ABSTRACT
With the strong drive across the transport industry to improve passenger comfort, there is interest in optimising the thermal environment. The occupant space of a vehicle is a complex thermal microclimate, which can be prone to large temporal and spatial variation. The space has to be able to provide protection from extreme
7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................97 7.1.1 Environmental Parameters .................................................................98 7.1.2 Personal Parameters............................................................................99 7.1.3 Thermal Comfort .............................................................................. 101 7.1.4 Thermal Comfort Indices ................................................................. 101
7.1.4.1 Effective Temperature ........................................................ 102 7.1.4.2 Equivalent Temperature (Teq) ............................................. 102 7.1.4.3 Operative Temperature (To) ............................................... 103 7.1.4.4 Thermal Comfort and the Comfort Equation .................... 103
7.1.5 Predicted Mean Vote ........................................................................ 105 7.1.6 Adaptive Thermal Comfort .............................................................. 106 7.1.7 Solar Radiation ................................................................................. 106
7.2 Vehicle Environments ................................................................................... 109 7.2.1 Transient Thermal Comfort .............................................................. 110 7.2.2 Seating .............................................................................................. 110
7.3 Vehicle Assessment ...................................................................................... 111 7.3.1 Chamber Studies Versus Field Evaluation ........................................ 113 7.3.2 Thermal Manikins ............................................................................ 113 7.3.3 Human Subject Trials ....................................................................... 115 7.3.4 Guidelines for Desirable Vehicle Environmental Conditions .......... 118 7.3.5 Gender............................................................................................... 118 7.3.6 Goals for Future ................................................................................ 118
References .............................................................................................................. 119
external environments over a wide range of temperatures, very cold winters (sub0°C temperatures), and increasingly hot summers (plus 30°C). To be able to design occupant spaces and the control systems for these spaces, which can provide thermally comfortable environments for the passengers, it is important to understand the thermal responses of the human body. This chapter considers the elements that contribute to the occupant response and perception of the thermal environment, and measurement and evaluation of vehicle spaces to ensure the optimum conditions for driver and passengers alike.
