IMPROVED AND INNOVATIVE COOLING GARMENTS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONDERS

Military personnel and emergency responders often wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and clothing and often need some auxiliary means of personal body cooling to reduce heat stress and illness. However, no available products provide an acceptable balance of performance, size and weight, mobility, integration into protective gear and clothing, and logistics in the field. Aspen Systems proposes to significantly advance vapor-compression refrigeration chiller technology to meet the demanding requirements in personal cooling. Aspen has identified opportunities for significant improvement in several key components. The Phase I project will focus on the development and feasibility demonstration of a novel shell condenser -- an innovative flat plate microchannel condenser that integrates into the shell/enclosure of the chiller package. This new technology will thereby achieve an immediate reduction in system size and weight, improve performance, and provide a means to easily clean and decontaminate the condenser in harsh environments. System-level payoffs will be evaluated, and quantified where possible, as well as the ability to integrate into the system package. Aspen Systems is a pioneer in small personal cooling systems based upon vapor-compression chiller technology and has been developing miniature refrigeration components and integrated packaged systems for the past ten years for military and first responder applications.