title: Computational fluid mechanical study of the convective heat transfer in a closed space simulating an infant incubator.
abstract: The uneven distribution of the ambient temperature in a model of an infant incubator was demonstrated using the computational fluid mechanical (CFM) simulation of the air flow. A finite volume method of CFM calculation was performed on a three-dimensional (3D) model of an infant incubator including a model baby. The time course of the temperature distribution was computed solving the heat transfer equations simultaneously with the momentum equations. An uneven temperature distribution was observed for a long period (60 s) after the warm inflow was introduced into the incubator chamber. The temperature distribution was complex in 3D space and unsteady even after a long time, suggesting that it may take a considerable time to settle and may continue to be unsteady even if the inflow velocity is steady.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bio-Medical Engineering, School of High-Technology for Human Welfare, Tokai University, Shizuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okino
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Horio
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D018481:Convection; D006801:Humans; D007186:Incubators, Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D013696:Temperature