Abstract
This paper simulates and compares the impacts of two ventilation methods on the flow field and temperature distribution in a car cabin, presenting an impinging jet ventilation (IJV) system for automobile cabins. The simulation’s accuracy is verified by impinging jet experiment results and prior simulation studies. The Fiala thermoregulation model and equivalent homogeneous temperature (EHT) model are used to assess the driver’s thermal comfort. The results show that, compared to traditional dashboard-dominated ventilation, the IJV system significantly alters the cabin flow field by increasing velocity and promoting uniform mixing. Airflow around the driver is enhanced, temperature distribution is more even, and local high temperatures near the driver are reduced. Vertical and longitudinal temperature variations in the cabin decrease markedly, and temperature differences in the driver’s clothing and skin are lowered. Heat perceptions at different body parts move closer to neutral, as indicated by the EHT model. Additionally, the Fiala predicted percentage dissatisfied and Fiala dynamic thermal sensation drop by 14.34% and 13.56%, respectively, significantly improving thermal comfort. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 055101 |
| Journal | Physics of Fluids |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Online published | 1 May 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2025 |
Funding
The authors acknowledge the computational resources provided by the High-Performance Computing Center of Central South University, China. This work was accomplished with the support of the Independent Exploration of Graduate Students of Central South University of China (1053320220657), Strategic Research Grants of City University of Hong Kong (Nos. 7005679 and 7005564), and the Natural Science Fund of Chongqing (2023NSCQ-BSX0063).
Research Keywords
- Heat transfer
- Heating
- ventilation
- and air-conditioning
- Thermodynamic properties
- Solar irradiance
- Thermal analysis
- Radiation
- Computational fluid dynamics
- Flow simulations
- Fluid flows
- Thermoregulation
Publisher's Copyright Statement
- COPYRIGHT TERMS OF DEPOSITED FINAL PUBLISHED VERSION FILE: This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Puyang Zhang, Xinchao Su, Wenxiao Ma, Weizhen Lu, Chao Qin, Guangjun Gao, Qianwen Zhang, Kan He; Thermal comfort assessment of the cabin driver exposed to impinging jet ventilation based on Fiala and equivalent homogeneous temperature methods. Physics of Fluids 1 May 2025; 37 (5): 055101 and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0271498.