Digital twin of thermal manikin – accelerate thermal comfort innovations

One of last SATTELO innovation is digital twin of Thermal manikin that was developed in cooperation with PT Teknik company.

The Digital Twin of the Thermal Manikin is the ultimate solution aimed at tackling complex thermal comfort design challenges for indoor spaces, vehicular cabins, and buildings. It is ideal for evaluating alternative HVAC design concepts early in the development process and supplements physical thermal manikin testing in later development phases. The virtual and physical manikins are compatible and will enable a coherent product development flow regarding thermal comfort.

What are key features of virtual manikin?

The Digital Twin is a validated virtual representation of a physical thermal manikin, a state-of-the-art device that enables the inclusion of all environmental and personal parameters into thermal comfort analysis. This is achieved through active skin heating, fine resolution of main body parts and compliance with thermal comfort models.

• The most realistic human thermal representation
• Detailed body parts resolution of 23 segments
• Accelerating development cycle & reduction of development resources
• Objective referee in thermal comfort studies

How it works?

Virtual manikin consists of 1D thermal behaviour model implemented in STAR-CCM+ via FMI. All manikin parameters can be setup in CFD directly. Virtual model is validated againts thy physical manikin (both nude and clothed manikin).

What are typical outputs?

Integrating the Digital Twin of the Thermal Manikin into your development process allows you to make unbiased, physics-based, informed decisions on comfort and energy-efficient driven design choices. This powerful tool is ISO compliant and validated, providing valuable insights in all stages of development.

• ISO comfort evaluation
• Physical manikin results conformity
• Meta analyses, e.g. the energy cost of comfort

The Digital Twin of the Thermal Manikin is the go-to tool for companies prioritizing human comfort and efficiency in both design and service life phases. Whether you’re in the automotive industry, heavy machinery, mass transportation, or domestic applications, this tool meets industry-specific requirements.

Digital twin of Thermal manikin in AUTOMOTIVE & TRANSPORTATION

The new era of mobility presents new energy efficiency challenges where passenger comfort can significantly reduce the drive range of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Furthermore, the shift in cabin design for autonomous vehicles and emergence of new personal comfort systems add complexity to finding the right heating and cooling solution. Are you prepared to tackle this challenge?

At SATTELO, we understand our customers’ needs and we are introducing the Thermal Manikin Digital Twin to efficiently evaluate the complex problems of human thermal comfort and to achieve best-in-class design. We have implemented and validated the state-of-the-art human thermal manikin in a virtual environment.

The Digital Twin allows for the inclusion of all environmental and personal parameters in thermal comfort analysis, including active skin heating, fine resolution of main body parts, and compliance with thermal comfort models and standards. Additionally, manikin outputs can be coupled with system-level information, such as energy use and drive range impact.

Applying a structured engineering approach and cutting-edge tools results in accelerated optimization and problem solving, as well as a significant reduction in engineering development resources. Consistency between the digital and physical manikins is vital for efficient development in both the virtual and testing phases.

• Full thermal representation of a human
• Inclusion of personal and environmental factors
• Objective comfort referee (e.g. ISO 7730 and 14505-4:2021)
• Utilisation in both CFD & FEA
• ISO comfort evaluation
• Physical manikin results conformity
• Meta analyses, e.g. the energy cost of comfort

Digital twin of Thermal manik in in OFF HIGHWAY INDUSTRY

Cabin comfort is a crucial design element in agriculture, construction, and heavy machinery to ensure occupational health, productivity, and prevent fatigue due to thermal stress during long shifts.

At SATTELO, we understand our customers’ needs and have introduced the Thermal Manikin Digital Twin to surpass the minimum user comfort certification standards and achieve the best-in-class design. This is achieved by implementing and validating the state-of-the-art human thermal manikin in a virtual environment.

The manikin allows for the inclusion of all environmental and personal parameters in thermal comfort analysis, including active skin heating, fine resolution of main body parts, and compliance with thermal comfort models. Additionally, manikin outputs can be coupled with system level information, such as energy consumption and impact to working duration.

Applying a structured engineering approach and cutting-edge tools results in accelerated optimization and problem-solving, as well as a significant reduction in development resources. Consistency between the digital and physical manikin is vital for efficient development in both virtual and testing phases.

• Full thermal representation of a human
• Inclusion of personal and environmental factors
• Objective comfort referee (e.g. ISO 7730 and 14505-4:2021)
• Utilisation in both CFD & FEA
• ISO comfort evaluation
• Physical manikin results conformity
• Meta analyses, e.g. the energy cost of comfort

Digital twin of Thermal manikin in ARCHITECTURE & CIVIL ENGINEERING

The civil industry is facing significant challenges with the utmost attention to climate change, energy efficiency, and occupants’ health and comfort. Achieving all of these objectives simultaneously is a complex assignment, where advancements in virtual analysis are of priceless help.

In particular, using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and a virtual thermal manikin has proven to be an effective solution to address thermal comfort challenges in buildings. The virtual thermal manikin is a powerful tool that simulates realistic human body heat exchange and the impact of various factors on thermal comfort, such as air velocity, humidity, and temperature distribution, including solar load.

Detailed analysis serves as an early input to fine-tune HVAC systems, building envelopes, and indoor airflows for optimal thermal comfort. Simulations also help in understanding airflows and temperature gradients throughout the building, allowing the identification of potential hot and cold spots and the implementation of corrective measures. This virtual approach saves resources during the design phase as well as in the service life of the building by balancing users’ needs and energy consumption.

• Full thermal representation of a human
• Inclusion of personal and environmental factors
• Objective comfort referee (e.g. ISO 7730 and 14505-4:2021)
• Utilisation in both CFD & FEA
• ISO comfort evaluation
• Realistic thermal load (possibility to fully occupy given space)
• Unbiased assessment of thermal comfort, to make inform design decisions