Transient numerical analysis of airflow and heat transfer in a vehicle cabin during heating period

Abstract

This paper describes a three-dimensional transient numerical analysis to determine the airflow and heat transfer characteristics inside the vehicle cabin during a heating period. A three-dimensional vehicle cabin including glazed surfaces and pertinent physical and thermal properties of the enclosure was modelled by using the real dimensions of a car. A virtual manikin was added to the model of the vehicle cabin to determine the heat transfer between the human body and the vehicle cabin ambient. The analysis takes into account all the possible thermal load of the cabin. Governing equations were solved by an implicit, time marching finite volume numerical scheme under varying inlet boundary conditions of the vehicle air conditioning system. The results of numerical calculations were in good agreement with the available experimental and theoretical data in the literature.