Occupant evaluation of 7-hour exposures in a simulated aircraft cabin - Part 2: Thermal effects

Experiments were carried out in a simulated section of an aircraft cabin with 21 seats installed in a climate chamber, to determine the extent to which passengers’ perception of cabin air quality is affected by air temperature. The temperature inside the cabin was set at three differ-ent levels, 20.6°C, 23.3°C and 26.1°C (69°F, 74°F and 79°F), while maintaining outside air supply rate and total air supply to the cabin at constant and representative values.

A total of 68 subjects were exposed to each of the three conditions. The subjects completed questionnaires to provide subjective assessments of air quality, cabin environment, intensity of symptoms commonly experienced during flight, and thermal comfort. The investigation showed that cabin air temperature did not change symptoms typical of the aircraft cabin environment whereas it did significantly affect air quality, freshness of air, and thermal sensation - the lower the temperature, the higher the perceived air quality and freshness.