Heat Convective Effects on Turbulence and Airflow inside an B767 Aircraft Cabin

Thermal plumes generated by human bodies can affect the temperature and humidity of the surrounding environment. An experimental study investigated the effects of thermal plumes formed by aircraft passengers on airflow and turbulence characteristics inside aircraft-cabins. An 11-row, wide-body B767 cabin mockup was used with actual seats, air diffusers and cabin profile. Thermal manikins were used simulating passengers in the cabin. Tracer gas and air speed inside the cabin were measured while the heat from the manikins was turned on and off to help understand the effects of the thermal heat released by the manikins. Results showed that tracer gas distribution were more uniformly and equally distributed around the release source and the air speed fluctuation were lower under cooler environments when the thermal manikins were turned off. Heated environments increased the values of turbulence kinetic energy and the turbulence intensity levels. However, the effects on the turbulence intensity were less significant compared to the turbulence kinetic energy. On the other hand, the dissipation rates were higher for unheated cases in the front and back sections of the mockup cabin. The relative uncertainty for tracer gas sampling ranged between +/- 5-14% for heated manikins versus +/- 8-17% for unheated manikins. Higher uncertainty levels accompanied the turbulence measurements due to the highly chaotic nature of the flow inside the cabin.