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A review on different methodologies to study thermal comfort

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Abstract

Thermal comfort has been the area, which is explored extensively by the researchers to improve the performance of human being. This vast field has been studied by two different broad ways, namely experimental and theoretical. This paper comprehensively reviews these two methodologies in detail. The experimental study in this field has been categorized through two different ways, adaptive and rational. In former, the experiments are performed in the actual environment and in later, the experiments are performed in a climate simulator. This paper also reviews the theoretical study by discussing different mathematical models which are required in the study. Different ways of theoretical analysis, namely steady-state and transient state, have been reviewed along with solving methods. Different factors affecting thermal comfort have been summarized. At last, future scope related to this field has been discussed.

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Abbreviations

T :

Temperature (°C)

Q st :

Rate of heat stored inside the body (W/m2)

M :

Metabolic rate (W/m2)

W :

Work acquire (W/m2)

Q rad :

Radiation heat transfer (W/m2)

Q conv :

Convection heat transfer (W/m2)

C d :

Conduction heat exchange (W/m2)

Q evp :

Evaporation heat transfer (W/m2)

E res :

Evaporative heat loss through respiration (W/m2)

C res :

Dry heat exchange through respiration (W/m2)

m :

Mass of human body (kg)

H :

Height of the human body (m)

A Du :

Surface area of unclothe body (m2)

A rd :

Effective radiation area of human body (m2)

A man :

Surface area of man for Chinese people (m2)

A woman :

Surface area of woman for Chinese people (m2)

f cl :

Ratio of body area with cloth to without cloth

f eff :

Effective radiation area factor

ε :

Emission coefficient at the body surface

σ :

Stefan–Boltzmann’s constant

T cl :

Mean outer surface temperature of the clothed body (°C)

α :

Fraction of total body mass concentrated in skin compartment

CSIG:

Cold signals from the body

MRT:

Mean radiant temperature

T sk :

Skin temperature (°C)

S cr :

Stored energies in core

K :

Effective heat transfer coefficient between core and skin

Q res :

Respiration heat exchange (W/m2)

T b :

Average body temperature (°C)

Q e,max :

Maximum evaporative potential

Q e,dif :

Heat loss due to natural diffusion of water from the skin

\(w_{{{\text{rsw}}}}\) :

Skin wittedness due to regulatory sweating

h cv :

Convective heat transfer coefficient

v ar :

Resulting relative velocity of air (m/s)

v a :

Air velocity (m/s)

h rd :

Radiation heat transfer coefficient

P a :

Ambient water vapour pressure (kPa)

\(P_{{{\text{sk}},{\text{s}}}}\) :

Water vapour pressure at skin (kPa)

\(F_{{{\text{pcl}}}}\) :

Cloth permeability factor

I cl :

Insulating factor due to clothing (clo)

T op :

Operative temperature (°C)

T a :

Air temperature (°C)

T g :

Temperature measured by globe (°C)

WSIGb :

Warm signal from body

WSIGsk :

Warm signal from skin

D :

Globe diameter (m)

PMV:

Predicted mean vote

PPD:

Percent of people dissatisfied

TSV:

Thermal sensation votes

R 2 :

Coefficient of determination

L :

Thermal load

T mrt :

Mean radiation temperature (°C)

\(m_{{{\text{bl}}}}\) :

Blood flow per unit of skin area between core and skin

\(m_{{{\text{rsw}}}}\) :

Sweat production rate per unit skin area

MTSV:

Mean thermal sensation votes

Rcl :

Clothing thermal insulation (m2/K/W)

Tcr :

Core temperature (°C)

Ssk :

Stored energies in skin

Qcr_sk :

Rate of heat transmit from core to skin (W/m2)

\(C_{{{\text{p}},{\text{bl}}}}\) :

Specific heat of blood

LR:

Lewis ratio

CSIGsk :

Cold signals from the skin

Q e,rsw :

Heat loss due to evaporation of sweat secreted (W/m2)

\(i_{{{\text{cl}}}}\) :

Permeation efficiency of clothing

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This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-profit sector.

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  1. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667, India

    S. Das & S. Subudhi

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Das, S., Subudhi, S. A review on different methodologies to study thermal comfort. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 2155–2171 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03210-8

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