An Investigation of Air Flow and Thermal Comfort of Modified Conventional Car Cabin using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Air conditioning is widely used in many areas to reduce the heat and humidity of the work place and to maintain a room temperature for thermal stability and physical ability to perform various tasks. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is based on the numerical solutions of the fundamental governing equations of fluid dynamics namely the continuity, momentum and energy equations. Computerized fluent mechanics is one of the increasing paradigm in the air flow simulation in vehicle designs. The design optimization of vehicle can offer better efficiency in cabin surface as well as aerodynamic. In vehicles, air conditioning tends to offer efficient thermal conditioning and air circulation inside the cabin for passenger comfort from different climate variation. Almost all the automobiles available in the market are fitted with air-conditioning systems. The manufacturers focus clearly on the AC system for a wide variety of climates. As technology advances, AC system is also adhering major advancements. In general, automobile air-conditioning systems are designed to provide comfort for the driver and the passengers during a journey. The conventional electrical-driven compression systems are widely used in almost all of the automobiles today. An air-conditioner is operated to make a hot and humid passenger compartment a more comfortable environment. However, with the improvement in vehicle fuel economy, the allowable power consumption for the air-conditioner has been decreasing, in relation to the overall power consumption of the vehicle. The internal temperature-humidity conditions are an essential factor for the comfort and health of passengers, and also for the safety of drivers. In this research, the air conditioning inside vehicle cabin is analyzed. The objective of the research is to develop an air depression design inside the top surfaces of the rear cabin. The optimal flow of air inside cabin increases the thermal comfort of the vehicle. The proposed cabin depression design inside the rear top surfaces are analyzed under thermal variation and airflow circulation inside the cabin. The Ansys fluent tool is utilized in this paper to evaluate the variation of air flow and the temperature inside the passenger vehicle cabin respectively. From the research analysis, the proposed evaluation of the depression design is more optimal for air conditioning in budgetary small passenger vehicles.