Human Thermoregulatory Model for Immersion in Cold Water,
Abstract
A mathematical model of thermoregulation has been developed to simulate human physiological responses to cold-water immersion. Data were obtained from experiments where thirteen healthy male volunteers were totally immersed under resting and nude conditions for 1 h in water temperatures of 20 and 28 C. Mean measured rectal temperature (T sub re) fell by about 0.9 and 0.5 C in 20 and 28 C water for all subjects, yet mean measured metabolic rate (M) rose by about 275 and 90 W for the lean mass group (n=7) and 195 and 45 W for the normal mass group (n=6). To predict the observed T sub re and M values, the present model differed from its predecessors by a) determining a thermally neutral body temperature profile such that the measured and predicted initial values of T sub re and M were matched, b) including thermal inputs for shivering from the skin independent of their inclusion with the central temperature to account for the observed initial rapid rise in M, c) confining the initial shivering to the trunk region to avoid an overly large predicted initial rate of rectal cooling, and d) calculating the steady state of convective heat loss by assuming a zero rate of heat storage in the skin compartment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA169779
Entities
People
- Kent B. Pandolf
- Peter Tikuisis
- Richard R. Gonzalez
Organizations
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine