Thermal Clothing Engineering Using a COMSOL® Simulation App

B. Van Der Smissen [1], S. Vasile [2],
[1] University College Ghent, Faculty of Science and Nature, Mechatronics, Ghent, Belgium
[2] University College Ghent, Science and Nature, Fashion, Textile and Wood Technology, Ghent, Belgium
Published in 2016

In this paper the development of a COMSOL® app for the engineering design of thermal quality clothing has been started. The software architecture is developed for different design strategies. Specific design requirements lead to different simulation models for the clothing wearing system ranging from simple 1D, 2D to complex time-consuming 3D models. The COMSOL app uses finite element method (FEM) for solving the mathematical equations that describe the thermal behaviors involved in the system consisting of the human body, clothing and environment.