Application of computational fluid dynamic simulation for the study of heat stress and heat strain-A review

Abstract

The study on heat stress and heat strain has been conducted since early 20th century. However, in the current years, it attracts an increase of attention around the world mainly due to the global climate change issues. Traditionally, there are two main approaches in the study of heat stress and heat strain which are the climatic chamber studies and the field studies. But, with the recent development in the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation, the researchers shift toward this approach as a new method for the study of heat stress and heat strain. Climatic chamber can be simulated with various environmental parameters such as air flow and heat transfer while a manikin is used to identify the effects of these parameters. In this study, recent developments of the CFD simulation for the study of heat stress and heat strain for indoor environment are reviewed while their methodology and results are compared. The discussions that will be presented in this work will focus on the various CFD techniques and its significance as a new method for the study of heat stress and heat strain.