A -- LOCAL THERMAL COMFORT HUMAN SUBJECT STUDY

Notice Date

October 26, 2000

Contracting Office

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401-3393

ZIP Code

80401-3393

Solicitation Number

DW260

Response Due

November 15, 2000

Point of Contact

Kathee Flanagan Roque, kathee_roque@nrel.gov

E-Mail Address

Kathee Flanagan Roque (kathee_roque@nrel.gov)

Description

Current vehicle climate control systems are dramatically overpowered because they are designed to heat/cool the vehicle cabin air mass from an extreme initial temperature to a standard temperature within a certain period of time. Typical vehicle air conditioning systems require 4,000 Watts of power, whereas the human body only dissipates roughly 100 Watts. A more energy-efficient objective would be to simply achieve thermal comfort of the passengers. The objective of the Thermal Comfort project at NREL is to develop computational and experimental models of human thermophysiology, and psychological perception of thermal comfort. Industry can then use these tools to develop more effective and spatially focused climate control systems that directly achieve optimal occupant thermal comfort, but at minimum power consumption. The objective of the work in this project is to develop a model that can predict human thermal comfort in the asymmeteric and transient thermal environments that occur in vehicles. The model should be able to predict both local and global comfort of the occupants. NREL is currently developing a model of human thermo-physiological systems. This model will compute the static and dynamic temperatures at every point on the skin and internally in the human. A psychological thermal comfort model is needed to convert the dynamic body and skin temperatures into local and global perceptions of thermal comfort. The project will consist of three general phases: Phase I: Development of Local Heating/Cooling Apparatus. In this phase, heating and cooling systems that are capable of conditioning local segments of the body will be developed. The systems should be able to independently condition local segments of the body such as the foot, lower leg, upper leg, sections of torso, hand, lower arm, upper arm, and head. The systems should also be able to deliver controlled transient heating and cooling so that dynamic thermal comfort can be modeled. Liquid bladders or garments, small air enclosures, radiative systems, or phase change materials have been suggested for these systems. Phase II: Local Thermal Comfort Human Subject Tests. Local segments of human subjects will be dynamically heated and cooled to evaluate the thermal comfort response. The thermal comfort response for each segment as a function of static and dynamic temperatures will be determined. The coupling of thermal comfort responses between different segments will also be analyzed. The number of subjects that will be tested in the study will depend upon the chosen level of modeling uncertainty. Phase III: Formation of Local Thermal Comfort Model. A local thermal comfort model using a physiological basis of the hot and cold thermal receptors in the body will be developed. The model will use the human subject test data to predict the local thermal comfort response of a segment based on the dynamic skin temperature. The model will also be able to predict the global thermal comfort response based on an integration of the local segment responses. This link between local responses and global perception is a crucial objective in this project. NREL is develping a source list and will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to those qualified firms (or teams) who are selected from the technical qualifications and business profiles submitted in response to this announcement. Organizations with previous experience in the analysis of human thermal comfort, thermal physiology, human subject testing, and mathematical modeling are preferred. Qualification summaries are to be submitted not later than November 15, 2000. A source list will be determined, based on the criteria stated above. The RFP is then expected to issue to that source list by November 22, 2000. Submit qualification summaries/business profiles in one original and two hard copies only to: Kathee Flanagan Roque/National Renewable Energy Laboratory/1617 Cole Boulevard, MS 1632/Golden, CO 80401-3393. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Please direct questions via e-mail to Kathee_Roque@nrel.gov.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20001030/ASOL015.HTM (W-300 SN5052W9)