Cooling rates of dummies under various degrees of air humidity, wind speed and air temperature

Henssge observed that even a slight but permanent air movement accelerates cooling of a naked body significantly. However in those experimental studies the rate of air movement was not quantified. Today Henssge’s Nomogram method of thermometric thanatochronometry (mathematic estimation of the post-mortem interval using body temperature measurements) is used the world over and utilises various corrective factors for naked and clothed bodies in still/moving air. The purpose of this research was to correlate measured air flow rates (wind speed) and measured relative air humidity levels (RH) with post-mortem cooling rate in order to formulate appropriate corrective factors to be used with Henssge’s Nomogram. The effect of air flow rates and air humidity on the post-mortem cooling curve was studied within a range of air temperatures using gel-based models (Cooling Dummies) as substitutes for human bodies.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Division of Chemical Pathology

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Mfolozi, Sipho

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Martin, Lorna

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/2697

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/2697