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Prediction of air temperature for thermal comfort of people in outdoor environments

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International Journal of Biometeorology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Current thermal comfort indices do not take into account the effects of wind and body movement on the thermal resistance and vapor resistance of clothing. This may cause public health problem, e.g. cold-related mortality. Based on the energy balance equation and heat exchanges between a clothed body and the outdoor environment, a mathematical model was developed to determine the air temperature at which an average adult, wearing a specific outdoor clothing and engaging in a given activity, attains thermal comfort under outdoor environment condition. The results indicated low clothing insulation, less physical activity and high wind speed lead to high air temperature prediction for thermal comfort. More accurate air temperature prediction is able to prevent wearers from hypothermia under cold conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Textile and Material, Wuhan University of Science and Engineering, Wuhan, Hubei, 430073, China

    Jianhua Huang

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  1. Jianhua Huang
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Correspondence to Jianhua Huang.

Appendix

Appendix

Qbasic computer program for generating air temperature for thermal comfort of people in outdoor environments

‘THE COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR CALCULATION OF AIR TEMPERATURE FOR THERMAL COMFORT OF PEOPLE IN OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENTS.

‘THE PROGRAM IS WRITTEN IN QBASIC

‘Developed by Jianhua Huang, 2006

‘Input initial values

INPUT “metabolic rate (W/m2)”, M

INPUT “relative humidity (%)”, RH

INPUT “mean radiation temperature(°C)”, Tmrt

INPUT “intrinsic clothing insulation (clo)”, Icl

INPUT “wind speed (m/s)”, V

INPUT “duration of exposure,‘9999” for steady-state (hour)”, H

‘Calculation of the air temperature using stepwise iteration

balance = 100: x = 1: Ta = 40 ‘Initial estimation value

WHILE (ABS(balance) > .01)

‘Calculation of Convective heat loss from the skin

Ra = 1 / 9

fcl = 1 + .31 * Icl

IF H = 9999 THEN Tsk = 35.7 - .0285 * M ELSE Tsk = 35.7 - .0285 * M - 3

Rst = Icl * .155 + Ra / fcl

WS = .0052 * (M - 58)

IF WS > .7 THEN WS = .7

corr = EXP(.043 - .398 * V + .066 * V * V - .378 * WS + .094 * WS * WS)

Rdyn = Rst * corr

C = (Tsk - Ta) / Rdyn

‘Calculation of radiation heat exchange

hr = 5.67E-08 * .97 * .77 * (EXP(4 * LOG(Tsk + 273.15)) - EXP(4 * LOG(Tmrt + 273.15))) / (Tsk - Tmrt)

IF V < 1 THEN hc = 3.5 + 5.2 * V ELSE hc = 8.7 * EXP(.6 * LOG(V))

Fcl = 1 / ((hc + hr) * Icl * .155 + 1 / fcl)

R = hr * Fcl * (Tsk - Ta)

‘Calculation of Evaporative Heat Loss from the Skin

Psk = .1333 * EXP(18.6686 - 4030.183 / (Tsk + 235))

Pa = RH * .1333 * EXP(18.6686 - 4030.183 / (Ta + 235)) / 100

Im = .38 * (4.9 - 6.5 * corr + 2.6 * corr * corr)

IF Im > .9 THEN Im = .9

Retdyn = Rdyn / Im / 16.65

w = .001 * M

E = w * (Psk - Pa) / Retdyn

‘Calculation of Convective Heat Loss from Respiration

mres = 2.58 * .000001 * M

Tex = 29 + .2 * Ta

Cres = 1007 * mres * (Tex - Ta) / 1.8

‘Calculation of Evaporative Heat Loss from Respiration

Wa = .622 * Pa / (101.325 - Pa)

Pex = .1333 * EXP(18.6686 - 4030.183 / (Tex + 235))

Wex = .622 * Pex / (101.325 - Pex)

Eres = 2423000 * mres * (Wex - Wa) / 1.8

‘Calculation of heat debt or heat storage

IF H = 9999 THEN S = 0 ELSE S = 40 / H

balance = M - C - R - E - Cres - Eres - S

IF balance < 0 THEN Ta = Ta + x: x = x / 2 ELSE Ta = Ta - x

WEND

PRINT “Icl=”; Icl, “expected air temperature for thermal comfort is”; Ta

END

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Huang, J. Prediction of air temperature for thermal comfort of people in outdoor environments. Int J Biometeorol 51, 375–382 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-006-0083-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-006-0083-2

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