Client
University of Colorado, U.S. Department of Energy
Project Objectives
- Design and develop a heated/cooled vehicle seat using heat pipes. The heat pipes will use the heating/cooling system of the vehicle, or the outside ambient conditions to drive the heat transfer.
- A heated/cooled vehicle seat is a more efficient way to thermally condition the human body compared to a climate control system. The development of such a seat will allow for the downsizing of the climate control system and an improvement in fuel efficiency. Heat pipes are a very effective way to transfer heat.
Summary of Project and Results (Non-Confidential)
- Designed heat pipes to be used in the seat and interface with heating/cooling system of vehicle
- Developed a thermally conductive gel to aid in transferring heat from the heat pipes to the seat and also provide seat comfort
- Implemented the heat pipes in the seat
- Measured the seat surface temperatures and heat transfer of the seat while conducting human subject tests under a variety of cabin thermal conditions
Heat Pipe Heat Transfer Mechanism