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Numerical Prediction of Mean Radiant Temperature in Radiant Cooling Indoor Environments

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Abstract

Mean radiant temperature (MRT) is an indispensable physical parameter of indoor thermal environments. Especially in indoor environments controlled by radiant systems, MRT plays an important role in thermal comfort. In order to determine MRT of indoor environments controlled by radiant cooling systems quickly and inexpensively, a numerical program is developed in this study. Based on the finite element method (FEM), view factors and radiant temperature fields are numerically calculated. The singular solution problem generated by FEM is corrected using the Monte Carlo method. The numerical program is validated against the results of an experiment performed in a radiant cooling laboratory and the reported data from previous studies. Then radiant temperature fields of different shaped surfaces in a radiant cooling indoor environment are predicted, and thermal comfort level is preliminarily evaluated.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51878255), and China Scholarship Council (No. 202106130042).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410081, China

    Daoming Xing & Nianping Li

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  1. Daoming Xing
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  2. Nianping Li
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Correspondence to Nianping Li.

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Xing, D., Li, N. Numerical Prediction of Mean Radiant Temperature in Radiant Cooling Indoor Environments. J. Therm. Sci. 31, 359–369 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-022-1531-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-022-1531-y

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