Thermal comfort assessment for a passenger compartment of a city van using 3D flow simulation

To assess the thermal comfort in the compartment of a Mercedes-Benz city van 3D flow simulation was used as a development tool. The flow simulation is part of a software package calculating a comfort index, based on the energy balance of the compartment and the physiological modeling of the passengers. The assessment of a summer test case at first indicated insufficient thermal comfort levels for the front passengers due to solar radiation. Improvements include measures to reduce the heat flow into the cabin and to increase the cooling performance. For the winter case the heat supply is sufficient to achieve thermal comfort. Local flow assessment of the area near the compartment floor gave indications about optimized vent and duct designs. The optimization achieved a more uniform temperature distribution in the lower part of the compartment. Flow simulation is an important tool to find and confirm improvement potential for the climate control system.