A fundamental model of the human thermal system for prediction of thermal comfort

The authors have developed a fundamental model of the human thermal system (AVA model) for the prediction of thermal comfort. The distinguishing feature of this model is a more precise description of heat transfer by blood flow (that is, it includes arteriovenous anastomoses (AVA) of the extremities and a dual vascular network) that conventional models of human thermal systems. The following results were obtained: (1) the experimental verification under three different steady thermal conditions (22, 28 and 34 C) and an unsteady thermal condition (28.1 C {r_arrow} 47.1 {r_arrow} 28.3 C) which suggests that the AVA model can simulate body-temperature profiles well; (2) the visualized results of the model predictions demonstrate that the calculated tissue-temperature and blood-temperature distributions are physiologically plausible.