An experimental investigation on interior thermal conditions and human body temperatures during cooling period in automobile

Determining the thermal conditions in an automobile and their effects on the driver is an important issue from both thermal comfort and driving safety points of view. Especially in hot summer season, the interior thermal conditions in automobile change rapidly when the air conditioning unit runs. In this study, standard air conditioning system is switched in an automobile parked in the sun and then the interior thermal conditions of the automobile are determined in detail during the 1-h cooling period. During the period, relative humidity, air velocity, air and surface temperature measurements are taken at numerous locations in the automobile. Moreover, in order to evaluate the effects of transient interior thermal conditions on the occupant, the skin temperatures of human body are measured at nine points. In addition to this, the thermal sensation of the human subject is also questioned during the cooling period. Subjective thermal comfort data is recorded using a questionnaire. The series of tests are conducted on two different automobiles, and the experimental results for both automobiles are presented and scrutinized. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.