Three dimensional numerical analysis of temperature distribution in an automobile cabin

Abstract

In this study. 3-D numerical analysis of temperature distribution in the automobile cabin were performed by using computational fluid dynamics method. For this purpose, a 3-D automobile cabin including window and outer surfaces was modeled by using the real dimensions of a car. To evaluate the results of numerical analysis according to thermal comfort, a virtual manikin divided into 17 parts with real dimensions and physiological shape was added to the model of the automobile cabin. Temperature distributions of the automobile cabin were obtained from the results of the 3-D steady and transient numerical analyses for standard heating and cooling period. Validations of the results were achieved by comparing to the results of the experimental studies performed simultaneously with the numerical analyses.