Abstract
An analytical description of a generalized respiratory protective device is developed by representing the physical system as an equivalent electrical circuit. As a first step, a system of nomenclature is presented which divides the generalized respiratory protective device into several subsystems, and identifies the possible individual components in each subsystem. Each component is then modeled by its electrical analog, and by combining the appropriate components an electrical analog to a particular respirator system is generated. To evaluate the validity of this generalized analytical model, the U.S. Army M-17 protective mask is modeled, using data obtained through an experimental testing program. The model is analyzed mathematically, with a digital computer employed as necessary, and its accuracy is evaluated by comparing the behavior of the M-17 respirator system, as predicted by the model, to actual system behavior obtained experimentally.