Mechanism of Heat Loss From The Human Body
Mechanism of Heat Loss From The Human Body
Mechanism of Heat Loss From The Human Body
Thus, The total rate of heat loss from the body can be expressed as-
·
Depends upon-
- temp. Of skin. Depends upon-
- temp .of environment. -skin wettedness. Depends upon-
-temp.of surrounding surfaces. -relative humidity. -frequency of -air
motion. breathing and the
volume of the lungs.
-air motion.
-temp.of environment.
Thus heat transfer from human body depends upon various factor & clothing further Complicates the
situation . Thus we must rely on experimental data for heat transfer from human body.
(skin)
Clothing serves as insulation and reduces both the sensible and latent forms of heat loss.
Sensible heat loss from = heat transfer through + heat loss from outer
Clothed skin the clothing surface of clothing.
------------(1)
where Rclothing is the unit thermal resistance of clothing in m2 · °C/W,
which involves the combined effects of conduction, convection, and radiation
between the skin and the outer surface of clothing. The thermal
resistance of clothing is usually expressed in the unit clo where 1 clo = 0.155 m2 ·
°C/W.
trousers,
long-sleeve shirt, long-sleeve sweater, and 1
T-shirt.
Summer clothing such as light slacks and 0.5
short-sleeved shirt.
winter clothing such as heavy
slacks, long-sleeve shirt, and a sweater or 0.9
jacket.
Where
hconv = convection heat transfer coefficient.
------------(2)
Where
Toperative = Tambient + Tsurr
2
Combining (!) & (2) total sensible heat loss through the skin can be expressed as-
Where 1/hcombined=Rcombined.
where
m vapor = the rate of evaporation from the body, kg/s
hfg = the enthalpy of vaporization of water 2430 kJ/kg at 30°C.
→The maximum evaporation rate for an average man is about 1 L/h (0.3 g/s),
which represents an upper limit of 730 W for the evaporative cooling rate.
→The body loses both sensible heat by convection and latent heat by evaporation from the lungs.
→The rate of air intake to the lungs is directly proportional to the metabolic
rate Qmet.
The rate of total heat loss from the lungs through respiration can
be expressed approximately as-
Thermal comfort is that condition of mind that which expresses satisfaction with the thermal
environment. Thermal environment is those characteristics of the environment which affects a person's
heat loss.
In terms of bodily sensations, thermal comfort is a sensation of hot, warm, slightly warmer, neutral,
slightly cooler, cool and cold.
From the physiological point of view, thermal comfort occurs when there is a thermal equilibrium in
the absence of regulatory sweating between the heat exchange between the human body and the
environment.
Thus, to know thermal comfort first we have to study process of heat transfer through human body.
→TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE
Temperature influences the functioning of biological (sub) systems. For humans, the core
temperature varies within narrow bounds around about 37°C. Changes in temperature can have significant
consequences for the behaviour of individual cells and the body as a whole. The temperature dependence of
biological processes can be used to clinical effect. Examples are hyperthermia treatment against cancer;
cooling of the head to prevent hair loss as a side effect of chemotherapy; and cooling of patients during
major surgery to protect the brain.
Temp. In body depends upon heat loss from it thus to know mechanism of heat transfer from human body
is vital to us.
The purpose of the air-conditioning system of a building is to provide complete thermal comfort for
its occupants. Therefore, we need to understand the thermal aspects of the human body in order to design
an effective air-conditioning system.
Before studying heat transfer from human body first of all we should know following terms:
Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of life-sustaining chemical transformations within the cells of living organisms.
These enzyme-catalyzed reactions allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their The high level of
chemical activity in the cells that maintain the human body temperature at a temperature of 37.0°C
(98.6°F) while performing the necessary bodily functions is called the metabolism.
So, metabolism simply refers to the burning of foods such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
The rate of metabolism at the resting state is called the basal metabolic rate, which is the rate of
metabolism required to keep a body performing the necessary bodily functions such as breathing and blood
circulation at zero external activity level. The metabolic rate can also be interpreted as the energy
consumption rate for a body.
The unit of metabolic rate is known as ‘met’, which is equivalent to 58.2 W/m2.
Some values of metabolic rates for various typical activities are given in the following table:
(Met) (Met)
RESTING 0.7 MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS 1.4-2.0
Thus metabolism results in heat generation in body which ultimately lost to surroundings.
Our thermal comfort depends upon relative amount of heat generation and heat loss.
Some practical examples related to thermal
comfort:
→In cold environment, there is excessive heat loss from the body which may exceed the rate of metabolic
heat generation which will eventually lead to thermal discomfort. The best preventive measure to increase
the metabolic heat generation is shivering. Shivering begins slowly in small muscle groups and may
double the rate of metabolic heat production of the body at its initial stages.
→ Second measure to avoid thermal discomfort in winter is to wear clothes with high value Of
Rclothing, as it will decrease heat loss from body & helps in maintaining thermal equilibrium between
heat generated & heat loss from body.
For eg- trousers, long-sleeve shirt, long-sleeve sweater, and T-shirt as these clothes have high value of
clo and as an insulation to heat loss.
→In hot environment, the rate of heat loss from the body may drop below the rate of metabolic heat
generation. In this case the body activates the opposite mechanism. First the body increase the blood flow
and thus transports heat to the skin causing the temperature of skin to rise and approach the deep body
temperature, which will make feel thermally uncomfortable.
The best way to overcome this problem it to release water from the sweat glands i.e. to dissipate
a large amount of metabolic heat by sweating.
During sweating, the sweat absorbs the heat from the body and evaporates. Also, for better
evaporative cooling the humidity should be low.
That’s why human should drink more water in summer so that more water
Can be dissipated from sweat glands to dissipate large amount of metabolic heat
Without the scarcity of water in body.
→ In summer we wear clothing with low resistance value to have more heat loss.
For eg- light slacks and short-sleeved shirt.
As these clothes have clo=o.5 which is half of winter clothes.
Specific work done by each member