Roger Barker

Bio

Roger L. Barker is a Professor in the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science at North Carolina State University and Director of TPACC.  He is internationally recognized for his work in the field of thermal protective clothing and comfort and heat stress in clothing systems.  Barker has published many technical papers on the subject of the effects of intense heat exposures on fabric materials including exposures to flash fire, molten metal, hot surface contact and radiant energy.  He was Chairman of the 1984 ASTM International Symposium on the Performance of Protective Clothing.  He is an active participant in several committees of the National Fire Protection Association, which are involved in the development of standards for the performance of protective clothing.  Barker holds B. S. and M. S. Degrees in physics from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D., in Textile and Polymer Science from Clemson University.  He has positions at Cornell and at Clemson Universities.  His industrial experience includes work as a physicist in spun bonded fabrics research.

Research

Thermal protective performance of textile fabrics and clothing, heat transfer mechanisms in intense heat exposures. Fabric and clothing flammability, materials response and testing methodologies.

Comfort properties of textile clothing and materials, heat and moisture transfer in textile structures, objective measurement of fabric hand.

Industrial analysis of thermal and mechanical properties of textile fabrics. Textile measurement technologies, instrumented manikins. Assessment of human sensory and physiological response to clothing comfort.

Organizations

• National Fire Protection Association

Teaching

• TMS 211 – Introduction to Fiber Science ,
• TMS 471 – Textile Materials Design ,
• TE530 – Functional Textiles Protection and Comfort ,

Area(s) of Expertise

Protective Textiles
Textile Comfort
Textile Engineering

Publications

• Effects of incident solar radiation on evaporative heat loss through firefighter turnout composites incorporating microporous and bi-component type moisture barrier components , JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE (2024)
• Impact of Durable Water-Repellent Finishing in Thermal Liner on Firefighter Heat Stress , AATCC JOURNAL OF RESEARCH (2024)
• A new test method for evaluating the evaporative cooling efficiency of fabrics using a dynamic sweating hot plate , MEASUREMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (2022)
• Effects of Air Gaps on Heat Loss through Firefighter Turnout Composites with Different Moisture Barrier Components , FIBERS AND POLYMERS (2022)
• Effects of Outer Shell Fabric Color, Smoke Contamination, and Washing on Heat Loss through Turnout Suit Systems , Textile Research Journal (2022)
• Effects of the moisture barrier and thermal liner components on the heat strain and thermal protective performance of firefighter turnout systems , TEXTILE RESEARCH JOURNAL (2022)
• Field and full-scale laboratory testing of prototype wildland fire shelters , International Journal of Wildland Fire (2022)
• Relationship between heat loss indexes and physiological indicators of turnout-related heat strain in mild and hot environments , INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS (2022)
• Using a physiological manikin to evaluate the effect of foam thermal reinforcement in firefighter turnout construction on heat strain , JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE (2022)
• Effects of environmental temperature and humidity on evaporative heat loss through firefighter suit materials made with semi-permeable and microporous moisture barriers , Textile Research Journal (2021)

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