Numerical simulation of multiscale heat and moisture transfer in the thermal smart clothing system

Simulation capacity is essential to the engineering design of industrial products with complex functions. This paper discusses a numerical algorithm to simulate the multiscale heat and moisture transfer in the thermal smart clothing system. A group of multiscale nonlinear models are proposed to describe the mix-type coupled heat and moisture transfer in the human body, fabrics, fiber material, and phase change material (PCM) particles. The dynamic thermal boundary conditions among individuals are considered and described to integrate the multiscale models. The coupled partial differential equations of the models are discretized by the finite volume method, and the numerical scheme for the thermal smart clothing simulation are developed considering the specification of wearing scenarios. To validate the models and simulation scheme, the simulation results and experimental results with the same clothing and wearing conditions are compared and discussed. Furthermore, a series of simulation cases are made to present the application of this numerical algorithm in practical design by expressing a sequence of design issues through the simulation results for the designers. This simulation scheme is helpful in the engineering design process of thermal smart clothing to identify the thermal quality of the clothing in advance and thus reduce the design cost.