Case Study: Tokyo University of Science achieves more accurate human comfort and airflow analysis with Hexagon Cradle CFD

Simulating human comfort of heated environment and smoking room

The Tokyo University of Science's Kurabuchi Laboratory sought to advance its research into indoor airflow and human comfort but was constrained by an in-house CFD code that was difficult for students to modify. They required a more flexible and powerful commercial CFD solution, specifically one capable of accurately modeling the human body's thermoregulation to study heating systems and environmental comfort.

The laboratory implemented Hexagon's SC/Tetra software, which provided a highly accurate human body thermoregulation model and superior mesh control. Using Hexagon's solution, researchers compared heating systems and quantified human comfort, finding that radiative floor heating was 10-20% more energy efficient than convective wall units. They also designed a new, more comfortable indirect flow heater for bathrooms. The success of Hexagon's tool has made it an indispensable part of their research, enabling highly accurate simulations that are sometimes more beneficial than physical experiments.

Tokyo University of Science

Takashi Kurabuchi

Department of Architecture