Evaluation of Sensation of Dryness in Airway Under Low Humidity Environment by Heat and Moisture Transfer Model of Respiration

Abstract

To realize indoor thermal environments without discomfort due to dryness in the airway, the relationship among the sensation, the hygrothermal state in the airway and environmental conditions should be quantitatively studied. Subject experiments revealed that under conditions with high temperature or low humidity, the exhaled air temperature was higher, and the sensation of dryness was stronger. In addition, the results of the respiration model that calculated the hygrothermal state in the airway showed agreement with the experimental results. Moreover, the calculated moisture evaporation rate in the airway correlated with the sensation of dryness, which suggested the possibility of predicting a dry sensation based on the proposed model.