Numerical Simulation for the Thermal Comfort of Car Occupants

Toru Takabayashi & Yoshiichi Ozeki

Thermal comfort for car occupants is important factor for automotive design. We have been developing
the numerical simulator to predict and evaluate not only the thermal environment but also thermal comfort in vehicles. In this simulation, firstly distribution of solar radiation energy through the glass can be calculated actually, then temperature and air flow distribution, and human comfort can be computed by a combined analysis of CFD(computational fluid dynamics), thermal radiation and body temperature control model which corresponds to shapes of a vehicle and human body. The thermal environment differences between solar reduction glass and normal glass should be clear, which makes the effects of functional glass clear from the view point of human comfort.

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The Authors

Mr. Toru Takabayashi Senior Engineer Asahi Glass Company Mr. Toru Takabayashi is an engineer in Fabricated Glass General Division Technical Center of Asahi Glass Company. His background is material mechanics, especially fracture mechanics of structural cera... Read more