Army, BSF troops to patrol deserts in AC vests

CHANDIGARH: Forces deployed in the deserts of Rajasthan or in similar climes will soon be geared in body-cooling vests to improve their operational readiness. The Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences ( DIPAS), Delhi, is conducting trials of these hi-tech vests before they are inducted for use in the defence forces. This climate armour can reduce hot and humid conditions by 10 to 15 degree Celsius.

With the transfer of technology of the Man Mounted Air Conditioner System ( MMACS) into a vest, the effect of unbearable heat can be significantly reduced. The US military used such cooling vests in Afghanistan. But, this is the first indigenous product developed for the defence forces as well as for the paramilitary by the heat physiology group at DIPAS.

The vest works on the principle of Peltier effect, where the negative and positive terminals of an electric circuit have different temperatures. The negative side gets cold and any material that comes in its contact also gets cooler. Using this technique, air is filled in hollow tubes of the vest from the negative end (cool end), which cools the air inside. The tubes are enclosed in a perforated black vest that allows it to flow over the skin allowing the sweat to evaporate.

"This works the same way as a perspiring person under a fan. The weight of the vest is not more than 1.5 kg, including a battery which is tied around the belt, and lasts for 4 hours," Abhishek Bharadwaj, a scientist at DIPAS, said.

Field trials have been completed at Jaisalmer on Border Security Forces soldiers. "The results are being compiled and analysed before we set out to transfer the technology," Bharadwaj said.

The DIPAS will later work on hot vests for troops deployed at high altitude. "It can be a spin off, using the same technique. We are working for the defence and the paramilitary forces. After getting their feedback, we will further improvise," Bharadwaj added.