Abstract:

The main goal was to optimise the thermal conditions within a diving suit and improve the user’s comfort. The wet diving suit consisted of (i) an external neoprene layer with air bubbles as additional insulation, and (ii) internal textile clothing to improve the insulation effect. Both layers were connected as a composite because the friction coefficient is very high. The core temperature should be constant and monitored during activity because a change in it is a sign of hypothermia. The internal textile layer contained textronic systems to transfer the medical parameters selected. The state variable is the temperature, whereas the design variables are the coordinates of the crucial points within the layers. Heat transfer is described by a state equation and set of boundary and initial conditions. The first-order sensitivities of an arbitrary behavioural functional are formulated and implemented into the optimality conditions of the problem. A simple numerical example of the optimisation of the thermal conditions is considered.