Evaluation of Thermal Comfort in Railroad Passenger Car by Using Climatic Chamber

초록

Thermal comfort in public transportation is one of the hottest issues because many passengers should stay compactly at a relatively short space. Since it is almost impossible to satisfy all passengers’ thermal comfort, predicted mean vote (PMV) is commonly introduced. However, the exact thermal comfort in passenger cabin cannot be evaluated exactly by simple simulation. For this reason, a climatic chamber is frequently used for the evaluation of thermal comfort in the real passenger cabin. In this study, the thermal comfort of a newly manufactured passenger car was evaluated by using a climatic chamber. Summer and winter climates were simulated by using this chamber, and the temperature distribution in the cabin was monitored. It was found that there were some points with a large temperature deviation from the average temperature. More uniform temperature distribution could be achieved by changing duct grille angles and flow directions. This method can be used to evaluate the thermal comfort of passengers.