# Alternative Method for Predicting Thermal Response in Two-Layer Systems
## 3 Results
### R\({}_{ct,tot}\) Values from Hot-Plate Testing  
Figure 2 below outlines the change in the R\({}_{\rm{ct,tot}}\) values with the increasing microclimate thickness at a 0.25 m/s wind speed. In all the figures, the dotted lines indicate the open-spacer design, and the solid lines represent the closed-spacer design. From the graph, both spacer designs show an increase in insulation until 5 mm, but, at the 10 mm microclimate thickness, the open-spacer design shows a decrease in insulation while the closed-spacer design shows a small increase and then a plateau. Sample C in the closed-spacer design shows a slightly lower increase in insulation, and samples B and D show a 23% increase vs. a 35% increase. Otherwise, the samples yielded similar changes in insulation values, except for sample D, which shows a slightly higher decrease in the open-spacer design at the 10 and 25 mm microclimate thicknesses and a decrease of \(-5\%\) from the 0 mm microclimate thickness as opposed to samples B and C, which both show 1% increases.  
Figure 3 below illustrates the results at the 0.5 m/s wind speed. Again, the dotted lines represented the open-spacer design, and the solid lines show the closed-spacer design. In the closed-spacer design, all of the samples showed similar changes in insulation, except at 25 mm, where sample D demonstrated a decrease from 10 mm, a drop of 10%, as opposed to the increases of 12 and 13% for samples B and C, respectively. Additionally, in the open-spacer design, sample D demonstrated a higher loss in insulation than either sample B or C at the 10 and 25 mm microclimate thicknesses compared to the 0 mm value. At 10 mm, the insulation was \(-14\%\) for sample D, while it was 1 and 4% for samples B and C, respectively. At 25 mm, sample D exhibited a value of \(-27\%\), while samples B and C yielded values of \(-13\) and \(-11\%\), respectively.  
Figure 2: Changes in R\({}_{\rm{ct,tot}}\) with increasing microclimate thickness at 0.25 m/s wind speed.  
Figure 4 below outlines the results of the small-plate tests at the 1.3 m/s wind speed, wherein the dotted lines represent the open-spacer design, and the solid lines show the closed-spacer design. At the 1.3 m/s wind speed, the differences in the top layer become much more apparent than at either of the other wind speeds. Sample D consistently yielded the lowest increase in insulation. At 5, 10, and 25 mm, sample D showed increases in insulation of 27, 49, and 57%, respectively, while sample C yielded increases of 60, 101, and 97%, respectively. In the open-spacer design, sample D demonstrated increases in insulation of 3, \(-\)1, and 9% for the 5, 10, and 25 mm microclimate thicknesses compared to the 0 mm microclimate thickness value, while sample C yielded values of 32, 22, and 25% at the same levels. Sample B showed higher values than sample C in all cases.  
Figure 4: Changes in R\({}_{\text{ct,tot}}\) with increasing microclimate thickness at 1.3 m/s wind speed.  
Figure 3: Changes in R\({}_{\text{ct,tot}}\) with increasing microclimate thickness at 0.5 m/s wind speed.  
It was seen from the results that the 0 mm microclimate consistently exhibited the lowest required sweat rate. In Figure 6, it can be seen that most conditions could compensate for the heat storage through dry heat loss, while Figure 7 shows that all the conditions were able to do so. In Figure 5, it can be observed that the highest sweat rates were required to compensate for the heat storage at 0.25 m/s, and, generally, the open-spacer design required less sweating than the closed design. Figures 6 and 7 exhibit similar overall trends. The peak sweat rate was typically at the 5 or 10 mm microclimate thickness for the open-spacer design but remained at a similar level at 10 and 25 mm for the closed spacer. In Figure 7, it can also be observed that sample D was able to compensate for the heat storage solely through dry heat loss at the 5 and 10 mm microclimate thicknesses, while samples B and C required some level of sweating to compensate for the heat storage.