Publicação
Assessment of the thermal environment in a textile plant for automotive components
| Resumo: | Thermal comfort is a state of mind, which makes it a subjective sensation that is affected by personal differences. Thereby, the same environment will not satisfy everyone. But the main goal is to turn a work environment as comfortable as possible, to avoid work accidents and/or health problems. The objectives of this work were experimental measurements and calculation of the thermal environmental parameters (air temperature, air velocity, relative humidity and radiant heat), the characterization of the thermal environmental, according to the obtained data and the simulation of the human thermal response to the thermal environment, using a human thermal model. This way, the assessment of the thermal environment of an industrial plant in an experimental way, was achieved and the sensitivity of the human thermal model was tested. The measures of the environmental variables were made in 29 points in the plant, through appropriate instruments like globe thermometer, thermo anemometer and Data Logger. In order to assess the workers’ sensation, a thermal sensation questionnaire was developed. The calculation of the indexes Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and Predicted Mean Vote and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PMV/PPD) was performed with the resource of the Malchaire’s model and an Excel sheet. Regarding the tests to evaluate sensitivity of a human thermal model to environmental variables changes, three points of measures were used; the chosen points had similar environmental variables and different metabolic rate, and vice-versa. Results showed that the shift with the highest WBGT is the shift from 14h00 to 22h00 which confirms the answers given by workers in the questionnaire. All the workers are uncomfortable with the thermal environmental. The tests in human thermal model indicated that this can differentiate the thermal behavior of the different body parts, according to their adaptability. It was also possible to conclude that the temperature of the parts that can adapt tend to stabilization. |
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| Autores principais: | Guise, Mariana Isabel da Silva |
| Assunto: | Industrial plant Metabolism Thermal comfort Thermal environment Human thermal model Ambiente térmico Conforto térmico Metabolismo Planta industrial Modelo térmico humano |
| Ano: | 2014 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade do Minho |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho |
| Resumo: | Thermal comfort is a state of mind, which makes it a subjective sensation that is affected by personal differences. Thereby, the same environment will not satisfy everyone. But the main goal is to turn a work environment as comfortable as possible, to avoid work accidents and/or health problems. The objectives of this work were experimental measurements and calculation of the thermal environmental parameters (air temperature, air velocity, relative humidity and radiant heat), the characterization of the thermal environmental, according to the obtained data and the simulation of the human thermal response to the thermal environment, using a human thermal model. This way, the assessment of the thermal environment of an industrial plant in an experimental way, was achieved and the sensitivity of the human thermal model was tested. The measures of the environmental variables were made in 29 points in the plant, through appropriate instruments like globe thermometer, thermo anemometer and Data Logger. In order to assess the workers’ sensation, a thermal sensation questionnaire was developed. The calculation of the indexes Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and Predicted Mean Vote and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PMV/PPD) was performed with the resource of the Malchaire’s model and an Excel sheet. Regarding the tests to evaluate sensitivity of a human thermal model to environmental variables changes, three points of measures were used; the chosen points had similar environmental variables and different metabolic rate, and vice-versa. Results showed that the shift with the highest WBGT is the shift from 14h00 to 22h00 which confirms the answers given by workers in the questionnaire. All the workers are uncomfortable with the thermal environmental. The tests in human thermal model indicated that this can differentiate the thermal behavior of the different body parts, according to their adaptability. It was also possible to conclude that the temperature of the parts that can adapt tend to stabilization. |
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