M Maganzi

CFD simulation for the improvement of thermal comfort in cars

Thermal comfort is an important criterion when choosing a car and, for this reason, it has assumed a high priority in vehicle design. In order to assess comfort not only qualitatively but also quantitatively, Ferrari, in close cooperation with the University of Pisa (Italy), has defined thermal comfort indices and made comprehensive evaluations of the general aspects of thermal comfort. For various reasons, an experimental approach is not practical, especially for the thermo-aerodynamic evaluations required. The calculations were therefore performed using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software Fluent from Ansys.

CFD simulation for the improvement of thermal comfort

Thermal comfort is an important criterion when choosing a car and, for this reason, it has assumed a high priority in vehicle design. In order to assess comfort not only qualitatively but also quantitatively, Ferrari, in close co operation with the University of Pisa (Italy), has defined thermal comfort indices and made comprehensive evaluations of the general aspects of thermal comfort. For various reasons, an experimental approach is not practical, especially for the thermo-aerodynamic evaluations required. The calculations were therefore performed using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software Fluent from Ansys.

CFD-Simulation zur Verbesserung des thermischen Komforts

Der thermische Komfort ist ein wichtiges Kriterium bei der Fahrzeugauswahl und besitzt im Automobildesign Prioritat. Um ihn zukunftig nicht nur qualitativ, sondern auch quantitativ bewerten zu konnen, hat Ferrari in Kooperation mit der Universitat Pisa (Italien) Indizes fur thermischen Komfort definiert und Untersuchungen der Zusammenhange vorgenommen. Speziell fur die thermo-aerodynamischen Untersuchungen ist ein experimenteller Ansatz aus verschiedenen Grunden praktisch nicht moglich, weshalb die Berechnungen mit der Numerischen Stromungsmechanik-Software Fluent von Ansys durchgefuhrt wurden.