A comparison of three liquid-ventilation cooling garments during treadmill exercise

A comparative study was made of the heat transfer performance and physiological effects of three different cooling garments used under sealed garments (simulating space suits) on five male subjects, during treadmill exercise. The mean exercise metabolic rate while walking at 0.9 m/s (2 mph) was 464 plus or minus 33 W. An equilibrium condition was never reached during the uncooled suited control runs and the subjects lost approximately two percent of body weight during the exercises. The mean weight loss with an Apollo-type garment was 0.35 plus or minus 0.10 kg, and 0.26 plus or minus 0.11 kg with the full-body cooling patch garment (garment 2). With the partial-coverage cooling patch (garment 3), the weight loss was 0.52 plus or minus 0.12 kg. The data showed an increase in the leg blood flow when the working muscles were not cooled by liquid flow (garment 3), and the arm blood flow remained unchanged with and without liquid cooling to the arms.