Cooling system for armor

[GeorgePBurdell[501st]]

Has anyone tried making (or found a commercially available) cooling system for your armor? Not just fans in the helmet, but something that actually can lower the temperature inside the torso and helmet areas? I've found some vests that can do that, but they run off of backpacks that are too big to fit inside the armor and are about $600....

[gazmosis[501st]]

Hydration is the best cooling system. Water is cheap, and good for you.

[netslave[501st]]

I've looked at active cooling vests and started to work on a prototype for my wife's scout armor. The TK armor isn't that bad as you can get some airflow and allow your moisture-wicking under suit to do it's job. But point #2 below maybe be feasible for a TK. 

 

For her scout, since there's so much fabric to deal with, I'm looking at multiple options. 

 

1) cut out fabric where armor or other fabric covers it. I can cut large holes in both her flight suit as well as her vest where it's covered by the back/front armor. And can cut holes in her flight suit where the cummerbund covers. I'll replace those with mesh material. 

 

2) Pump air in via fans and tubes. I haven't found strong enough fans that are small enough to fit, but I'm hopeful that I can. But using some semi-rigid tubing, I can direct air to the chest/back/armpit areas. That should help provide some cooling. 

 

3) I've also started looking at a water-cooled vest. This would be a vest with small copper or conductive tubes running all through it. IT would then be directed to the backpack where it meets with a water box with peltier plates and a heatsink attached. Also fans to direct the heat away. Then a small 12v water pump would be hooked up inline to push the water through. Similar to a car's cooling system, or a water-cooled CPU. You would transfer heat to the cool water tubes, that heat would be moved to the water box, and the peltier plates would move that heat to the heatsink and fans would move it out. 

You couldn't really run that set up for hours, it would have to be turned on and off periodically because the drain on the batteries would be too great. But it's an idea at least. It's been proven in the manufacturing industry. I'm just trying to make a smaller (in both size and budget) version. 

[netslave[501st]]

This is kind of the idea I've been throwing around. 

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Edited February 5, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link not working removed

[Chills[TK]]

That's an interesting idea, Brian, but would it work? The key to what you're showing in your picture is that the excess heat will be radiated from the coolant tubes out and away from the body, but where will it go? Those tubes will be completely covered in the black under suit which, in turn, is covered by plastic. To do an effective job of removing heat from the body you'd have to figure out a way to get the heat outside the plastic. 

 

The other main obstacle is moisture. The system shown above won't do anything to remove the moisture that builds up under the plastic. Unless you get a nice breeze, there aren't many places for the sweat to escape and evaporate.

 

Like gaz stated above, the best way to stay cool is stay well hydrated. 

 

I hope I don't sound like a wet-blanket; it would suck to drop a chunk of $$ on a system that is ineffectual. 

[GeorgePBurdell[501st]]

That's an interesting idea, Brian, but would it work? The key to what you're showing in your picture is that the excess heat will be radiated from the coolant tubes out and away from the body, but where will it go? Those tubes will be completely covered in the black under suit which, in turn, is covered by plastic. To do an effective job of removing heat from the body you'd have to figure out a way to get the heat outside the plastic. 

 

The other main obstacle is moisture. The system shown above won't do anything to remove the moisture that builds up under the plastic. Unless you get a nice breeze, there aren't many places for the sweat to escape and evaporate.

 

Like gaz stated above, the best way to stay cool is stay well hydrated. 

 

I hope I don't sound like a wet-blanket; it would suck to drop a chunk of $$ on a system that is ineffectual. 

One idea I had for getting rid of heat from the torso was to have tubes run up into the helmet under the neck seal and use fans to cool whatever fluid and blow excess heat out the various holes in the helmet. You could also potentially have it vent out through the fabric of the under suit in exposed areas such as the shoulders or neck area

[GeorgePBurdell[501st]]

Hydration is the best cooling system. Water is cheap, and good for you.

I guess I should clarify haha... This is in addition to keeping hydrated.

[netslave[501st]]

A TK or similar costume doesn't have the problem that a TB or TS does. There's a lot of airflow that an aid in coong with a TK. Hydration is key, yes. But sweating only works to cool your body when it can evaporate from your skin. This is why moisture wicking material for an undersuit works well. If you can't allow the sweat to evaporate, all you're doing is losing water. Drinking cold water to cool off is a great way to cool your core, but you'll eventually sweat that out too.

My whole idea up there is for helping a TB or TS with their woes, and to limit the actual NEED to sweat as much. Or with the air flow tubes, aid in the evaporation of that sweat so it's more effective.

If the water cooled system worked well enough, there wouldn't be a lot of excess moisture to have to escape. The vest would be breathable, so, if you did sweat a lot, it would go into the same place your sweat always does, the fabric of the costume.

As for removing the heat, that's where the waterblock, heat sink, and fans come into play. Both the TB and TS have backpack areas that allow for some hardware. We'd have to get creative to find a good exhaust port for the heat, but I think it's doable. Under the greeblies on the TB backpack or out the holes drilled into the circles of the TS backpack for instance. Maybe even repurpose the Thermal Detonator on the TK, but it would be tough to maintain screen accuracy. 

I realize its a pipe dream, but I love tinkering so I'm just experimenting.

I think that the best (and cheapest) option will be forced airflow into the suit. If you had small tubes running maybe to your arm pits, a couple around your torso, and one down your back, with the use of helmet fans as well, you'd feel a lot cooler, and it would aid constant hydration by allowing the sweat to actually evaporate a little. The only issue I see is carrying enough battery power to handle the system. I recently just bought a 12v 'squirrel cage' blower fan that can fit in the back of a TK, and it moves a ton of air. Install a couple of those and we're in business. Getting a nice breeze under the suit would be a great start to helping everyone stay cool.

Edited June 13, 2015 by netslave

[Chills[TK]]

Yep, that makes total sense. I think the biggest issue with this set up in a TK is where you'd dissipate the heat. Our IIO box is pretty small. This set up would probably work much better with a TB or TS, like you've mentioned.

 

Which ever suit you work on post some pictures. I'd really like to see how this all fits together. 

[aliens8us]

As a Marine Veteran who spent some time 'in the sandbox' and other humid places, we didn't just use canteens. For a more affordable route, and practical, for our Stormtrooper armor; I would suggest using a 'camelback'; a water storage pack. Fill the reservoir with ice, then cold water. The pack will keep it cool because it's insulated, and will feel cool against your back under the IIO backplate. Make sure that there is a connector straps with butterfly clip for your main straps, which will synch in closer to your chest under your front plate and hides itself from the outside. I do this with my HWT PACK, which I attached a pack frame to it.

[GeorgePBurdell[501st]]

Here is a diagram of a simple system I'm buying parts for. Total cost: ~$45 Basically I plan on sewing an insulated pocket into a small backpack-like pouch I would wear under the chest plate of the armor. The insulated pouch would store one of those blue ice packs you put in coolers, and have a small tube running through the bottom. I would use a small water fountain pump I found to circulate water from the pump, through the cold pouch, into the helmet (with the tube running up the neckseal). The power would be provided by 2 battery packs stored in the back plate. It's not a perfect solution, but I think it should be good enough to last at least 2 hours, which is perfect for those short, outdoor troops.

 

 

Pump on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JWJIC0K/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A867P1BBKCZM8

Insulating fabric to make pouch from: https://www.fabric.com/buy/0328317/insul-shine-22-mylar-poly-batting

 

I think in future iterations of this I will try adding thermoelectric coolers (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10080?gclid=CjwKEAjwwZmsBRDOh7C6rKO8zkcSJABCusnbdNDaIFHtudeI67r9AH2CpwLJdrL1IWQuN2YeSfHGeBoC01nw_wcB), and maybe switching the water with something closer to engine coolant (if the system doesn't leak on me of course). I will hopefully have the parts soonish... I'll definitely be sharing the results here when I finish it though!

[Spacej0e]

Really old topic, but I was getting the same idea you had. Wondered if you ever got it working? I saw Adam Savage's Incognito at Comic-Con 2015

where he used a liquid cooling shirt and a tank of ice water with a pump and battery. Obviously, such a large, rigid tank would not likely fit anywhere on a normal TK, however, if something like a Camelbak bladder was used as the reservoir, it should have better fit. According to Adam and Chris, the water was still cold after a day on the floor, but with a smaller Camelbak it probably wouldn't last as long. Edited January 8, 2017 by Spacej0e

[Tk 18720]

Any web sites to buy cooling suits

[Tk 18720]

Google. Under armor cooling suits there some good ones for cheap

[mjhenks]

I use a military ice pack vest for my Vader and it works well.  Keeps me chilled for about an hour.  Doing the same thing for my Biker Scout.  Should work with a TK too.  It is similar to this product.

 

http://www.polarproducts.com/polarshop/pc/Polar-Technology-Kit-Zipper-Vest-with-6-x-15-Kool-Max-and-Cool58-Packs-p319.htm

 

Hope that helps.