Experimental and numerical study of the flow dynamics and thermal behavior inside a car cabin: Innovative air diffusers and human body plumes interactions
In confined spaces, such as vehicle cabins, airflow and temperature distribution are the most critical factors affecting thermal comfort and pollutant dispersion. To develop innovative and energy-efficient HVAC systems, a deep understanding of the interaction of the jet flow from the air diffusers o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Energy Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484722014007 |
| _version_ | 1797900681387966464 |
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| author | Paul Dancă Amaury Jamin Ilinca Nastase Bart Janssens Walter Bosschaerts Costin Coşoiu |
| author_facet | Paul Dancă Amaury Jamin Ilinca Nastase Bart Janssens Walter Bosschaerts Costin Coşoiu |
| author_sort | Paul Dancă |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In confined spaces, such as vehicle cabins, airflow and temperature distribution are the most critical factors affecting thermal comfort and pollutant dispersion. To develop innovative and energy-efficient HVAC systems, a deep understanding of the interaction of the jet flow from the air diffusers on the development process of the human thermal plume became essential to improve the knowledge of airflow patterns for optimizing ventilation system design, thermal comfort, and, indirectly, the energy efficiency. The human thermal plume is one of the most challenging phenomena to capture with optical measurement methods and validate with complex numerical models, given its unsteady nature governed by the buoyancy forces. This study aims to validate the interaction of jet flows from classical and innovative air diffusers on the thermal plume by comparing measured data and numerical simulation results. This validation was made with a specific approach by comparing PIV fields from measurements and CFD results with boundary conditions of air velocity distribution from LDV data. The PIV measurements for flow distributions at the air vents and the thermal plume of an advanced thermal manikin in the driver’s seat were performed in a 1:1 scale mock-up of a Renault Megane car cabin in a climatic chamber. The results obtained with both methods showed good agreement regarding air velocity ranges and distributions. Despite the confined cabin space restricting the development of the thermal plume, a difference in maximum velocities of 0.08 m/s was observed when the distance between the top of the head and the ceiling was doubled. With innovative air diffusers, air velocity distribution showed a more uniform flow than classical diffusers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T08:49:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d2a1a6a71ac41e2a24f1930fa8ec0b2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-4847 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T08:49:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energy Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d2a1a6a71ac41e2a24f1930fa8ec0b22023-02-22T04:30:59ZengElsevierEnergy Reports2352-48472022-11-0189921002Experimental and numerical study of the flow dynamics and thermal behavior inside a car cabin: Innovative air diffusers and human body plumes interactionsPaul Dancă0Amaury Jamin1Ilinca Nastase2Bart Janssens3Walter Bosschaerts4Costin Coşoiu5Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest, CAMBI Research Center, Romania; National Research-Development Institute for Electrical Engineering ICPE-CA, Bucharest, RomaniaTechnical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest, CAMBI Research Center, Romania; Department of Mechanical Engineering Royal Military Academy Brussels, BelgiumTechnical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest, CAMBI Research Center, RomaniaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering Royal Military Academy Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Mechanical Engineering Royal Military Academy Brussels, BelgiumTechnical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest, Aerodynamics and Wind Engineering Laboratory “Constantin Iamandi”, Romania; Corresponding author.In confined spaces, such as vehicle cabins, airflow and temperature distribution are the most critical factors affecting thermal comfort and pollutant dispersion. To develop innovative and energy-efficient HVAC systems, a deep understanding of the interaction of the jet flow from the air diffusers on the development process of the human thermal plume became essential to improve the knowledge of airflow patterns for optimizing ventilation system design, thermal comfort, and, indirectly, the energy efficiency. The human thermal plume is one of the most challenging phenomena to capture with optical measurement methods and validate with complex numerical models, given its unsteady nature governed by the buoyancy forces. This study aims to validate the interaction of jet flows from classical and innovative air diffusers on the thermal plume by comparing measured data and numerical simulation results. This validation was made with a specific approach by comparing PIV fields from measurements and CFD results with boundary conditions of air velocity distribution from LDV data. The PIV measurements for flow distributions at the air vents and the thermal plume of an advanced thermal manikin in the driver’s seat were performed in a 1:1 scale mock-up of a Renault Megane car cabin in a climatic chamber. The results obtained with both methods showed good agreement regarding air velocity ranges and distributions. Despite the confined cabin space restricting the development of the thermal plume, a difference in maximum velocities of 0.08 m/s was observed when the distance between the top of the head and the ceiling was doubled. With innovative air diffusers, air velocity distribution showed a more uniform flow than classical diffusers.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484722014007Jet flowsThermal plumeLDVPIVCFDHVAC |
| spellingShingle | Paul Dancă Amaury Jamin Ilinca Nastase Bart Janssens Walter Bosschaerts Costin Coşoiu Experimental and numerical study of the flow dynamics and thermal behavior inside a car cabin: Innovative air diffusers and human body plumes interactions Energy Reports Jet flows Thermal plume LDV PIV CFD HVAC |
| title | Experimental and numerical study of the flow dynamics and thermal behavior inside a car cabin: Innovative air diffusers and human body plumes interactions |
| title_full | Experimental and numerical study of the flow dynamics and thermal behavior inside a car cabin: Innovative air diffusers and human body plumes interactions |
| title_fullStr | Experimental and numerical study of the flow dynamics and thermal behavior inside a car cabin: Innovative air diffusers and human body plumes interactions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental and numerical study of the flow dynamics and thermal behavior inside a car cabin: Innovative air diffusers and human body plumes interactions |
| title_short | Experimental and numerical study of the flow dynamics and thermal behavior inside a car cabin: Innovative air diffusers and human body plumes interactions |
| title_sort | experimental and numerical study of the flow dynamics and thermal behavior inside a car cabin innovative air diffusers and human body plumes interactions |
| topic | Jet flows Thermal plume LDV PIV CFD HVAC |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484722014007 |
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