A multi-segmented human bioheat model for transient and asymmetric radiative environments

Abstract

This paper aims to improve the Salloum et al. multi-node multi-segmented model [M. Salloum, N. Ghaddar, K. Ghali, A new transient bio-heat model of the human body and its integration to clothing models, Int. J. Therm. Sci. 46 (4) (2007) 371-384] to accurately predict the circumferential skin temperature variation of nude and clothed human body segments when subject to complex transient and spatially non-uniform radiative environments. The passive bioheat model segments the body into the 15 cylindrical segments. Each body segment is divided into one core node, six angular skin nodes, one artery blood node, and one vein blood node. The model calculates the blood circulation using the Avolio model [A.P. Avolio, Multi-branched model of the human arterial system, Med. Biol. Eng. Comp. 18 (1980) 709-718] for arteries and arterioles up to 2 mm in diameter and the Olufsen et al., semi-analytical model [M.S. Olufsen, C.S. Peskin, W.Y. Kim, E.M. Pedersen, A. Nadim, J. Larsen, Numerical simulation and experimental validation of blood flow in arteries with structured tree outflow conditions, Ann. Biomed. Eng. 28 (11) (2000) 1281-1299] for small arteries and arterioles up to a minimum diameter of 0.3 mm; thus improving prediction of blood perfusion rates in the skin. Unsteady bioheat equations are simultaneously solved for the nodes of each body segment to predict the skin, tympanic, and core temperatures, sweat rates, and the dry and latent heat losses. The nude body thermal model is integrated to a clothing model that takes into consideration the moisture adsorption by the fibers to predict heat and mass diffusion through the clothing layers. The clothing layer is divided into six parts that are aligned to the skin sub-nodes for each clothed segment. The local and mean skin temperature can then be estimated in response to non-uniform environments. The nude body and the clothed model predictions were compared with published experimental data at a variety of ambient conditions, non-uniform conditions and activity levels. The current model agreed well with experimental data during transitions from hot to cold, dry to humid environments, and in asymmetric radiative environments. Both the nude and clothed human models have an accuracy of less than 6percent for the whole-body heat gains or losses; the nude human model has an accuracy of ±0.35 °C for skin temperature values. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.