\u201cWe\u2019re ready to open another door,\u201d says Roger Barker<\/a>, TPACC director and professor in the Wilson College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more than 30 years, TPACC researchers have tested firefighter suits and other thermal wear with the help of a life-size manikin known as \u201cPyroMan.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A resident of TPACC\u2019s 11-foot by 18-foot chamber, PyroMan frequently gets subjected to flash fire conditions as part of critical testing for thermal wear, such as firefighter suits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After simulations, researchers can review data recorded by sensors on PyroMan\u2019s \u201cbody,\u201d which offer clues into how much heat a human\u2019s skin might have felt underneath whatever garment they were wearing at the time \u2014 indeed, whatever garment PyroMan was wearing at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The device has proved to be an invaluable tool since 1993, allowing NC State researchers to test fire and heat resistant suits worn not just by firefighters, but by members of the military and industrial employees, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, the manikin has had a clear shortcoming: It can\u2019t move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe holy grail of this area has been, \u2018How could you introduce movement into the test,\u2019\u201d Barker says. \u201cThat way, it would simulate what somebody would actually be doing, if they were in a fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, TPACC researchers have accomplished just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About three years ago, TPACC researchers began work on a new <\/strong>version of Pyroman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, this state-of-the-art manikin has a similar name \u2014 but one that\u2019s a clear ode to its more advanced capabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meet \u201cDynamic PyroMan,\u201d TPACC\u2019s new and far more agile testing manikin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In many ways, Dynamic PyroMan is similar to the existing technology: It fits in TPACC\u2019s fire chamber. It\u2019s life-size, capable of wearing a men\u2019s size 42 jacket. And, it can be subjected to flash fire conditions conducted as part of research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The biggest difference? This manikin can move.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside the fire-engulfed chamber, Dynamic PyroMan moves its arms and legs; to the untrained observer, it might look like it\u2019s on an elliptical machine, Barker explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TPACC researchers developed Dynamic PyroMan with the help of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grants,<\/a> which provide funds for critical projects to equip and train emergency personnel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The primary goal: to make the testing manikin more closely reflect actual conditions faced by firefighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all, picture a firefighter inside a burning building. At any moment, they may be reaching to assist a victim, clearing debris or operating a heavy piece of equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re certainly <\/strong>not standing still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur goal is to always simulate as close as possible to a real-world situation \u2014 what a firefighter would be wearing and doing what they would be doing,\u201d Barker says. \u201cSo this gets us into that realm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Importantly, TPACC researchers have long known what happens during <\/em>a fire exposure is important. So, too, is the way in which air moves between the human body and whatever garment a person is wearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For that reason, Barker\u2019s team expects to find out a lot about fire protective suits by using a manikin that can move while engulfed in flames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have all the answers yet, but we think PyroMan is a tool that will really \u2014 and I don\u2019t use this word lightly \u2014 revolutionize<\/strong> what we know about heat resistant materials and the design of heat resistant garments for fire protection,\u201d Barker says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s just the latest example of the type of innovative research underway at TPACC, where teams research, test and evaluate the comfort and protective performance of textile materials and garments under one roof \u2014 at the only such facilities of any U.S. university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe fact that we\u2019re always trying to advance the technology, and look at things in a different way\u2014 such that it can really get close too a real life situation as much as possible\u2014 puts us still at the forefront of everything we do as it relates to protective clothing,\u201d says TPACC Operations Director Shawn Deaton.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A patent on the new, moving PyroMan is still pending. The TPACC team hasn\u2019t formally published any literature on the new Dynamic PyroMan just yet; the group is seeking more funding to advance certain features of the manikin to make it more durable to repeat testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also open to industry and federal sponsors for projects that will utilize the capabilities of Dynamic Pyroman \u2014 capabilities, the team says, will be \u201cpotentially game-changing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a big deal because this is the first of its kind,\u201d Deaton says. \u201cIt will allow us to evaluate protective clothing that nobody else has been able to do in terms of evaluating how the flames will affect the integrity of a garment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n When firefighters enter a burning building, the situation is, by its very nature, a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With flames burning at an average of 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, how an emergency responder\u2019s personal protective equipment performs under the immense heat can prove to be as critical as their own skills and fire fighting prowess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, researchers at the Textile Protection and Comfort Center<\/a> (TPACC) at NC State\u2019s Wilson College of Textiles are unveiling an innovation that could prove to be the \u201choly grail\u201d of developing the most cutting-edge thermal protective wear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re ready to open another door,\u201d says Roger Barker<\/a>, TPACC director and professor in the Wilson College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more than 30 years, TPACC researchers have tested firefighter suits and other thermal wear with the help of a life-size manikin known as \u201cPyroMan.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A resident of TPACC\u2019s 11-foot by 18-foot chamber, PyroMan frequently gets subjected to flash fire conditions as part of critical testing for thermal wear, such as firefighter suits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After simulations, researchers can review data recorded by sensors on PyroMan\u2019s \u201cbody,\u201d which offer clues into how much heat a human\u2019s skin might have felt underneath whatever garment they were wearing at the time \u2014 indeed, whatever garment PyroMan was wearing at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The device has proved to be an invaluable tool since 1993, allowing NC State researchers to test fire and heat resistant suits worn not just by firefighters, but by members of the military and industrial employees, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, the manikin has had a clear shortcoming: It can\u2019t move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe holy grail of this area has been, \u2018How could you introduce movement into the test,\u2019\u201d Barker says. \u201cThat way, it would simulate what somebody would actually be doing, if they were in a fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, TPACC researchers have accomplished just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About three years ago, TPACC researchers began work on a new <\/strong>version of Pyroman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, this state-of-the-art manikin has a similar name \u2014 but one that\u2019s a clear ode to its more advanced capabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meet \u201cDynamic PyroMan,\u201d TPACC\u2019s new and far more agile testing manikin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In many ways, Dynamic PyroMan is similar to the existing technology: It fits in TPACC\u2019s fire chamber. It\u2019s life-size, capable of wearing a men\u2019s size 42 jacket. And, it can be subjected to flash fire conditions conducted as part of research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The biggest difference? This manikin can move.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside the fire-engulfed chamber, Dynamic PyroMan moves its arms and legs; to the untrained observer, it might look like it\u2019s on an elliptical machine, Barker explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TPACC researchers developed Dynamic PyroMan with the help of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grants,<\/a> which provide funds for critical projects to equip and train emergency personnel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The primary goal: to make the testing manikin more closely reflect actual conditions faced by firefighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all, picture a firefighter inside a burning building. At any moment, they may be reaching to assist a victim, clearing debris or operating a heavy piece of equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re certainly <\/strong>not standing still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur goal is to always simulate as close as possible to a real-world situation \u2014 what a firefighter would be wearing and doing what they would be doing,\u201d Barker says. \u201cSo this gets us into that realm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nBuilding on the legacy of \u201cPyroMan\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Meet the new, \u201cDynamic Pyroman\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tex-cloud-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/textiles-ncsu\/20240318162314\/MAH6816-1024x576.jpg\")
Building on the legacy of \u201cPyroMan\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Meet the new, \u201cDynamic Pyroman\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n