Effect of Air Mixing on Thermal Distribution in Subway Car during Heating in Winter Season

초록

Climate change is one of the most serious environmental concerns, and abnormally cold or hot days are more frequently reported nowadays. In addition, the heating and cooling energy cost keeps increasing due to the sharp rise of fossil fuel price recently. During heating, the temperature at passengers’ face height is usually higher than the temperature at passengers’ foot height, because the air density of the hotter air is lighter than that of the colder air. This temperature difference frequently causes the thermal discomfort of passengers in winter season. One of the easiest ways to reduce this temperature difference is mixing the air in the cabin. In this study, several fans were used to induce the mixing of the air, and the change in the thermal distribution was investigated. The effects of wind direction and fan location were extensively studied to minimize the temperature difference in cabin.