Chemical Protective Suit-A New Design With Higher Functional

A newly developed concept for chemical protective suits is designed to make use more comfortable and safer for the user-  new

materials and an improved design increase wearer comfort; while the integration of sensor technology enables the monitoring of vital .

TW Special Report

 In the event of hazards from chemical, biological or radioactive substances, chemical protective suits (CSA) protect people from physical contact.

CSAs consist of breathing apparatus, head protection, carrying frames and the suit itself. This adds up to a weight of around 25 ki-lograms. The

construction of a multicoated fabric makes the CSA stiff and provides for considerable restrictions in freedom of movemen-t. As a result, the

emergency forces are exposed to significant physical stress. For this reason, the total deployment time when using a    CSA is limited to 30

minutes.

 Spacer textiles have a voluminous, elastic structure. From a wide range of usable fiber types and three-dimensional design features, a 3 mm

thick spacer textile made of a polyester pile yarn and a flame-retardant fiber blend of aramid and viscose was selected for the new    CSA. This

textile is coated on both sides with fluorinated or butyl rubber. This gives the textile a barrier function that prevents the penetration of toxic liquids

and gases.

The coating is applied to the finished suit by a newly developed spraying process. The advantage of this process over the conventional coating

process is that the desired elasticity of the suit is retained.

 Another innovation is the integration of a diagonal zipper. This makes it easier to put on and take off the suit. Whereas this was previously only

possible with the help of another person, the new suit can in principle be put on by the emergency responder alone. The new design is modeled

on modern dry suits with diagonal, gastight zippers.

 The new AgiSCA also features integrated sensors that allow the transmission and monitoring of the vital and environmental data of the e-

mergency worker as well as their location via GPS data. These additional functions significantly enhance operational safety.

 BMBF project “Development of a chemical protection suit with increased mobility for more efficient operational concepts through increased

autonomy of the emergency forces (AgiCSA)”.

 The project is sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany.