A New Index for Evaluating Thermal Sensation Based on the Principles of Non- Fourier Heat Transfer

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 University of Birjand

2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birjand

Abstract

In recent years, the modeling of human thermal sensation based on thermoreceptors response has attracted the attention of many researchers. However, biological tissues do not usually follow the principles of Fourier heat transfer. So, this study tries to develop a new predictive index for a thermal comfort model based on cutaneous thermoreceptors obtained by using non-Fourier heat transfer in biological tissues. The mentioned index is in conformity with the ASHRAE standard thermal sensation scale. The model used in this study considers the concept of non-Fourier heat transfer to describe heat transfer in biological tissues. Since biological tissues consist of complicated and nonhomogeneous structures, it is important to describe the process of heat transfer in these tissues by non-Fourier heat transfer equation. The new index has been verified by extensive comparisons with the experimental and analytical results under steady-state and transient conditions where a good agreement was found. Results show that the new index can predict the thermal sensation with mean absolute errors of 0.31 and 0.49 under steady-state and transient conditions, respectively. Since the new index is based on the concepts of non-Fourier heat transfer, it can provide an accurate prediction of thermal sensation in terms of sudden change in temperature.

Keywords

Main Subjects


[1]     H.H. Pennes, Analysis of tissue and arterial blood temperatures in the resting human forearm, Journal of Applied Physiology, 1(2) (1948) 93-122.
[2]    K. Mitra, S. Kumar, A. Vedevarz, M. Moallemi, Experimental evidence of hyperbolic heat conduction in processed meat, Journal of Heat Transfer, 117(3) (1995) 568-573.
[3]  W.-Q. Lu, J. Liu, Y. Zeng, Simulation of the thermal wave propagation in biological tissues by the dual reciprocity boundary element method, Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements, 22(3) (1998) 167-174.
[4]  C. Cattaneo, A form of heat conduction equation which eliminates the paradox of instantaneous propagation, Compte Rendus, 247(4) (1958) 431-433.
[5]  D. Tzou, P. Puri, Macro-to Microscale Heat Transfer: The Lagging Behavior, Applied Mechanics Reviews, 50 (1997) B82-B82.
[6]  Y. Zhang, Generalized dual-phase lag bioheat equations based on nonequilibrium heat transfer in living biological tissues, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 52(21) (2009) 4829-4834.
[7]    K.-C. Liu, Y.-N. Wang, Y.-S. Chen, Investigation on the bio-heat transfer with the dual-phase-lag effect, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 58 (2012) 29-35. 
[8] N. Afrin, J. Zhou, Y. Zhang, D. Tzou, J. Chen, Numerical simulation of thermal damage to living biological tissues induced by laser irradiation based on a  generalized  dual phase lag model, Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A: Applications, 61(7) (2012) 483-501.
[9]  H. Hensel Thermoreception and temperature regulation, Monographs of the Physiological Society, 38 (1980), 1-321.
[10]   J. Ring, R. Dear, Temperature transients: a model for heat diffusion through the skin, thermoreceptor response and thermal sensation, Indoor Air, 1(4) (1991) 448-  456.
[11]   E. Arens, H. Zhang, C. Huizenga, Partial-and whole- body thermal sensation and comfort—Part I: Uniform environmental conditions, Journal of Thermal Biology, 31(1) (2006) 53-59.
[12]    Y.-g. Lv, J. Liu, Interpretation on thermal comfort mechanisms of human bodies by combining Hodgkin- Huxley neuron model and Pennes bioheat equation, Forschung im Ingenieurwesen, 69 (2) (2004) 101-114.
[13]   Y. G. Lv, J. Liu, Effect of transient temperature on thermoreceptor response and thermal sensation, Building and Environment, 42(2) (2007) 656-664.
[14]    A. Zolfaghari, M. Maerefat, Thermal response of cutaneous thermoreceptors: A new criterion for the human body thermal sensation, Proceedings of the 17th Iranian Conference of Biomedical Engineering, Isfahan, Iran, IEEE, (2010) 1-4.
[15]A. Zolfaghari, M. Maerefat, A new simplified thermoregulatory bioheat model for evaluating thermal Building and Environment, 45(10) (2010) 2068-2076.
 [16] A.P. Gagge, An effective  temperature  scale  based  on a simple model of human physiological regulatory response, ASHRAE Transactions, 77 (1971) 247-262.
[17] A. Zolfaghari, M. Maerefat, A new predictive index for evaluating both thermal sensation and thermal response of the human body, Building and Environment, 46(4) (2011) 855-862.
[18] H. Bijari, A. Zolfaghari, Developing the thermal comfort model based on cutaneous thermoreceptors response using non-Fourier heat transfer, Modares Mechanical Engineering, 17(11) (2018) 70-76. (in Persian)
[19] J. Liu, Z. Ren, C. Wang, Thermal wave theory about temperature oscillations effect in living tissues, Chinese Journal of Physics, 12(4) (1995) 215-218.
[20] F. Xu, K. Seffen, T. Lu, Non-Fourier analysis of skin biothermomechanics, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 51(9) (2008) 2237-2259.
[21] J. Ring, R. de Dear, A. Melikov, Human thermal sensation: frequency response to sinusoidal stimuli at the surface of the skin, Energy and Buildings, 20(2) (1993) 159-165.
[22] ASHRAE. ASHRAE handbook of fundamentals. Atlanta: ASHRAE; (2001).
[23] K. Cena, R. de Dear, Thermal comfort and behavioural strategies in office buildings located in a hot-arid climate, Journal of Thermal Biology, 26(4) (2001) 409-414.
[24] J. Han, G. Zhang, Q. Zhang, J. Zhang, J. Liu, L. Tian, C. Zheng, J. Hao, J. Lin, Y. Liu, Field study on occupants' thermal comfort and residential thermal environment in a hot-humid climate of China, Building and Environment, 42(12) (2007) 4043-4050.
[25]  W. A. Andreasi, R. Lamberts, C. Cândido, Thermal acceptability assessment in buildings located in hot and humid regions in Brazil, Building and Environment, 45(5) (2010) 1225-1232.
[26] G. Zhang, C. Zheng, W. Yang, Q. Zhang, D. J. Moschandreas, Thermal comfort investigation of naturally ventilated classrooms in a subtropical region, Indoor and Built Environment, 16(2) (2007) 148-158.
[27] A. Simone, J. Kolarik, T. Iwamatsu, H. Asada, M. Dovjak, L. Schellen, M. Shukuya, B. W. Olesen, A relation between calculated human body exergy consumption rate and subjectively assessed thermal sensation, Energy and Buildings, 43(1) (2011) 1-9.
[28] E. Arens, H. Zhang, C. Huizenga, T. Han, Thermal sensation and comfort models for non-uniform and transient environments, part I: Uniform environmental conditions, Journal of thermal biology, 31(1-2) (2006) 53-59.
[29] T. Goto, J. Toftum, R. de Dear, P. O. Fanger, Thermal sensation and thermophysiological responses to metabolic step-changes, International Journal of Biometeorology, 50 (5) (2006) 323-332.
[30] K. C. Parsons, The effects of gender, acclimation state, the opportunity to adjust clothing and physical disability on requirements for thermal comfort, Energy and Buildings, 34(6) (2002) 593-599.