Modelling flow and heat transfer around a seated human body by computational fluid dynamics

A database (http://www.ie.dtu.dk/manikin) containing a detailed representation of the surface geometry of a seated female human body was created from a surface scan of a thermal manikin (minus clothing and hair). The radiative heat transfer coefficient and the natural convection flow around the manikin were calculated using computational fluid dynamics. Results were compared to published data and to measurements by particle image velocimetry. The agreement was generally good and variations across the manikin well predicted. The uniqueness of the present work is twofold: (1) the geometry of the computational manikin has all surface features of a human being; (2) the geometry is an exact copy of an experimental thermal manikin, enabling detailed comparisons between calculations and experiments.