This study explores the behavior of textile fabrics under thermal exposures. The performance of thermal protective textile fabric systems with different structural features was evaluated under laboratory simulated thermal exposures. The study demonstrated that the protective performance of textile fabric systems varies with different types of thermal exposure. To provide effective protection in flame and radiant-heat exposures, the most important fabric properties to address are emissivity, absorptivity and thermal resistance. In hot surface exposures, the compression property of the fabric systems is the primary feature to consider for protection. Hot water and steam exposures produce mass transfer through fabrics. In the presence of water or steam jet pressure, fabric compression is a primary factor in protecting the human body. The findings obtained in this study can be used to engineer fabric systems that provide better protection from various thermal exposures.
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