ABSTRACT
The objective of this work is to test and validate a program named Huthereg that simulates the human thermo-physiological behavior.
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
The program is composed by several modules, namely for the calculation of the thermo-physiological response, the heat and water transport through clothing, the heat and mass exchange between the external surface of clothing (or skin) and the environment, the start and evolution of skin injuries (pain and burn) and the detection of specific incidents within the individual. Due to its interdependency, all modules are run iteratively in each time step until a specific convergence criterion is reached. The module for simulation of human’s thermo-physiological response is based on the Stolwijk (1971) thermoregulation model, improved with recent knowledge (e.g. Tanabe et al., 2002; Raimundo and Figueiredo, 2009; Raimundo et al., 2012). This enhanced 89-node model considers the human body divided in 22 segments (face, scalp, neck, chest, abdomen, upper back, lower back, pelvis, left shoulder, right shoulder, left arm, right arm, left forearm, right forearm, left hand, right hand, left thigh, right thigh, left leg, right leg, left foot and right foot). Each body segment is composed of 4 layers (core, muscle, fat and skin) and
1 INTRODUCTION
Simulation programs of the human thermo-physiological behavior have been increasing its importance over the years. Indoor air quality, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and any other device that aims to improve thermal comfort inside buildings are becoming more and more important. In developed countries people spent most of their time indoors. Therefore, the concern about the living environment indoors is greatly increased. Thermal comfort of occupants not only enhances the subjective feeling of satisfaction with the thermal environment but also increases productivity. Another matter in which the simulation of human thermo-physiological response is important refers to the design of several activities (industry, sports, military, firefighters, …) by improving efficiency in order to avoid collapse or heat/cold stress conditions (Oliveira et al., 2014a; Oliveira et al., 2014b; Abreu et al., 2014). Considering that industrial workers are often exposed to hot and cold environments, anticipating the human behavior is essential to achieve success and productivity. The role of this kind of simulations is also significant in the design of the protocol of certain activities being also useful in medical activities and research, namely when high metabolic rates are involved. It is also important to emphasize that with this kind of simulations individuals are never at risk.
