PLUSS Advance designs a cooling wearable device to reduce heat stress injuries

Pluss Advanced Technologies has introduced Brrf-PLUSS, a cooling wearable device designed to reduce heat stress-related injuries and weariness during hot weather. The device, under 500 grams, consists of an inner vest with Phase Change Materials pouch and an outer jacket connected to ventilation fans.

Pluss Advanced Technologies has introduced a cooling wearable device that can be worn by outdoor workers, such as on construction sites, mines, furnaces, and shop floors, to reduce heat stress-related injuries and weariness during hot weather.

A survey of 70,000 industries in India found that every 1 °C rise in temperature over 27 °C reduces output by 4 percent, since workers are less productive and absent more frequently at higher ambient temperatures. The wearable technology employs ‘phase change materials,’ which function on the concept of ‘energy storage and release’ to keep the temperature lower than the ambient temperature.

Brrf-PLUSS Wearable Cooling Tech Overview

The first design maintains the optimum thermal comfort for the body for up to 8 hours at an ambient temperature lower than 40 deg C. The solution consists of an inner vest which houses a pouch containing   Phase Change Materials (PCM), and an outer jacket which is connected to pair of small ventilation fans attached that is powered by a portable Li-ion battery pack and the complete kit weighs just under 500 grams.

The second design provides the best thermal comfort for the body for up to 8 hours at ambient temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. The solution comprises of an inner vest that stores four pouches containing Phase Change Materials (PCM) and an outside jacket that is connected to a pair of tiny ventilation fans driven by a portable Li-ion battery pack; the entire kit weighs slightly under two kilogrammes.

The Brrf-PLUSS wearable cooling tech is based on Phase Change Materials (PCM) technology that can maintain a temperature gradient of up to 15°C lower than the ambient temperature. The Phase Change Materials’ (PCM) pouches for the Brrf-Pluss jackets can be easily recharged by placing it in a refrigerator. A conventional refrigerator or commercial cooler that maintains a temperature of +10 deg C is sufficient to recharge the PCM packs. The Brrf-Pluss cooling tech themselves are easy to assemble, use and maintain, and come in a number of sizes and colours.

Vishnu Sasidharan, Vice President, Pluss Advanced Technologies said, “The body’s normal temperature is 37 to 38 °C, when heat is excessive in the environment the body’s cooling mechanism takes up more energy and the rest of the body has to bear with less energy, which can explain the lower productivity during hot conditions. Brrf-Pluss jackets have been designed to make wearer constantly exposed to the environment comfortable during high temperatures.”

Use of PCMs for cooling serves as a better alternative to ice as temperature maintained with ice packs rise with time as ice melts. The ‘phase change materials’ have been designed and developed in India by Pluss Advanced Technologies; the vest fabric and design has been made by Mumbai-based manufacturer. Pluss has received the National Technology Award from the Government of India in 2021 for development of ‘phase change materials’-based shipping box that maintains the desired temperature for pharma products, such as vaccines, during transportation and storage.