I'm looking for experiments which purpose is to establish the influence of the human metabolic activity, the sweating eventually induced and air temperature on the mean skin temperature. Stolwijk, Gagge and Saltin have established a clear mathematical relation between these factors but results on mean skin temperature are considerably different from skin temperature values given by body infra-red thermographies done in the same situation than G-S-S experiments have been led. Did anybody else lead experiments which purpose is to correlate these elements?
Hi Giuseppe
The problem that these parameters/variables are part of a feedback system. This means that it is very difficult to come up with relations that hold true in different circumstances. At very high humidities skin temp will move more with ambient; at low it will not as long as sufficient sweatin is possible. And such differences in response are present for all these combinations of parameters.
There is some work from Denmark from Fanger's lab at the time that has an equation between skin temperature and heat loss from the skin (in the cold Tsk is reduced), but again that is only valid in low work levels with low sweat rates.
The closest to a relation you would get from running a physiological model, where the feedback element is present (e.g. Fiala). undrneath the bonnet there are relations similar to the classic Stolwijk, but due to the feedback loop the final outcome can be different.
Best
george Havenith
Hello Giuseppe
Besides the excellent points made by George Havenith, is the factor of the response time of the infrared camera and the thermal currents that swirl around the skin. Studies that I conducted years ago led me to the conclusion that infrared camera is convenient but not sensitive enough to take into account the rapid changes occuring on different parts of the body.
Regards
Bob Pozos
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