Modeling of In-Vehicle Heat Transfers Using Zonal Approach

The purpose of the work is the representation of heat transfers in an automotive car cabin by a geometrical and physical simplified model. This one is represented by plane elements receiving a variable solar flux in direction and intensity. The significant heat transfers (conduction, convection, mass transfer and radiation) are taken into account. The aeraulic phenomena are represented by a zonal approach based on the volume split up in small volumes. Calculation estimates in parallel the view and transfer factors, as well as internal and external solar flux density. Results are surface temperatures of the car cabin, in-vehicle air temperature at different levels and also heating or cooling capacity to reach an acceptable comfort level. Experiments have been performed for the validation of calculations. In this paper, validation of the natural convection heat transfer is only described. Results are in good agreement with the experiment.