Human Torso Model for Heat Transfer Analysis

X. Xu[1], T. Patel[1], R.W. Hoyt[1]
[1]U.S. Army Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA, USA
Published in 2012

A human torso model was created for heat transfer analysis. The torso was derived from the ‘Virtual Family’ whole-body voxel data from the ITIS Foundation (Zurich, Switzerland). Measurements were taken from the ITIS male along the axial plane at key anatomical landmarks and used to develop geometry in Solidworks. Individual components were created to represent the skin, fat, muscle, and bone regions of the torso anatomy. Steady state heat transfer analysis was conducted in COMSOL. The torso surface was divided into four regions. Each can have its own boundary conditions, representing different clothing properties. The results show that boundary conditions in each region have impact on the temperature distribution of the skin resulting from metabolic heat production in the muscle.