation higher than the
required value, representing an effective risk of
hyperthermia, namely for long exposures. Comparing to
the real situation, where the worker wears an ensemble
with a global insulation Icl = 1.12 clo (Fig. 8), with the
more appropriate case shown in Fig. 9, the advantage of
the use of clothes with global insulation values around
Table 5. Parameters for two different possibilities of working in cool manufacturing workplaces.
Cool manufacturing workplaces
Case under analysis

1- Real situation
2- Proper clothing
Exposure
Recover
Icl
ET
Icl
RT
met
2.73
2.73
clo
1.12
0.83
h
4.0
4.0
met
-
clo
-
h
-
39
Temperature (C)
Intestine
Hypothalamus
Rectal
38
37
36
35
40
Lungs
34
Head
Upper members
Central body
Lower members
Skin avrg
36
32
28
24
20
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
a)
3.0
3.5
4.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
b)
Time (h)
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Time (h)
Fig 8. Human body temperatures obtained for the real situation of a man working in cool manufacturing workplaces:
39
Temperature (C)
Intestine
Hypothalamus
Rectal
38
37
36
35
40
Lungs
Head
Upper members
Central body
Lower members
Skin avrg
36
32
28
24
20
34
-0.5
0.0
0.5
a)
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Time (h)
-0.5
b)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Time (h)
Fig 9. Human body temperatures obtained for the situation of a man working in a cool manufacturing workplaces wearing proper
clothing: a) core temperatures; b) average skin temperatures.
5. Conclusions
The results presented in this work demonstrate that a
significant percentage of the people working in indoors
cold environments are repeatedly exposed to extreme
conditions with insufficient clothing insulation (freezing
chambers) or wear clothing with insulation values above
the recommended ones (refrigerating cold stores and
cool controlled air temperature manufacturing
workplaces). The freezing chambers represent the most
severe case, where the environment low temperatures
associated with prolonged exposures and insufficient
clothing insulation can promote cold thermal stress.
Though less severe, in the other two cases the opposite
situation occurs, since the used clothing ensemble
provides more insulation than it is required. From a global
point of view, it is clear that the clothing ensembles worn
by the people working in these cold environments are
inadequate.
With the use of a mathematical multi-node
thermoregulation model, it is suggested the use of
clothing with more appropriate thermal insulation values.
Namely, for working in cool controlled air temperature

manufacturing workplaces a global clothing insulation Icl
0.8 clo is recommended, instead of Icl = 1.12 clo. For
the workers of the refrigerating cold stores a value of
Icl 1 clo is preferable, in place of Icl = 1.24 clo. Finally,
for working in freezing chambers an ensemble with Icl 2
clo is suggested, instead of Icl = 1.57 clo. Alternatively, if
for a particular task clothes with Icl 2 clo are to much
restrictive of worker movements, it is possible to maintain
the use of ensembles with Icl = 1.57 clo if the exposure
times are reduced from 0.7 h to around 0.25 h and the
recovered times are kept on 0.22 h or slightly increased
to 0.25 h.
As a final remark, the cold thermal stress of humans
working in indoors cold environments cant be completely
characterized using mathematical thermoregulation
models. Methodologies focused on subjective analysis
should be also considered. Thus, the work here
presented must be complemented with field evaluations,
based on workers response to appropriate
questionnaires.
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7th International Thermal Manikin and Modelling Meeting - University of Coimbra, September 2008

THERMOPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE OF HUMAN BEINGS WORKING IN

mean radiant temperature, air velocity and humidity), the

results for the interaction between the human body,

2. Cold industrial workplaces

out according to ISO 7726 [21]. The field evaluations

carefully adapt the choice of clothing according to the

Refrigerating cold stores

Refrigerating cold stores

3. Human thermoregulation model

iterative process is convergent only if the time step is

work (Wii), the external work or motion (Wei) and the

effectiveness and this effect must be taken into account.

situation; one ideal scenario, with the human being

individuals after 1 hour exposure to a range of

Air and radiant temperature (C)

Fig. 1. Comparison of measured (points) and predicted (lines)

Fig. 2. Comparison of measured (points) and predicted (lines)

In order to check the capabilities of the program for

4. Results and discussion

Table 3. Parameters for three different possibilities of working in a freezing chamber.

Case under analysis

Average skin temperature (C)

Average skin temperature (C)

Average skin temperature (C)

head, of central body, of upper members and of lower

In comparison with the real situation (Fig. 3), the

Cool manufacturing workplaces

Refrigerating cold stores

Case under analysis

Average skin temperature (C)

Average skin temperature (C)

0.83 clo or even less is evident. The decrease of clothing

As reported in Fig. 8, the real situation of working in a

Case under analysis

Average skin temperature (C)

Average skin temperature (C)

Namely, for working in cool controlled air temperature

thermal environments, Building and Environment, 36, pp.

[27] Tanabe S, Kobayashi K, Nakano J, Ozeki Y, Konishi

[34] Quintela DA, Gaspar AR, Borges C (2004). Analysis

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