Thermal Comfort Analysis of Passenger Compartment of a Hybrid Vehicle

Abstract

The internal environment of the passenger compartment directly affects the mental state of the driver and passengers. The research on the thermal comfort of the passenger compartment has become an important topic in the automotive industry. This paper used computational fluid dynamics method to study the thermal environment of the passenger compartment and the thermal comfort of the human body under different air outlets. Predictive mean vote model and equivalent temperature model were used for calculation. The influence of solar radiation on the velocity and temperature field in the passenger compartment was considered in the simulation process, and the correctness of the simulation results was verified by the cooling performance experiment of air conditioning. The results showed that the position of the air outlet had a great influence on the driver’s thermal comfort. When the air outlet was on the driver’s side, the driver’s thermal comfort was the best.