Testing of Hot-water and Steam Protective Performance Properties of Fabrics

This chapter discusses the testing and characterization of hot water and steam protective performance of clothing that is regularly worn by high-risk sector workers, namely firefighters, defense personnel, oil and gas industry workers, and cooks/chefs. In the introductory section of this chapter, the hazardous working environments faced by these workers are briefly highlighted in order to better understand the importance of testing and characterizing the hot water and steam protective performance of their clothing. Thereafter, various standardized or customized bench-scale tests aimed at evaluating the hot water and steam protective performance of the fabrics used in the clothing are introduced. The evaluation of the hot water and steam protective performance of whole garments using full-scale instrumented manikin tests is also described. In the last few years, with these bench-scale and full-scale tests, researchers have studied the hot water and steam protective performance of different types of fabrics and garments. In this chapter, these studies are briefly reviewed for characterizing the different factors that affect the hot water and steam protective performance of the fabrics or clothing. In general, it has been identified that these factors are mainly related to the fabric properties (e.g., thickness and air permeability), garment design (e.g., fit and style), and characteristics of the hot water or steam exposure (e.g., temperature, pressure). Finally, this chapter is concluded by highlighting some key issues related to the hot water and steam protective performance of the clothing. These issues are mainly related to the existing test methods and/or fabric materials used in the clothing. In the future, these issues need to be resolved in order to develop high performance hot water and steam protective clothing. This development could provide the better occupational health and safety for firefighters, defense personnel, industrial workers, and/or cooks/chefs.