Office of Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports
FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-85/11
Title and Subtitle: Development and evaluation of a prototype life preserver.
Report Date: September 1985
Authors: Rueschhoff BJ, Higgins EA, Burr MJ, Branson DM.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop a prototype life preserver that included provisions for:
Evaluations were made to ensure that the prototype life preserver met goals of items (2) through (6). However, the focus of the study was the assessment of thermal response characteristics. To assess the thermal response of subjects wearing the prototype life preserver and a currently used standard personal flotation device, a laboratory study with 10 subjects was conducted. Two subjects, one wearing the prototype and the other a standard vest, were immersed during each experiment in 12.8 C (55 F) water in the Civil Aeromedical Institute survival tank for 2 hours. Rectal temperature, heart rate, and EKG were measured continuously.
Eight of ten subjects, while wearing the prototype life preserver, showed a decrease in the rate of cooling when compared to the cooling rate when wearing the standard vest. Keywords: Water survival program; Thermal protection.
Key Words: life preservers, thermal properties, low temperature, water, rates, prototypes, cooling, population, survival (general), response, protection, males, space (room), storage, heat, heart rate, immersion, adults, females, electrocardiography, accidents, vests.
No. of Pages: 64
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-85/11
Title and Subtitle: Development and evaluation of a prototype life preserver.
Report Date: September 1985
Authors: Rueschhoff BJ, Higgins EA, Burr MJ, Branson DM.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop a prototype life preserver that included provisions for:
- increased thermal protection in the event of accidental immersion in cold water,
- 35 pounds of buoyancy,
- a doning [sic] time of 15 s for an adult,
- not weighing more nor requiring more storage space than currently used life preservers,
- fitting individuals from the 5th percentile of adult females to the 95th percentile of adult males in the U.S. adult population, and
- self-righting the wearer in 5 s.
Evaluations were made to ensure that the prototype life preserver met goals of items (2) through (6). However, the focus of the study was the assessment of thermal response characteristics. To assess the thermal response of subjects wearing the prototype life preserver and a currently used standard personal flotation device, a laboratory study with 10 subjects was conducted. Two subjects, one wearing the prototype and the other a standard vest, were immersed during each experiment in 12.8 C (55 F) water in the Civil Aeromedical Institute survival tank for 2 hours. Rectal temperature, heart rate, and EKG were measured continuously.
Eight of ten subjects, while wearing the prototype life preserver, showed a decrease in the rate of cooling when compared to the cooling rate when wearing the standard vest. Keywords: Water survival program; Thermal protection.
Key Words: life preservers, thermal properties, low temperature, water, rates, prototypes, cooling, population, survival (general), response, protection, males, space (room), storage, heat, heart rate, immersion, adults, females, electrocardiography, accidents, vests.
No. of Pages: 64
Last updated: Friday, June 1, 2012