Effect of underwear on microclimate heat transfer in clothing based on computational fluid dynamics simulation

Abstract

In order to study the influence of underwear on microclimate heat transfer among different age groups, this study measured the temperature of the microclimate layer corresponding to the main parts of the human body or the key parts that affect average skin temperature. A computational fluid dynamics numerical model was then used to simulate the influence of underwear on heat transfer between the human body and the microenvironment and to explore the physical phenomenon. The results obtained show that underwear has a great influence on the average temperature of the microclimatic air layer, especially the air layer at the upper arm, forearm, and thigh. The findings of this study provide fundamental knowledge to improve the thermal comfort of underwear.