SIMULATION OF SKIN TEMPERATURE AND SENSIBLE AND LATENT HEAT LOSSES THROUGH FUR LAYERS

Abstract

Estimates of the rate of heat loss from animals to the environment are used to determine food requirements ofdomestic species in relation to weather or their need for shelter, and to establish the extent to which climate influences thebehavior and distribution of wild species. A mechanistic model was developed to predict skin surface temperature,temperature profile through fur layers, and sensible and latent heat fluxes at skin surfaces for defined environmentalconditions. The model incorporates physical and optical properties of the hair and fur layer, and environmental factorsincluding solar and thermal radiation, and considers skin surface temperature as a dynamic quantity. Sensitivity analyseswere conducted to determine effects of different environmental factors and fur properties. The skin surface temperatureincreased with increasing ambient air temperature, solar load, hair density, and hair coat thickness, but decreased withincreasing wind speed. When wet, the skin temperature increased with increasing relative humidity, and evaporative heat lossincreased with increasing ambient air temperature, wind speed, solar load, and hair density, but decreased with increasingrelative humidity and hair coat thickness.