Evaluation of thermal comfort conditions in a localized radiant system placed in front and behind two students seated nearby warmed curtains

Abstract

In this work the evaluation of thermal comfort conditions, that two students are subjected, in a classroom desk equipped with a localized radiant system placed in front and behind the occupants seated nearby windows equipped with curtains subjected to solar radiation, in Winter conditions, is made. In the simulation, performed in a 2.7 × 2.4 × 2.4 m 3 virtual chamber, two occupants seated in a classroom desk, equipped with two localized radiant surfaces placed in front and two localized radiant surfaces placed behind them, a window subjected to solar radiation and an internal curtain are considered. A numerical model, that allows to simulate the human body thermal, clothing thermal and thermoregulatory systems, in non-uniform environments, is used. The Mean Radiant Temperature, with and without correction, and Radiosity methods are used in the study of the influence of the localized radiant surface, the room surrounding surfaces, the lateral occupant’s body, the lateral curtain surface and the lateral solar radiation, in the thermal comfort conditions. In the first part of the study three numerical methods used in the evaluation of internal radiant heat exchanges in an acceptable typical thermal situation are analysed, while in the second part the influence of four important thermal parameters in the thermal comfort level is analysed. In the first part of this work, the localized radiant surfaces and the lateral occupant’s body are evaluated in the first test, the localized radiant surfaces, the lateral occupants body and the lateral curtains surface are evaluated in the second test and the localized radiant surfaces, the lateral occupants body, the lateral window glass surface and the lateral solar radiation are evaluated in the third test. In the second part of this work, the influence of air temperature, equal to the room surrounding surfaces temperature, the localized radiant system temperature, the lateral curtains temperature and the air relative humidity, in the thermal comfort level, that the two occupants are subjected, is evaluated.