Burning Manikin System，EN ISO 11612

With the advancement of industrial safety, firefighting protection, and specialized occupational safety technologies, evaluating human thermal exposure risk in high-temperature flame environments has become a critical topic. Traditional flame-retardant tests can assess material combustibility but are limited in reflecting the overall thermal exposure of the human body in real fire scenarios. In response, the Burning Manikin Testing System was developed as an essential experimental platform for evaluating the overall thermal protection performance of protective clothing. This system simulates human morphology, flame conditions, and heat transfer processes to quantitatively analyze potential burn risks to various body regions, providing scientific data for protective clothing design, standard development, and safety research.

Definition

The Burning Manikin Testing System is a comprehensive thermal protection testing device based on a full-size human model, primarily used to evaluate the thermal protection capabilities of garments or protective equipment in flame environments. The system typically includes:

High-temperature-resistant manikin

Multi-point thermal sensing system

Combustion and flame control system

Data acquisition and analysis system

Its core purpose is to simulate human heat exposure in flames. By measuring the heat flux and temperature increase at different manikin surfaces, it predicts the likelihood and severity of skin burns, providing a scientific basis for evaluating protective clothing performance.

Working Principle

The system operates based on transient heat transfer and burn prediction models. A typical testing procedure includes:

Donning Protective Clothing

The protective clothing to be tested is fully worn on the manikin, ensuring that dimensions, layers, and accessories match actual use conditions.

Flame Exposure

A controllable combustion system exposes the manikin to short-duration flames, with flame intensity, duration, and direction adjustable according to standards.

Heat Data Acquisition

The manikin is equipped with distributed thermal sensors that record real-time heat flux or temperature at multiple body points, with data transmitted to the acquisition system.

Burn Prediction

Based on heat transfer theory and skin burn models, the system calculates the probability and area of first-, second-, or third-degree burns in different regions.

This method allows researchers to assess the protective performance of garments under realistic flame exposure, rather than only evaluating material flammability.

System Composition and Structure

1. Manikin Body

The manikin is designed according to adult human anatomy, with a skeleton and exterior made of high-temperature-resistant materials capable of withstanding short-term flame exposure without structural damage. The manikin covers the head, torso, limbs, and critical body regions to simulate human thermal exposure.

2. Thermal Sensing System

A large number of thermal sensors are distributed across the manikin’s surface to measure instantaneous heat flux or temperature. Sensors are placed on the chest, back, arms, legs, and head to ensure comprehensive thermal data acquisition.

3. Combustion System

The flame system typically uses gaseous fuel, with multiple nozzles producing stable flames. Flame intensity, duration, and burn mode can be precisely controlled to meet different testing standards and requirements.

4. Data Acquisition and Analysis System

The acquisition system records sensor signals, and specialized software analyzes the data, generating burn prediction maps, heat flux curves, and overall burn area ratios. The system can automatically calculate burn severity for different body regions, providing quantitative evaluation of protective clothing.

Technical Features

Human-like Heat Exposure Simulation

The full-size manikin and multi-point measurement accurately reflect overall human thermal exposure in flame environments.

Quantitative Burn Prediction

Beyond temperature and heat flux measurement, the system predicts burn severity for each body region based on skin damage models, offering guidance for protective design.

High Repeatability

Standardized flame exposure ensures that tests are reproducible, allowing comparison across different garments or batches.

Full-body Coverage

Sensors cover key body areas, enabling detection of weak spots in garment protection and informing structural improvements.

Support for Multi-layer Garment Systems

The system can test combinations of inner layers, insulation, and outer protective garments, closely simulating real-world use conditions.

Key Testing Metrics

Heat Flux and Temperature Curves

Real-time recording of temperature and heat flux at all sensor points during flame exposure.

Burn Severity Prediction

Calculating the probability of first-, second-, and third-degree burns using skin burn models.

Total Burn Area Ratio

Aggregating burn predictions across all regions to determine the proportion of the body potentially burned.

Time Response Characteristics

Analyzing garment delay and attenuation of heat to assess the protective escape time provided to the wearer.

Application Fields

Firefighter Protective Clothing Evaluation

Simulates short-term high-temperature exposure during firefighting and rescue operations to assess overall garment protection.

Industrial High-temperature Protection

Evaluates protective garments for industries such as petrochemical, metallurgy, and power generation under potential flame or high-temperature accidents.

Military and Emergency Protection Research

Studies the thermal protection of personnel in battlefield or emergency scenarios, supporting equipment design and safety standards.

New Materials and Structural Validation

Tests flame-resistant fibers, composite materials, and multi-layer garment systems under realistic fire conditions, providing reliable data for material and design R&D.

Comparison with Traditional Methods

Compared to material-level flame-retardant tests (e.g., vertical burn, limiting oxygen index, thermal protective performance (TPP)), the burning manikin system offers:

Closer to real-world scenarios: Evaluates complete garment systems rather than individual materials.

Human safety-relevant data: Directly correlates results with human burn risk.

Detection of structural weaknesses: Identifies weak points in seams, joints, and openings.

System-level optimization: Supports comprehensive evaluation of the entire protective ensemble.

Development Trends

High-density Sensor Technology

Increasing the number and precision of sensors for finer thermal mapping.

Intelligent Data Analysis

Advanced algorithms to accurately simulate burn and heat transfer processes, improving predictive accuracy.

Multi-factor Coupled Testing

Integrating flame, thermal radiation, and mechanical impacts to simulate complex accident scenarios.

Integration with Virtual Simulation

Combining experimental data with human thermal models and simulation software to create complementary evaluation systems.

The burning manikin testing system is a core technical tool for evaluating the thermal protection performance of protective clothing. By simulating human heat exposure in flame environments, it bridges the gap from material-level testing to system- and human-level assessment. Its multi-point measurement, quantitative burn prediction, and high repeatability make it indispensable in firefighting, industrial safety, military protection, and research applications. With ongoing advancements in safety requirements and testing technologies, burning manikin systems will play an increasingly critical role in protective equipment development, standardization, and personnel safety assurance.