Thermal resistance of the segments of a human body in contact with a heated and ventilated seat

Abstract

The heated and ventilated seat can efficiently satisfy passenger demand for heating or cooling under the hot and cold thermal conditions of a vehicle. It also has the potential to immediately moderate extreme thermal ambient in the heat of summer and cold of winter. To design and control the seat, it is important to know the thermal performance of the seat areas in contact with body segments. The experiment was conducted in a climate chamber to measure the heat flux and calculate the thermal resistance between the seat and clothing. The experiment showed that the contact pressure significantly influences both the heat flux and thermal resistance when the seat is heated or ventilated. The thermal resistance ranged from 0.9 to 3.4 × 10−2 K/W(m−2) on the cushion and backrest of the seat for the heated condition, and 1.3 to 2.4 × 10−2 K/W(m−2) for the ventilated condition. The experimental results and data can contribute to developing operational strategies for heated and ventilated seats to improve passenger thermal comfort.