Comfort Satisfaction Research Articles

Evaluating the performance of six 1970s off-gas deep retrofit bungalows

This paper presents the energy and environmental performance of whole house energy systems implemented in six 1970s bungalows in South Wales, owned by Swansea Council. The objective was to reduce energy demand and carbon emissions, maximise renewable supply whilst ensuring a comfortable and affordable home for the residents. The whole house energy system for each home involved the installation of a combination of passive and active low carbon solutions. Detailed monitoring was carried out for a year before and for more than 2 years after the work, annual figures have been validated and normalised for weather. Analysis of monitored data confirms that Standard Assessment Performance ratings improved from 12 to 95. The average annual energy consumption across the six bungalows was reduced from 16,117 to 4560 kWh. 2418 kWh was provided by the PV panels and battery, with 1963 kWh of excess electricity that could be sold back to the grid. Real-life average Ground Source Heat Pump CoP was monitored at 3.3. Embodied carbon for retrofitting each house is estimated at 22,980 KgCO2e +/−20%, approximately 5-years carbon payback. Indoor conditions have been improved with internal temperature and relative humidity achieving standards with residents reporting levels of improved comfort satisfaction. Practical Application A whole house energy system demonstrates the benefits of a holistic, fabric and systems retrofit approach. The work informs how gathering data using appropriate methods assists modelling predictions and decisions throughout the retrofit stages. The study demonstrates extensive monitoring as a vital tool to evaluate the performance of the individual components and the whole system within the home, as used by the residents. Performance evaluation is critical in identifying issues, allowing resolutions to be made both immediately on-site as well for longer term, follow on retrofit programmes. Real-life performance evaluation and visualisation methods are transferable across global building industry.

A personal thermal comfort model based on causal artificial intelligence: a physiological sensor-enabled causal identifiability.

Personal thermal comfort affects occupants' health, well-being, and productivity. Its satisfaction is subjective, based on individual characteristics and dynamic environments, and challenging to understand, requiring predicted outcomes and explanations of how and why the outcomes happen. This research fulfills this concern using a personal thermal comfort model based on causal artificial intelligence. It encodes personal thermal comfort satisfaction based on a new causal-and-effect framework to connect the human mind and environmental factors. Random variables encode relevant factors, and the structural causal model performs cause-and-effect relationships. The do-calculus (e.g., d-separated and d-connected) draws the common sense of the model based on causal structure representation, contributing to a human-intelligent understanding. A directed acyclic graph and exact-inference-based variable elimination quantify the model parameters based on real-world observational data. The strength of causal relationships is verified based on causal odd ratio, causal sensitivity, and causal impact. The results highlight that our proposed model can encode physiological and physical factors to predict and explain personal thermal comfort satisfaction. It can predict and explain such satisfaction reasonably and robustly, converging to human-like interpretation. It can be applied to intelligent systems to understand personal thermal comfort.

On-site evaluation of indoor thermal comfort and energy performance of a liquid-desiccant assisted air-conditioning system in a high-latent-load building

Indoor humidity control is increasingly important because indoor sensible heat ratio decreases to reduce building energy consumption. However, reference vapor compression cooling systems exhibit energy inefficiency and limitations in maintaining indoor thermal comfort. Therefore, this study proposes an alternative heat-pump-driven liquid-desiccant air-conditioning system, independently controlling air temperature and humidity. The reference and proposed systems are applied to a high-latent-load building to investigate their onsite indoor thermal comfort and energy performance empirically and simultaneously under various outdoor summer conditions. The reference system exhibits a thermal comfort satisfaction ratio of 97% only under limited hot and dry weather. Conversely, the thermal comfort satisfaction ratio sharply drops to 2% or less under humid weather. The proposed system consistently achieves a high thermal comfort satisfaction ratio exceeding 90% under various outdoor summer conditions. In empirical comparisons, the proposed system can maintain a thermally comfortable room for an hour while achieving energy savings exceeding 92.4% and 12.1% under warm and humid (rainy season) and hot and humid outdoor conditions, respectively. The proposed system is concluded to consistently maintain indoor thermal comfort while using energy efficiently, demonstrating its widespread applicability for general high-latent-load buildings characterized by low indoor sensible heat ratio values of 0.56 on average.

CFD of the diffusion movement and concentration distribution of culinary particles in the respiratory zone of restaurant diners

Released aerosol particles during restaurant culinary activity affect diners' health. The air conditioning system is crucial for regulating indoor air quality. However, its improper air distribution increases the individuals' exposure to particle pollution. This study investigates restaurants employing side-up airflow during summer with numerous heat sources and examines the culinary particle diffusion in the diners’ respiratory zone under the combined influence of air conditioning cold jet air supply and culinary heat source heat plume. It elucidates the change rule of the concentration distribution of culinary particles under the combined action of these two heterogeneous airflows.This study investigated the movement and concentration distribution of indoor particle by numerical simulation under various air supply velocities, culinary heat source strengths and positions and tuyere opening modes. In restaurants with culinary sources, the thermal buoyancy by the heat plume causes particles to rise. However, the drag force exerted by the cold air supply jet impedes the particles’ upward motion. The particle concentration distribution is significantly influenced by both the air supply velocity and the relative positioning of the heat source and the tuyere. Particle concentration increases by 27.13 % in the respiratory zone when the air supply jet trajectory is above the pollution emission source than below. Therefore, lowered air supply velocity is ideal with increased horizontal distance between the emission source and the tuyere under the condition of comfort satisfaction. This scenario mitigates the downward movement exerted by the jet on the particles. The drag force is increased with the air supply velocity increasing from 2.5 m/s to 4.0 m/s. Particle concentration is raised to 41.38 % in the respiratory zone. The drag force by the cold jet on the particles is also heightened with the bilateral tuyere than its single-side counterpart which increases particle concentration maximum by 40.30 % in the respiratory zone.

Research on the Design of Recessed Balconies in University Dormitories in Cold Regions Based on Multi-Objective Optimization

Thermal comfort and daylighting are vital components of dormitory environments. However, enhancing indoor lighting conditions may lead to increased annual energy consumption and decreased thermal comfort. Therefore, it is crucial to identify methods to reduce buildings’ energy costs while maintaining occupants’ thermal comfort and daylighting. Taking the dormitory building of Songyuan No. 2 at Shandong Jianzhu University of Architecture, which is located in a cold region, as an example, a field measurement analysis was conducted on the recessed balconies within the dormitory. The measured data were analyzed and utilized to simulate the annual energy consumption, thermal comfort predicted mean vote (PMV), and useful daylight illuminance (UDI) values of the dormitory units using the Grasshopper platform with the Ladybug and Honeybee plugins. The different depths of the balconies and window-to-wall ratios have a significant impact on the indoor physical environment and energy consumption, leading to the design of independent variables and the construction of a simplified parametric model. The simulation results underwent multi-objective optimization using genetic algorithm theory through the Octopus platform, resulting in a Pareto optimal solution set. Comparisons between the final-generation data and simulations of the original Song II dormitory unit indicate potential energy savings of up to 2.5%, with a 25% improvement in indoor thermal comfort satisfaction. Although there was no significant improvement in the UDI value, all the solution sets meet the minimum requirement of 300 lux specified by relevant regulations, according to the simulated average illuminance levels on the indoor work plane. Finally, the 60 optimal solution sets were further screened, filtering out sets deviating excessively from certain objectives, to identify 6 optimal solutions that are more balanced and exhibit a higher overall optimization rate. These findings offer detailed data references to assist in the design of dormitory buildings in cold regions.

An experimental investigation on the effect of lighting colour of localized radiant panel thermal comfort system

This study investigated the effect of different correlated colour temperature (CCT) lighting on perceived thermal comfort in a simulated domestic environment with radiant heating. A prototype with adjustable CCT lighting (4000K neutral, 1800K warm, 6500K cold) alongside electric radiant panels was installed in an environmental chamber set to 18 °C. The investigation involved sixty participants who each underwent 30-min exposure sessions to one of the lighting scenarios in a blinded setup, during which they filled out thermal comfort questionnaires at predetermined intervals. Overall, the findings revealed satisfactory comfort levels, with average global comfort votes of “good” and 82.32 % thermal acceptability, across scenarios. The radiant heating prototype successfully maintained thermal comfort in the less-conditioned space. Looking at the different lighting scenarios, the “warm” lighting initially provided the highest thermal comfort, aligning with the hue-heat hypothesis, with global comfort votes of 1.13, compared to 0.96 for “neutral” and 0.78 for “cold” after the first 10 min. However, differences became less pronounced over time. Contrary to hypotheses, the “cold” lighting scenario did not reduce comfort compared to “neutral”. Moreover, Participants indicated greater thermal satisfaction under “warm” lighting. Although changes in lighting CCT did not drastically alter thermal perceptions, they did have a subtle influence on comfort, particularly during the initial stages of the experiment. This finding suggests the need for further research into how visual and thermal comfort interactions can be optimized.

Identification, Cause and Surgical Management of Traumatic Fibroma in the Jugal Mucosa: A Case Report

Aims: the objective of the present study is to report a clinical case aimed at the diagnosis and treatment of a traumatic fibroma located in the region of the unilateral buccal mucosa based on clinical and histopathological examination.
 Case Report: A 43-year-old male patient, melanoderma, attended the Nilton Lins University dental clinic reporting the existence of a large nodule in the cheek region. Based on the clinical appearance of the lesion, the diagnostic hypothesis of traumatic fibroma was established; therefore, the surgical excision of the lesion was determined for subsequent referral to confirm the hypothesis. The removed content was transferred to a container containing a 10% formaldehyde solution and sent to the Department of Pathology and Legal Medicine of the Federal University of Amazonas for histopathological analysis, which disclosed benign epithelial thickening with parakeratosis and underlying connective tissue hyperplasia. Given the characteristics presented in the analyzed histological picture, the definitive diagnosis was reactive fibroepithelial hyperplasia.
 Conclusion: Establishing a preliminary diagnosis of the lesion was essential for planning the surgical procedure. The use of the conventional technique for the removal of the reactive fibroepithelial hyperplasia obtained satisfactory results, both for the postoperative recovery and for the infeasibility of recurrence, thus providing satisfactory comfort to the patient.

Perceived Air Quality, Thermal Comfort and Health: A Survey of Social Housing Residents in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is in Central Asia and is the ninth-largest country in the world. Some socially vulnerable segments of the Kazakh population residing in subsidised social housing have experienced a range of problems due to the low quality of housing construction and its planning. Poor indoor environmental conditions in social housing contribute to occupants’ comfort, health, and general well-being. This study assessed social housing residents’ health and quality of life, focusing on their perceived indoor air quality and thermal comfort satisfaction. A cross-sectional survey in Kazakhstan was conducted to test the effects of environmental factors on social housing residents’ health and satisfaction. Four hundred thirty-one responses were analysed, and the SF12v2 questionnaire was used to measure the health-related quality of life. Multiple regression analysis showed that air quality negatively predicted the respondents’ physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) health. In addition, age, smoking, and employment status had a significantly negative effect on PCS, while education level had a predictive positive effect. Thermal conditions negatively predicted only MCS, as well as alcohol consumption. Next, the air-conditioning control factor had a negative effect. In contrast, low air circulation, low humidity, high solar gain, temperature imbalance, duration of the residence and alcohol consumption had a significantly positive effect on overall satisfaction with the temperature. The odour sources from tobacco, furniture and external sources were predictors of respondents’ overall air quality satisfaction, along with the duration of the residence, alcohol consumption and smoking status.

A retrospective study on improving the accuracy of radiotherapy for patients with breast cancer with lymph node metastasis using Styrofoam.

To retrospectively analyze the accuracy of radiotherapy using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), Styrofoam fixation, and breast bracket fixation in the chest wall target area and supraclavicular lymphatic drainage area (supraclavicular target area) of patients with breast cancer.and compare the setting efficiency and comfort satisfaction. A total of 65 patients with postoperative lymphatic metastasis of breast cancer, including 36 cases of Styrofoam fixation and 29 cases of breast bracket fixation, were recruited from March 2021 to August 2022 and retrospectively analyzed. All the patients underwent CBCT scans weekly, and the setup errors of the chest wall and supraclavicular target volume were compared and recorded. The planning target volume (PTV) margins of the two groups were calculated using the correlation MPTV = 2.5Σ + 0.7σ. The setup time and comfort satisfaction scores of the two groups were recorded and analyzed. The correlations among errors in each direction were analyzed using the Pearson correlation analysis. There was a significant difference in the left-right direction (X) axis of the chest wall target area between the Styrofoam and breast bracket groups (1.59 ± 1.47 mm vs. 2.05 ± 1.64 mm, P = 0.012). There were statistical differences in the ventrodorsal direction (Z) and bed angle of the supraclavicular target area, the data were (1.36 ± 1.27 mm vs. 1.75 ± 1.55 mm, P = 0.046; 0.47 ± 0.47° vs. 0.66 ± 0.59°, P = 0.006, respectively). In the X, Y, and Z directions, the respective PTV margins of the two groups in the chest wall target area were 5.01 mm, 5.99 mm, and 5.47 mm in the Styrofoam group, while those in the breast bracket group were 6.10 mm, 6.34 mm, and 6.10 mm, respectively. Moreover, the PTV margins of the supraclavicular target in the three directions were 3.69 mm, 3.86 mm, and 4.28 mm in the Styrofoam group, while those in the breast bracket group were 3.99 mm, 3.72 mm, and 5.45 mm, respectively. The setup time of the two groups was 3.4 ± 1.1 min and 5.5 ± 3.1 min (P = 0.007). The subjective comfort satisfaction scores of the two groups were 27.50 ± 1.24 and 25.44 ± 1.23 (P < 0.001). The application of Styrofoam fixation in radiotherapy of breast cancer in the supraclavicular lymph node area has several advantages as compared to breast bracket fixation, including higher positioning accuracy, smaller external expansion boundary, improved work efficiency, and patients' comfort, which might provide a reference for clinical work.

Energy consumption behaviors and the potential of natural ventilation emission reduction in residential building

ABSTRACT China is the largest Carbon Emissions country in the world. The data analysis and simulation of the sampled residential buildings reveals that there exists a large gap between the monitoring data and energy simulation. Based on the thermal comfort theory, we further explored the relationship between the energy consumption behaviors of residents and building ventilation emission reduction. This study constructed a questionnaire to analyze the use habits of existing residential buildings and equipment. The results show the range of suitable outside temps. In this paper, the findings of the survey were combined with the probability of summer outside temp range profiles to derive the thermal comfort satisfaction of the sample population. In the summer high temperature environment, natural ventilation can help to reduce indoor temperature and reduce the concentration of pollutants in the indoor air, thereby improving indoor air quality and reducing energy consumption. The findings can evaluate the emission reduction potential of natural ventilation. The study provided directions for the implementation of low carbon natural ventilation in residential buildings: natural ventilation can be used to reduce residential energy consumption and carbon emissions, reducing the need for mechanical ventilation. This enables environmentally friendly and sustainable buildings and uses renewable energy sources such as solar and geothermal energy as an energy supply. In addition, the study examined the emission reduction potential of natural ventilation measures in the summer temperature range of 26°C to 28°C, which could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.61 kg per square meter.

A personalized regression model for predicting thermal sensation based on local skin temperature in moderate summer conditions

Personalized thermal sensation models play a crucial role in ensuring occupant's thermal comfort satisfaction and improving building energy efficiency. However, an adaptive and accurate personalized model that can be easily implemented in real life is still challenging. This paper investigates the influencing factors of thermal sensation vote (TSV) and proposes a personalized regression model that only uses a single local skin temperature as the key indicator. A survey is conducted with forty subjects aging from 20 to 59 years old. The relationship among ambient temperature, skin temperatures, and subjective TSV is analyzed. The forehead temperature is recommended as the key indicator for prediction because it exhibits a strong correlation with ambient temperature and TSV, and it is easy to capture. Furthermore, the impact of individual characteristics on TSV is investigated. The proposed model effectively captures and compensates for individual differences by incorporating subjects' set point skin temperature and body fat percentage (BF%). The proposed model can be readily applied in real-life scenarios due to its minimal requirement for occupant’s feedback and its higher accuracy compared to other models. Specifically, it exhibits a significantly lower Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 15.8 %, 9.4 %, and 65.2 % compared to the Support Vector Regression (SVR) model Zhang's model and Zhou's model. Moreover, the proposed model showcases the lowest mean absolute error among the compared models. This approach of developing a personalized regression model based on local body temperature holds promise for future international ergonomic standard development.

Applicability of a heat-pump-driven liquid-desiccant air-conditioning system in energy-efficient buildings

Building trend is toward energy-efficiency by reducing building sensible load, while neglecting latent load. A heat-pump-driven liquid-desiccant (HPLD) air-conditioning system has emerged for effectively handling building latent load in energy-efficient buildings with low indoor sensible heat ratio. However, previous studies only investigated one building type, failing to account for the increase in building energy-efficiency. This study estimates building thermal loads of four different energy-efficient high latent load buildings, simulating building trend. Then, as energy-efficiency of buildings increases, the changes in indoor thermal comfort and energy consumption of the HPLD air-conditioning system and reference vapour compression system are compared. Simulation results show that in building with the highest energy-efficiency, the reference system can only maintain thermal comfort for 43.3% and 24% of summer operating hours when primarily meeting supply-air target temperature and humidity, respectively. Contrastingly, the proposed system can maintain thermal comfort in all building types for almost 100% of summer operating hours due to decoupled control of air temperature and humidity. Additionally, the proposed system saves up to 33.2% of operating energy when both systems achieve the same thermal comfort satisfaction. In conclusion, the HPLD air-conditioning system with decoupled control is more applicable as energy-efficiency of buildings increases.

Adaptive HVAC System Based on Fuzzy Controller Approach

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system performance research has received much attention in recent years. Many researchers suggest a set of appropriate fuzzy inputs that can be used to design fuzzy rules-based smart thermostats or controllers that can respond to demand-controlled ventilation, which in turn optimizes HVAC energy usage and provides satisfactory indoor temperatures. Previous research has focused on limited input parameters, such as indoor occupancy status, ambient temperature, and humidity constraints, which cannot efficiently and precisely manage thermal comfort. Hence, this study proposes a novel fuzzy controller with additional input parameters to keep indoor thermal comfort consistent with the corresponding number of occupants. The process employs an automatic fuzzy rule generation method to simplify the task of generating rules in the fuzzy inference system (FIS) using Mamdani FIS. A design-builder is used for modeling the HVAC systems. Local weather data were used to conduct simulations via EnergyPlus. The thermal comfort analysis using the Fanger model for three different scenarios shows that the proposed FIS controller can successfully respond to the indoor comfort variation in all possible scenarios and ensure a satisfactory comfort level. The proposed method demonstrates up to 50% energy savings if occupants do not worry about comfort.

Preheating Thermoplastic Membrane Reduce Setup Error in Patients with Thoracic Cancer Undergoing Radiation Therapy: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

Thermoplasticfilm routinely placed in the treatment room always led to uncomfortable feeling in patients receiving thorax radiation therapy because of significant temperature difference between thermoplastic film and body surface. Therefore, it may result in setup error and further affect accuracy of radiation therapy. Here, we designed a randomized controlled study to investigate the efficacy of preheat thermoplastic film to reduce setup error in patients receiving thorax radiotherapy. Patients with thoracic cancer receiving radiotherapy once daily with five fraction per week were enrolled in this study from October 2022 to January 2023. All participants were randomly assigned into room-temperature group and preheating group in a 1:1 ratio. For the preheating group, the thermoplastic film was preheated for 10 minutes in a 37°C thermostat before it was used for patients' setup. For controlled group, the thermoplastic film with room-temperature was used for patients' setup. The cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) was used to evaluate setup errors once a week. The setup errors in translational directions X, Y and Z were recorded based on CBCT image. to measure the left-right as well as anterior-posterior diameter of the thorax in cross-section to observe whether there was any difference in thorax size from that at positioning. A modified Likert questionnaire was conducted to investigate the setup comfort level between two groups before radiotherapy and Day 5 of radiotherapy. A total of 34 patients were enrolled in this study. Patient characteristics were well balanced in both arms. The setup errors in the X, Y, and Z axes in group A were 1(-1,1) mm, 0(-1,2.75) mm and 0(-1,1) mm, respectively, while those in group B were 0(-2,2) mm, 1(-1.25,3) mm, and -1(-2,1) mm in the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively. Setup error in preheating group was smaller than room-temperature group in the X-axis direction (Z = 2.04, P = 0.042), but no significant differences were detected in Y and Z axes. Comparison of changes in anteroposterior thoracic diameter between the two groups. The preheated group was smaller than the normothermic group (-0.19 ± 0.48 vs -0.38 ± 0.36, P < 0.01). The total comfort scale scores of the two groups were 30.88 ± 3.39 vs 30.59 ± 3.34 (p = 0.42) before treatment and 32.125 ± 4.31 vs 31.06 ± 3.15 (p = 0.80) after treatment. Among the eight sub-items, only the fourth dimension of temperature was statistically different (pre 3.12 ± 0.48 vs 2.88 ± 0.60, P = 0.218; post 4.12 ± 0.78 vs 2.94 ± 0.43, P < 0.01). Ourcenter proposed the first method of heating the mold for postural fixation during patient radiotherapy. Compared with room-temperature thermoplastic film, our study found preheating thermoplastic film with 37°C could significantly reduce setup error in the X direction with less effect on the anterior-posterior diameter change of the thorax and higher patient temperature comfort satisfaction.

Applicability of a liquid-desiccant air-conditioning system in energy-efficient buildings with high latent load

To reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, the recent building trend is toward energy efficiency, achieved primarily by reducing the indoor sensible load. However, handling the indoor latent load has been overlooked. Reflecting this building trend, heat-pump-driven liquid-desiccant (HPLD) air-conditioning systems have emerged as a promising technology that effectively handles indoor latent loads in energy-efficient buildings with low indoor sensible heat ratios (SHR). However, the aforementioned building trend has not been simulated in previous studies. Thus, the performance analysis of HPLD air-conditioning systems has been investigated for only one type of building. In this study, the indoor thermal loads of four different energy-efficient types of high-latent-load buildings were estimated to simulate building trends. Then, the changes in indoor thermal comfort based on room conditions and energy consumption of the reference air-conditioning system (i.e., the vapor compression system) and the proposed HPLD air-conditioning system were compared as the energy efficiency of the buildings increased. The indoor thermal loads were estimated using TRNSYS18 software, and both air-conditioning systems were modelled via the integration of theoretical analyses and the effectiveness-NTU model. The simulation results show that the indoor SHR decreased from 0.8 on average in the reference building to 0.64 on average in the building with the highest energy efficiency. In the building with the highest energy efficiency, only 43.3% and 24% of summer operating hours were thermally comfortable when the reference system operated to meet only the supply-air target temperature and primarily the supply-air target humidity via the condensation dehumidification process, respectively. In contrast, owing to the decoupled control of air temperature and humidity, the proposed system could maintain a thermally comfortable room in all building types for almost 100% of summer operating hours. Finally, when both systems achieved the same thermal comfort satisfaction, the proposed system could save up to 33.2% of the operating energy compared to the reference system in energy-efficient buildings. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the proposed HPLD air-conditioning system adopting decoupled control is more efficient as the energy efficiency of buildings increases.

Heterogeneity in passenger satisfaction of bus rapid transit system among age and gender groups: A PLS-SEM Multi-group analysis

Public transport is a promising way to solve urban mobility problems such as traffic congestion and vehicular emissions. However, in order to encourage commuters to use the public transport facility, operators need to provide a high level of service to ensure their satisfaction, which is one of the crucial factors influencing the mode choice of commuters. Despite this, there is limited understanding of the factors influencing passenger satisfaction in public transportation, especially in developing countries like India. To address this gap in knowledge, the present study explores the factors affecting passenger satisfaction on bus rapid transit system (BRTS), and examines the differences in the perception of satisfaction for passengers of different age and gender groups. The present study utilizes Principal component analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to explore passengers' satisfaction based on 26 key attributes of the BRTS. PCA uncovers six dimensions explaining the overall satisfaction of passengers, i.e., connectivity, comfort & convenience, safety, cleanliness, station facilities, and operations and the results of PLS-SEM reveal that all these dimensions positively influence passenger satisfaction. The results of multigroup analysis reveal that there exist heterogeneity in the perception of satisfaction for passengers of different gender and age groups. Unlike female passengers, who perceived connectivity and comfort & convenience higher, male passengers perceived operations and station facilities higher. Furthermore, it was found that passengers with age ≥ 40 perceived station facilities and cleanliness higher than passengers with age <40. Taking into account the heterogeneity among passengers of different groups. the study suggests various measures to ensure passenger satisfaction on the BRTS based on Importance Performance Map analysis (IPMA).

Prospective PCM–Desiccant Combination with Solar-Assisted Regeneration for the Indoor Comfort Control of an Office in a Warm and Humid Climate—A Numerical Study

Favorable thermal conditions within buildings are a necessity. Mechanical air conditioning, although effective, contributes a significant percentage of the world’s total energy use, which contributes to global warming. In addition, the refrigerants used in air conditioning also contribute to global warming. Passive means to provide thermal comfort have therefore been considered as alternative solutions. Phase-change materials (PCMs) have been considered as one passive cooling option. Although this option achieves a certain degree of effectiveness, especially in warm and dry climatic conditions, its effectiveness in warm humid climates is subdued due to its inability to handle humidity. In the present study, the suitability of a novel passive comfort provision strategy that combines a PCM and a desiccant is assessed. The passive system operates in a cycle of two phases: the moderating phase and the regenerating phase. For the proposed strategy, the regeneration process first involves the external desiccant bed, then night air drying using the regenerated external bed; the dried air subsequently regenerates the internal wall surface. The study involves the modeling of the proposed strategy and simulation of its performance. The simulation results indicate the significant potential for providing satisfactory comfort and health conditions through application of a combination of a desiccant and a PCM.

All‐Fabric Direct‐Current Triboelectric Nanogenerators Based on the Tribovoltaic Effect as Power Textiles

AbstractThe tribovoltaic effect is the direct‐current (DC) output that results from sliding a p‐type semiconductor on top of an n‐type semiconductor, and it is caused by the electron–hole pairs generated However, the rigid structure of traditional semiconductor limits its potential application in wearable fields. Here, p–type and n–type fabric with semiconductor properties are prepared by doping small organic molecules of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate on the carbon atoms of single–wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), and three all‐fabric direct‐current triboelectric nanogenerators based on the tribovoltaic effect (AFDC‐TENG) are developed , which exhibit high flexibility, satisfactory comfort, and stable DC output. In addition, the effects of structural parameters and environmental factors on the electrical output of AFDC‐TENG are systematically discussed. The output voltage, current, and power density of p‐type AFDC‐TENG can reach 0.2 V, 0.29 µA, and 45.5 mV m−2 at a maximum speed of 0.2 m s−1 and a sliding frequency of 1 Hz, respectively. This work proposes a simple and scalable design form for all‐fabric DC power supply devices, which has potential applications in the future micro/nano energy or self‐powered flexible sensors.

A 3D anthropometry-based quantified comfort model for children's eyeglasses design

Modeling the quantified relationships between anthropometric/product parameters and human perceptions provides research-driven guidelines for mass customization and personalization of ergonomic products. In particular, such models are critical for designing children's eyeglasses; however, they are still underexplored. This study examined children's comfort perceptions for eyeglasses with two variables (i.e., nose pads width and temple clamping force), and established quantified linkage models between subjective human perceptions and objective 3D anthropometric/product parameters. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to quantify these relationships for ergonomic eyeglasses design. A psychological experiment with thirty child participants was performed, and our analyses showed that two eyeglasses variables significantly influenced the children's comfort perceptions; static vs. dynamic conditions caused slight differences. The mathematical trendlines and trend surfaces established by our findings can estimate perceived component-specific and overall comfort scores based on 3D anthropometric/product parameters. This also allows for calculation of parameter's allowances for sizing and grading eyeglasses while maintaining satisfactory comfort.

Establishment of a Thermal Comfort Model for Spectator Areas of Air-Supported Membrane Ice Rinks in Severe Cold Regions: A Case Study in Harbin, China

In China, the post-Winter Olympics era has seen the rapid development and promotion of ice rinks with air-supported membrane structures. With the rise of large indoor spectator areas in ice rinks, thermal comfort needs in spectator areas are receiving more and more attention. The satisfaction of thermal comfort needs is crucial to people’s health and well-being, so further study of the issue of thermal comfort in such spectator areas is needed. Unfortunately, models currently used to evaluate the thermal comfort of traditional building envelopes are not applicable to air-supported membrane-envelope ice rinks. Researchers need to focus on the internal thermal comfort needs of air-supported membrane envelopes for spectator areas. The aim of this research was to establish a thermal comfort model to provide exact temperature-range recommendations for spectator areas in air-supported membrane ice rinks. The indoor thermal-environment parameters of the ice rink in Harbin were measured from 2 January to 15 January 2023. To elicit data on spectators’ actual thermal sensations in the ice rink, a field questionnaire was administered. By modifying the expectancy factor, an extended predicted thermal comfort model was established. The results suggested that the operative temperature required to meet spectators’ thermal comfort needs in the case study ice rink ranged from 17 °C to 26 °C. The results of the study offer specific insights into the indoor thermal comfort needs of air-supported ice rinks and provide a more accurate temperature-setting reference for the healthy and energy-efficient development of such rinks.