A novel personal cooling system for use by soldiers in hot climates

Abstract

This report focuses on the design, testing and fabrication of a lightweight personal, portable cooling system for use by soldiers beneath their Interceptor body armor. An alpha prototype was constructed and was used to generate promising, quantitative results. This first level data was combined with an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the design to lay down the framework for the beta prototype which will be constructed at a later date. The military and physiological requirements for such a device are briefly discussed, as are concerns over fit, wearer comfort, product durability and ease of use.