Prediction of the volume flux of the thermal plume above a sitting person

The paper presents a verification of a relatively simple method of volume flux calculation applied to the asymmetrical thermal plume generated by a sitting person in a condition of an upward piston flow. The method is based on a model of a thermal plume above a point heat source in an unbounded space.

The plume volume flux, V, can be calculated based on the following equation: V = kv*Qexp(1/3)*(zt-zv)exp(5/3). In the equation zt is the distance from the measuring plane to the top of the heat source and Qc is the convective part of the heat loss. A value of the entrainment coefficient, kv, equal to 0.006 was used.

The position of the virtual origin of the plume to the heat source top, zv, was optimized for seven different cases of thermal plumes above a sitting thermal manikin and the best agreement between the measured and calculated volume fluxes, not exceeding ±20%, was obtained for zv=-1.66 m.