Thermal Comfort Performances of Temporary Shelters Using Experimental and Computational Assessments

Abstract

This paper examines the thermal comfort of temporary shelters under Taiwan’s subtropical summer conditions. The temperature within the tent was higher compared to the standard configuration of the temporary shelter, but its relative humidity was lower. During the time period 09:30 to 14:30, temperatures at the center of the tent at positions 0.10 m, 1.10 m and 1.70 m above ground were 3.1 °C, 5.5 °C and 6.0 °C higher, respectively, than the average ambient temperature of 36.3 °C. However, temperatures for the standard configuration at similar central positions of 0.10 m, 1.10 m and 1.70 m above ground were 1.2 °C, 0.5 °C and 0.7 °C lower, respectively, than the same average ambient. In the afternoon, the standard configuration (PMV of 3.14 and PPD of 100) performed better than the tent (PMV of 5.03 and PPD of 100), although neither achieved thermal comfort. Various experimental configurations showed that double layers of roof lowered temperatures, but the thermal comfort (PMV of 3.32 and PPD of 100) remained unchanged. Various computational configurations showed that closing the door and one window and installing a mechanical fan of average speed 2.75 m/s lowered the temperature and increased the air speed to achieve thermal comfort with PMV and PPD values of 1.49 and 50, respectively.