Individualization of Thermophysiological Models for Thermal Sensation Assessment in Complex Environments: A Preliminary Study

Author(s):  
Rachelle Abou Jaoude ◽  
Roch El Khoury ◽  
Agnes Psikuta ◽  
Maroun Nemer

Thermal comfort of drivers and passengers inside cars compartments is a subject bouncing back to the spotlight with the electrification of vehicles. In fact, air conditioning and heating systems can reduce the battery autonomy of electric vehicles by up to 50% under certain conditions. On the other hand, although some researchers attempted to consider the individualization of thermal sensation and comfort models, the most used thermal sensation and comfort models nowadays are still those that consider a standard average person. Many studies showed the limitations of these models in predicting thermal comfort for different populations in complex environments. Therefore, if a personal thermal comfort at minimum vehicle energy consumption is required, a deep consideration should be given to the understanding of the individualization of the thermophysiological model and to identifying key parameters that have the most influence on thermal comfort. In order to evaluate the impact of different parameters on thermal sensation and comfort, a literature review was undertaken followed by a sensitivity analysis of some potentially influential parameters such as the basal metabolic rate, body weight, cardiac output, body fat content and clothing by considering the influence of their variations on thermal neutrality status and thermal sensation and comfort.

2021 ◽  
Vol 246 ◽  
pp. 15003
Author(s):  
Natalia Krawczyk

Nowadays, we spend most of our time inside buildings. Thus, ensuring adequate thermal comfort is an important issue. The paper discusses the issue of thermal comfort assessment in the intelligent low energy building “Energis” of Kielce University of Technology (Poland). The tests conducted in a selected lecture theater focused on collecting anonymous questionnaires containing thermal sensation and air quality votes of the respondents as well as performing measurements of indoor air parameters (air and globe temperatures, relative humidity, air velocity and CO2 concentration). Based on the obtained data a comparison has been done between the actual sensation votes of the volunteers and the calculation results performed with the Fanger thermal comfort model. Two indices have been considered in the paper: PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) and PPD (Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied). A modification of the model has also been proposed, which considers the impact of the carbon dioxide concentration on thermal comfort.


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2932 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Safizadeh ◽  
Marcel Schweiker ◽  
Andreas Wagner

Low-temperature radiant heating systems can be considered as suitable candidates for the refurbishment of old heating systems. These systems are proven to save energy, however, their drawback is their impact on the creation of radiant temperature asymmetry and local thermal discomfort, especially in old buildings where the temperatures of surfaces (for example external walls with a low level of insulation and large windows) are low. This study aims to evaluate the potential application of low-temperature radiant ceiling heating systems (28–38 °C) in old and energy-renovated buildings, based on subjective experiments and thermal comfort criteria such as thermal sensation, comfort, satisfaction, and sensation asymmetry votes. Later, in the Discussion section, the guideline for the radiant temperature asymmetry for the warm ceiling presented in ASHRAE Standard-55 is corrected for relatively low air temperatures and different surface temperatures corresponding to “about neutral” conditions for winter clothing. Findings of this research show that the radiant ceiling heating system operating at low temperatures (33–38 °C) can provide fairly neutral thermal sensation and satisfactory comfort at the majority of body-parts, if the building envelope satisfies advanced building energy-efficiency regulations. Additionally, the experimental analyses imply that limitation of 5% suggested by ASHRAE-55 for the percentage of dissatisfied occupants feeling uncomfortable due to overhead radiation can be elevated to 10%.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7811
Author(s):  
Ka-Ming Wai ◽  
Lei Xiao ◽  
Tanya Zheng Tan

Adaptation to prepare for adverse climate change impacts in the context of urban heat islands and outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) is receiving growing concern. However, knowledge of quantitative microclimatic conditions within the urban boundary layer in the future is still lacking, such that the introduction of adequate adaptation measures to increase OTC is challenging. To investigate the cooling performance of a water spraying system in a sub-tropical compact and high-rise built environment in summer under the influence of future (2050) climatic conditions, results from two validated models (Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) and ENVI-met models) have been used and analyzed. Our results indicate that the spraying system provides cooling of 2–3 °C for ambient air temperature at the pedestrian-level of the urban canyons considered here, which benefits pedestrians. However, improvement of the OTC in terms of the physiological equivalent temperature (PET—a better indicator of human thermal sensation) was noticeable (e.g., <42 °C or from very hot to hot) when the urban canyon was orientated parallel to the prevailing wind direction only. This implies that in order to improve city resilience in terms of heat stress, more holistic adaptation measures in urban planning are needed. This includes the introduction of more breezeways and building disposition to facilitate the urban ventilation, as well as urban tree arrangement and sunshades to reduce direct solar radiation to plan for the impact of future climate change.


2018 ◽  
Vol 560 (5) ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
Magdalena Młynarczyk

The firefighters work in extreme environmental conditions and have to solve a wide variety of problems during their work. These can be rescuing and firefighting actions or removing effects of accidents or natural disasters. In order to protect, not only others but also themselves, they must be focused as much as possible in order to avoid mistakes. Optimal conditions for such work could create so-called thermal comfort, characterized by a thermoneutral state of a body. Lack of thermal comfort can also cause an increased number of mistakes. That is why it is so important to select the right protection and to know the impact of the protective clothing (special clothing) on the thermal sensation of firefighters. This article presents the requirements for special clothing for firefighters, the results of thermal insulation tests of the above-mentioned clothing and the analysis of thermal sensations of its users (by PMV index).


2020 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2093914
Author(s):  
Guoqing Yu ◽  
Zhaoji Gu ◽  
Zhenye Yan ◽  
Hengtao Chen

The climate of Yangtze River Basin in China is cold and humid in winter. Conventional air-conditioning systems may cause high energy consumption and uncomfortable microclimatic conditions especially for lower body of indoor occupants. This study investigated four personalized seat heating systems, in a typical office room in Shanghai during winter, based on heated floor panels including heated floor panels + ordinary chair (HF-OC), heated floor panels + insulated chair (HF-IC), heated floor panels +insulated chair and leg box (HF-IC-LB) and overall personalized heating (OPH). The surface temperature of walls and heated floor panels, and the indoor air temperature at different positions were recorded with thermocouples. The hourly energy consumptions of the proposed personalized seat heating systems were measured and compared with a conventional split type air conditioner. Questionnaires of thermal sensation and comfort were carried out among 10 university students. Compared with HF-OC, HF-IC could improve the thermal comfort to a certain extent, while HF-IC-LB provided the optimal thermal micro-environment for the lower body other than other body parts. The OPH systems were proven effective to provide satisfactory thermal environment for all body parts at lower indoor temperature (12–16°C) with much less energy consumption than room air conditioners.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (23) ◽  
pp. 8648
Author(s):  
Matheus das Neves Almeida ◽  
Antonio Augusto de Paula Xavier ◽  
Ariel Orlei Michaloski

As of 2020, it has been 50 years since the publication of Fanger’s predictive model of thermal comfort that was designed for indoor environments and attention worldwide is directed at the COVID-19 pandemic and discussions around recommendations for these indoor environments. In this context, many environments and their occupants will suffer consequences related to thermal comfort due to the necessary indoor air changes. In bus cabins, the impact might be even greater, seeing that they are responsible for the mass transportation of people. Thus, this paper intends to review the studies on thermal comfort that analyzed bus cabin environments. It adapts the PRISMA methodology and, as a result, it includes 22 research papers published in journals. Among those, 73% focused on approaching the occupants’ thermal sensation, followed by fuel/energy economy (18%), and driver productivity (9%). The current state-of-the-art indicates that air temperature and air velocity were the parameters most employed by the included studies, but eight papers analyzed all six parameters of the standard models of thermal comfort. The most employed model of thermal comfort was Fanger’s, but there has not been an investigation that assesses its consistency in predicting the occupants’ thermal sensation in the explored environment. Nevertheless, the analyzed studies recommended constant air change inside closed buses or keeping them open to minimize adverse effects on the occupants’ health, especially due to airborne diseases and CO2 concentration possibly being a suitable indicator to identify the need for air change.


2013 ◽  
Vol 409-410 ◽  
pp. 1470-1473
Author(s):  
Li Ping Pang ◽  
Ying Jie Wang ◽  
Dong Sheng Yang

Some parameters, such as cabin pressure and Relative Humidity (RH), in a civil cabin environment, are significantly lower than those at sea level when the civil aircraft is in its cruise conditions at high altitude. The common PMV thermal comfort assessment model is not suit for this environment. Therefore, a Corrected PMV (CPMV) model is adopted to analyze the impact of these two parameters on thermal comfort in a cabin. From the simulations, we can draw conclusions that, within a normal operative range of RH and cabin pressure, the low RH and pressure can lead to a negative deviation and a positive deviation of thermal sensation values, respectively, but their impacts on thermal comfort of passenger are limited. The CPMV model is further applied to assess the thermal comfort of investigated flights.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreya Banerjee ◽  
Ariane Middel ◽  
Subrata Chattopadhyay

&lt;p&gt;Extreme heat and associated health risks are increasingly becoming threats to urban populations, especially in developing countries of the tropics. Although human thermal exposure in cities has been studied across the globe, biometeorological conditions in mixed-used spaces, informal economic activity settings, and informal settlements have received little attention. We present a comparative analysis of outdoor thermal comfort for informal micro-entrepreneurial communities in Kolkata and Mumbai. Both cities belong to the Aw K&amp;#246;ppen Climate Classification, which signifies tropical hot and dry or Savannah climate. Due to excessive humidity, uncomfortable thermal conditions persist year-round in both cities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;An extensive thermal comfort perception survey was conducted between November 2018 and August 2019 in three similar neighborhoods in each city with over 650 valid samples. The microentrepreneurial locations included two pottery markets (Kumbhadwada in Mumbai, &amp;#160;Kumartuli in Kolkata); two flower markets that are linear stretches of informal activity areas along very important transportation networks (Dadar in Mumbai, Mallickghat in Kolkata); a book selling and book binding market (Boipara in Kolkata); and an informal commercial area with apparel shops (Fashion Street in Mumbai).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Results show that outdoor thermal comfort varied by city, micro-enterprise, and season. Overall, Kolkata respondents reported warmer sensations compared to Mumbai respondents. During the winter, neutral Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) was 27.50&lt;sup&gt;o&lt;/sup&gt;C in Kolkata and 23.75&lt;sup&gt;o&lt;/sup&gt;C in Mumbai. Annual neutral PET was 22.7&amp;#176;C and 26.5&amp;#176;C in Mallickghat and Boipara, respectively. Respondents in Boipara were more sensitive towards warmer sensation than in Mallickghat. Even during the winter, people reported warmer sensation votes. PET was a better predictor of the mean Thermal Sensation Vote (mTSV) compared to air temperature. In Mumbai, we report higher neutral PET for activities at the clothing market compared to other microentrepreneurial activities. Acclimatization significantly improved comfort in the summer, while evaporative cooling was beneficial in the winter. We further employed an ANCOVA to analyze the impact of various non-climatic variables on thermal comfort. Results reveal that behavioral and physiological attributes (presence in the location, expectation, beverage intake) impact the overall sensation in both cities. Availability of shading was a significant parameter in Kolkata, while shading had a negligible effect on outdoor thermal sensation in Mumbai neighborhoods.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is the first study to assess outdoor thermal comfort conditions and perceptions of populations involved in various outdoor informal economic activities in India. Findings of this study help understand the heat health risks of informal communities and inform the design and revitalization of such spaces to improve thermal comfort.&lt;/p&gt;


Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (s1) ◽  
pp. S101-S110
Author(s):  
Alexandre Gentner ◽  
Giuliano Gradinati ◽  
Carole Favart ◽  
Kojo Sarfo Gyamfi ◽  
James Brusey

BACKGROUND: For passengers in private or public transportation systems, comfort is a major interest. Available comfort models are already used to correlate thermal comfort to influencing factors. However, the available models do not other sensory comfort aspect and specific influences as fragrances and ambient light. OBJECTIVE: This publication investigates the impact of fragrances with “warm” and “cold” associated meanings on thermal and overall comfort perception. METHODS: Human subject trials (n = 47) were performed in different temperature-controlled environments following a 3×3 within-subject design considering ambient fragrance (“neutral scent”, “peppermint”, “orange & cinnamon”) and ambient light as variables. RESULTS: Olfactory comfort is shown to have the larger effect on overall comfort perception, comparable in weight to the one of thermal comfort. The impact observed on thermal sensation was in line with the meanings associated the fragrances, whereas it was positive on thermal comfort appreciation regardless of the type of fragrance diffused. CONCLUSIONS: These initial results suggest that olfactory stimulations have the potential to positively impact thermal and overall comfort. The appreciation of the fragrance appears to have a major impact on these interactions and should be deeply considered in future research and features development.


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