Measurement of regional evaporation rate from skin surface by evaporimeter.

Abstract

The present study was conducted to confirm the validity of an evaporimeter and its measuring condition prior to applying it to the field of clothing physiology, especially for measuring the amount and distribution of the evaporation rate over the human body surface. After calibration of the evaporimeter according to the manufacture's specification, it was checked for its response time and the comparative assessments of the evaporation rate from the skin. The quantitative examination of the evaporation rate in both in vitro water loss and in vivo the evaporation rate from the human skin, clarified that the observed values of evaporation rate were lower than water loss or weight loss of the human body. Although the evaporimeter is a useful device to measure the evaporation rate at regional parts of the human body under natural condition, an additional calibration by an actual in vitro measured water loss should be adopted for the accurate assessments of the evaporation rate.