tanto, hemos diseñado este nuevo traje para sentirse cómodo y confiado”. La Tecnología PCM de Outlast se desarrolló en 1988, con la NASA, logrando ofrecer una mejor protección contra el frío y calor más acusados que se encuentran en el espacio. En los Materiales de Cambio de Fase (PCM) se combinan dos tecnologías muy conocidas: Por una parte tene- mos la microencapsulación, con microcápsulas muy, muy pequeñas: alre- dedor de 1.000 pueden caber en la cabeza de un alfiler (cerca de 3 millones por cm2). Dentro de las microcápsulas patentadas, llamadas Outlast Thermocules se encuentran almacenadas sustancias similares a la parafina, las cuales son capaces de cambiar de fase. Esto es un principio físico que todo el mundo conoce, un ejemplo sería el H2O: el agua se congela o se evapora según se dé o se quite energía. Así, la tecnología PCM adquiere sus prestaciones de esta efectividad. La Tecnología PCM de Outlast se desarrolló en 1988, con la NASA, logrando ofrecer una mejor protección contra el frío y calor más acusados que se encuentran en el espacio Outlast® technology, present in Survival-One helicopter passenger survival suit “Survival-One manages a fleet of around 30,000 helicopter passenger survival suits for use by the offshore oil and gas industry”, explains Andy Wilson, Design & Development Manager at Survival- One, a company based in Aberdeen (UK). “We are experienced in providing survival solutions but we are always interested in innovation. We don’t want to look just for fulfilling specifications. We want to offer ultimate protection for workers without compromising human factors. Our latest development is the new 1000 Series suit which has now entered service, being worn over the North Sea. We are using Outlast® materials to enable offshore workers to benefit from enhanced insulation that regulates the microclimate inside the suit to improve thermal comfort and reduce thermal stress. The elevated thermal insulation worn to address the effects of long term immersion in water (typically less than 10°C) can cause heat stress to the wearer and utilizing Outlast® technology is one means of miti- gating against this.” “You can’t fight against the sea, but with a great wealth in design, expertise and the use of the latest technologies available, you can increase the effectiveness and efficiency in survival mecha- nism and protective equipment. We have achieved a breakthrough in survival suits with this new generation that offers maximum protection without compromising comfort” The core business of Survival-One is concerned with the provision of helicopter survival suits, either for hire or outright purchase, to the offshore oil and gas industry. Such suits are worn by passen- gers and aircrew during helicopter transit to and from offshore oil and gas installations and are designed to provide protection against cold water immersion in the event of the helicopter ditching at the sea. In the past survival suits used in the UK sector of the North Sea used to confirm solely to the UK CAA Specification 19. The new suit doesn’t just comply with the new European standard of EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) it goes beyond the minimum requirements delivering excep- tional in-water performance and survivability. The people wearing it as they fly back and forth to their installations need to know that it is as technological perfect as it can be. ““They want to feel that they have the best protection there is. But we also know what it is like to sit on a helicopter on a long flight with a survival suit: You have heat, noise, stress and all the rest of it... So we designed this new suit knowing that the people who wear it can feel comfortable and confident”. Outlast® PCM technology was originally developed for NASA in 1988 to protect astronauts from temperature fluctuations in space. In Outlast® phase-change materials (PCMs two well-known technologies are successfully combined: On the one hand is the microencapsulation, involving are very tiny capsules: around 1,000 fit on the head of a pin (ca. 3 million per cm2). Inside the paten- ted microcapsules, called Outlast® ThermoculesTM, substances similar to paraffin are stored, which are capable of phase change. This simple physical principle is well-known to everyone, example H2O: Water becomes ice or vapour when energy is added or taken away. PCM techno- logy takes advantage of exactly this same law of physics. 63 EPI: MATERIALES, MAQUINARIA Y TÉCNICAS PARA SU FABRICACIÓN/ PPE: MATERIALS, MACHINERY AND TECHNIQUES FOR THEIR PRODUCTION