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Optimizing climate seat systems requires increased complexity in seat design which in turn is driving a need for more detailed thermal simulation methods. This paper presents the model development considerations and results of a thermal simulation study aimed at improving the thermal seat comfort experience of Hyundai-Kia's heated seating systems.

This paper presents the efforts done by Volvo 3P, through a partnership with ThermoAnalytics Inc, to develop transient thermal simulation methodologies of the under hood of a truck. The verification process for the hot spots analysis currently in use at Volvo 3P is described and the key transient situations for the hot spots analysis are identified: hot shutdown, DPF regeneration and long drive cycle, are currently only covered by physical testing late in the project, contrary to steady-state operating conditions that are already managed through simulations in the early stage of the development phase. The goal of this work is to develop simulation methodologies for these transient situations which are likely to increase the efficiency of the verification process. The key issues to be satisfied are to minimize the model development and the simulation times while achieving an acceptable accuracy level.

Virtual simulation of passenger compartment climatic conditions is becoming increasingly important as a complement to the wind tunnel and field testing to achieve improved thermal comfort while reducing the vehicle development time and cost. The vehicle cabin is subjected to various thermal environments. At the same time many of the design parameters are dependent on each other and the relationship among them is quite complex. Therefore, an experimental parametric study is very time consuming. The present 3-D RadTherm analysis coupled with the 3-D CFD flow field analysis takes into account the geometrical configuration of the passenger compartment which includes glazing surfaces and pertinent physical and thermal properties of the enclosure with particular emphasis on the glass properties. Virtual Thermal Comfort Engineering (VTCE) is a process that takes into account the cabin thermal environment coupled with a human physiology model.