Effective Calibration of Heat Flux Transducers for Experimental Use
Abstract
Cutaneous heat flux data provide important information when evaluating the effectiveness of chemical protective antidotal drugs and assessing physiological responses during heat and cold environmental stress. A method of calibrating heat flux transducers (HFTs) using the USARIEM Hohenstein skin model system is described. A representative sample of the currently available types of HFTs were tested and their results confirmed that the factory supplied calibration constants should not be used for collecting experimental data. The HFT application procedure described in this report must also be subscribed to for attaching the HFT on human subjects. The adherence to a standard procedure ensures that the newly recalibrated constants are applicable, and avoids as much as possible any extraneous steps where error could be introduced. Employing this standard attachment method, the newly calibrated HFT constants were found to deviate from the factory supplied values by as much as 24%. It is recommended that heat flux transducers be recalibrated before each protocol study using techniques described in this report with the Hohenstein skin model.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA218262
Entities
People
- James E. Bogart
- Richard R. Gonzalez
- Stephen K. Chang
- Thomas L. Endrusick
Organizations
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine