4617 -- First Principles Modeling of Thermal Sensation Responses in Steady-State and Transient Conditions PDF

During their daily lives, humans are frequently exposed to conditions that differ from homogeneous moderate steady states. A widely validated multi-segmental, dynamic model of human temperature regulation was used to simulate thermal comfort experiments and to develop a physiologically based model for predicting the overall dynamic thermal sensation (defined using the seven-point ASHRAE scale). Regression analysis of measured and predicted data revealed that punitive signals associated with the mean skin temperature, the head core temperature, and the rate of the change of skin temperature are the responsible thermophysiological variables that govern the human thermal sensation. The new comfort model was verified and validated against exposures to steady-state and various types of transient conditions and showed good general agreement with experimental observations within the range of ambient temperatures between 13°C (55.4°F) and 48°C (118.4°F) and activity levels between 1 and 10 met. The model’s value for analyzing the adaptive behavior of humans is illustrated.

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