Development of PCM-cooled helmet

Abstract

This report presents the design and testing of a PCM-cooled helmet using phase change material (PCM) to absorb the heat generated by wearer’s head and also solar radiation from the sun in order to provide cooling effect for wearer. The type of PCM use in the system is n-Octadecane which has a melting temperature of 28°C. Therefore, the temperature of the wearer’s head will be maintained at this temperature for a period of time until the PCM is completely melted. The PCM is stored in a casing made of aluminum, called phase change material storage unit (PCMSU) and it is embedded inside a modified helmet. The PCM-cooled helmet is tested in a wind tunnel at different wind speeds. Heater is used to simulate the heat generated by wearer’s head and heat radiator is used to create the solar radiation effect. The result shows that PCM-cooled helmet is able to prolong the comfort time by 3 to 4 times compared to normal helmet. Besides that, solar radiation and wind speed are proven to have less effect on PCM melting time compared to the heat generated by wearer’s head. The experimental results are also compared to the results obtained from 1-dimensional heat transfer calculation. The entire report verified the performance of the PCM-cooled helmet and reveals the potential of such PCM-cooled helmet in providing comfort to the motorcyclist.