Cold Protective Gloves

COLD PROTECTIVE GLOVES
The environmental conditions are not same for people across the globe, varying from extreme cold regions to hot and humid regions. Protection of body from every kind of climate, keeping in view the comfort, is the top priority of wearer. Hands are the parts of human body that are in most contact with outside environment, performing a variety of activities. The performance of hand is greatly affected by the cold environment, which can cause frostbite and other cold related injuries. So, gloves are an essential element of personal protection in cold environments [1]. The use of gloves for cold protection is not a new approach. It ranges back to ancient times. The major requirements involved in hand protection against cold include thermal insulation, water and wind resistance, breathability, permeability to water vapour as well as the preservation of functional and sensorial performance. The use of thick insulating materials for thermal protection limits the freedom of movement of hand, which is crucial for maintaining performance. So the superimposing layers of insulating material are not always the best solution. Another difficulty is the need for selective and one-way transport properties for water and air; the entry of outside water, cold air and wind must be b locked while allowing sweat and eventual internal overheated air to escape. Indeed, the achievement of both thermal protection and preservation of sufficient functionality and comfort is the key for glove acceptance and use. The cold is often not the sole hazard. It can involve mechanical, chemical, water, wind, etc.
Thermal Physiology of Hands

It is quite difficult to specify the temperature of human hand, as it is exposed to external environment. The temperature of hands fluctuates and changes over a certain range. The temperature of a normal hand can change anywhere from 29C to 37 C. In summer, the temperature of the hand is likely to be warmer as blood vessels are nearer to the surface of the skin.
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Design and Materials for Cold Protective Gloves

Gloves cover each finger separately, offering freedom of movement. They have been shown to provide an increase in skin temperature when tested down to 4C compared to un-gloved hands tested at the same temperature. While mittens do not have separate finger compartments except for the thumb and limit the movement of fingers. The air circulation between the fingers makes mittens a warmer design than gloves. In terms of structure, gloves for cold protection are often multi-layered constructions. A thermal liner provides thermal insulation, combined with an outer layer ensuring protection against the other risks (mechanical or chemical). A membrane may be positioned between the thermal liner and the outer shell to provide water-proofness and breathability. Table 1 Thermal conductivity of various materials Thermal conductivity (W/m.K) Air Silk Wool Cotton Polypropylene Leather Polyamide (Nylon) Polytetrafluorreneethylene (PTFE) Polyethylene (Low density) 0.026 0.051 0.059 0.071 0.12 0.176 0.24 0.25 0.33
Conventional materials include cotton fleece, BOA fleece, polyester fibers, etc. But, the drawback of these materials is their bulkiness, which hampers dexterity. One solution is to reduce the diameter of fibers and increase their density. Nonwoven structures are developed from these fibers. Thinsulate is a nonwoven made of a blend of polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate. A further improvement was made by DuPont with the production of polyester
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hollow fibres trapping air inside their core. Finally, even if they seem to have found more applications in heat protection, aramid fibres like Kevlar do also present some interesting characteristics as insulation material against cold temperature.
Types of Cold Weather Protective Gloves

Some most commonly used gloves for protection against cold are [2]: Fleece-lined cotton gloves are used for moderate cold weather, consisting of two layers of quilted fleece inside a cotton shell, allowing plenty of free movement for hands. Leather fleece-lined drivers gloves are suitable for driving, warehouse work, utility work, etc. Leather offers more durability and protection than cotton. Deerskin gloves are perfect for wet, cold conditions. Insulated leather palm work gloves are tough, durable, warm gloves, made from heavy leather. The glove is ideal for outdoor winter work. Insulated nitrile-coated gloves offer protection against cold temperatures as well as potentially harmful substances. These gloves gave a thermal cotton lining and are dipped twice in nitrile butyl rubber. A rough finish is applied to provide the grip needed in slippery conditions. Insulated rubber-coated gloves have a knit wrist and an insulated rubber layer to keep hands warm and dry. They offer excellent protection for outdoor work in cold weather. Insulated PVC gloves with a thermal lining and a rough finish are perfect for working outdoors in bad weather. The rough finish provides a good grip for handling a wide range of material.
Testing of Gloves
The most widely accepted test method for cold protective gloves is BS EN 511 [3]. It specifies the test methods and requirements for protective gloves against convective and conductive cold down to 50 C. Such low temperatures can be either due to climatic conditions or some industrial activity. It also specifies the values of different performance levels. The product tests only give performance levels and not levels of protection.
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In Europe, gloves must be labelled according to the level of protect ion they offer against cold as well as against the other types of risks they may be designed to protect from. The performance requirements are measured in terms of: Mechanical requirements: include abrasion and tear resistance of level 1
Table 2 Mechanical requirement values Performance Level Rating Test Abrasion resistance (cycles) Tear resistance (N) 0 <100 <10 1 100 10 2 500 25 3 2000 50 4 8000 75 5 -
Flexibility Behavior: there shall be no cracks Water Penetration: there should be no water penetration for better insulation Extreme Cold Flexibility Test: performed on gloves designed to protect at temperatures below 30 C. No crack shall appear at the fold. Convective Cold: thermal insulation of hand-wear determined by measuring the power required to maintain a constant temperature gradient between the surface of a heated, full-scale hand model and the ambient atmosphere. Table 3 Thermal insulation values Performance level 1 2 3 4 Thermal Insulation /TR in m2K/W 0.10 /TR <0.15 0.15 /TR <0.22 0.22 /TR <0.30 0.30 /TR
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Contact Cold: carried out according to ISO 5085-1 (Determination of Thermal Resistance of Textiles) using pressure of 6.9 kPa, expressing results in m K/W. Table 4 Thermal resistance values Performance level 1 2 3 4 Thermal Resistance, R in m2K/W 0.025 R <0.050 0.050 R <0.100 0.100 R <0.150 0.150 R
References:
[1] Dolez P. I. and Vu-Khanh T., Gloves for protection from cold weather, in Textiles for Cold Weather Apparel, Wood Head, 2009, pp 374-392 [2] Best Winter Gloves, [online] http://www.scribd.com/doc/80644254/best-winter-gloves [3] Protective gloves against cold, EN 511:2006
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COLD PROTECTIVE GLOVES

Thermal Physiology of Hands

Design and Materials for Cold Protective Gloves

Types of Cold Weather Protective Gloves

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