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Sweat secretion and evaporation from the skin dictate the human ability to thermoregulate and thermal comfort in hot environments and impact skin interactions with cosmetics, textiles and wearable electronics/sensors. However, sweating has mostly been investigated using macroscopic physiological methods, leaving micro-to-macroscale sweating dynamics unexplored. We explore these processes by using a coupled micro-imaging and transport measurement approach used in engineering studies of phase change processes. Specifically, we used a comprehensive set of ‘macroscale’ physiological measurements (ventilated capsule sweat rate (SR), galvanic skin conductance and dielectric epidermis hydration) complemented by three microscale imaging techniques (visible light, midwave infrared and optical coherence tomography imaging). Inspired by industrial jet cooling devices, we also explore an ‘air jet’ (versus cylindrical) capsule for measuring SR. To enable near-simultaneous application of these methods, we studied forehead sweating dynamics of six supine subjects undergoing passive heating, cooling and secondary heating. The relative dynamics of the physiological measurements agree with prior observations and can be explained using imaged microscale sweating dynamics. This comprehensive study provides new insights into the biophysical dynamics of sweating onset and following cyclic porewise, transition and filmwise sweating modes and highlights the roles of stratum corneum hydration, salt deposits and microscale hair. 

Understanding the thermal comfort and safety of diverse populations within indoor settings requires a quantitative understanding of the primary heat exchange pathways between occupants and their surroundings: radiation and free convection. Thus far, however, free convective heat transfer coefficients have only been determined for the average Western adult. To this end, we investigated how variation in body shape impacts free convection heat transfer using an experimentally validated numerical model. The multiphysics model was compared against experiments conducted using the thermal manikin ANDI (Advanced Newton Dynamic Instrument) in a climate-controlled enclosure across five air-to-skin temperature differences ranging from 4.9 to 13.9°C. The difference between measured and simulated heat fluxes for the whole body, and per anatomical region, was typically <5%, occasionally reaching 15–20%, for some body regions due to physical features not modeled in the virtual ANDI model. Using the validated model, we simulated free convection around a family, or diverse group, of virtual manikins representing the 1^stto 99^thpercentile body mass index (BMI) and height variation in the United States adult population. Our results show that the free convection heat transfer coefficient is independent of human sex and height but decreases slightly with increased BMI. However, the variation from the average manikin in the whole body and regional free convection coefficients with BMI was small, not exceeding 8% and 16%, respectively. Furthermore, our regression coefficients and exponents can be derived from the theorical correlation for free turbulent convection from a vertical plate, which also explains the observed independence of the heat transfer coefficient from the manikins’ height. Overall, these findings demonstrate the general applicability of using an average body shape in indoor thermal audits and/or overheating risk assessments to understand thermal comfort and heat stress. The results and valid application of the model support critical insights for human health, productivity, and well-being connected to heat and cooling in buildings. 

To quantify how the viscosities of silicone oil (SO) and liquid metal (LM) relate to emulsion-formation (LM-in-SO versus SO-in-LM), a process was developed to produce LM pastes with adjustable viscosity... 

Abstract Gallium-based liquid metals (LM) have surface tension an order of magnitude higher than water and break up into micro-droplets when mixed with other liquids. In contrast, silicone oil readily mixes into LM foams to create oil-in-LM emulsions with oil inclusions. Previously, the LM was foamed through rapid mixing in air for an extended duration (over 2 hours). This process first results in the internalization of oxide flakes that form at the air-liquid interface. Once a critical fraction of these randomly shaped solid flakes is reached, air bubbles internalize into the LM to create foams that can internalize secondary liquids. Here, we introduce an alternative oil-in-LM emulsion fabrication method that relies on the prior addition of SiO2 micro-particles into the LM before mixing it with the silicone oil. This particle-assisted emulsion formation process provides a higher control over the composition of the LM-particle mixture before oil addition, which we employ to systematically study the impact of particle characteristics and content on the emulsions' composition and properties. We demonstrate that the solid particle size (0.8 µm to 5 µm) and volume fraction (1% to 10%) have a negligible impact on the internalization of the oil inclusions. The inclusions are mostly spherical with diameters of 20 to 100 µm diameter and are internalized by forming new, rather than filling old, geometrical features. We also study the impact of the particle characteristics on the two key properties related to the functional application of the LM emulsions in the thermal management of microelectronics. In particular, we measure the impact of particles and silicone oil on the emulsion's thermal conductivity and its ability to prevent deleterious gallium-induced corrosion and embrittlement of contacting metal substrates.