Effects of Hot and Cold Environments on Military Performance
Abstract
Survival and adjustment to extreme weather conditions have always been major problems for people living in hot and cold regions of the world; and, to a lesser degree in temperature regions, as well. Human physical structure and physiological characteristics provide little natural protection from the elements; thus, our only means of dealing with extreme climates has been to invent protective devices such as clothing, shelter structures, and reliable heating and cooling systems. Progress along these lines was slow for many centuries until the comparatively recent development in the eighteenth century of temperature measurement devices; and subsequently, accurate conceptualizations of the mechanisms of heat transfer. While dry-bulb and wet- bulb temperatures today are still the most familiar indices of the thermal environment, a better understanding of the interaction of temperature, humidity, and windspeed has led to more complex concepts, such as the wind chill index and the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT). The wind chill index was devised to express the cooling effect of wind velocity in the thermal process, and the WBGT was developed for the U.S. Armed Forces to determine endurable limits of heat exposure. (SDW)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA197471
Entities
People
- John L. Kobrick
- Richard F. Johnson
Organizations
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine