Modelling human heat transfer and temperature regulation

In recent years there has been a growing demand from research, military and the industry for robust, reliable models predicting human thermophysiological responses. This chapter discusses the various aspects of- and approaches to- modelling human heat transfer and thermoregulation including the passive and the active system, numerical tissue heat transfer, environmental heat exchange, clothing. Attention is also paid to advanced modelling topics such as model personalisation to predict responses of individuals, and methods for coupling with other simulation models and measurement systems. Several application examples of coupled systems are illustrated including numerical and physical simulation systems and a system for noninvasive assessment of internal temper-ature using signals from wearable sensors. The predictive performance of the model is discussed based on validation examples covering different exposure scenarios, personal characteristics, physical activities and in conjunction with non-invasive determination of rectal temperature with measured skin tempera-tures as model input. It is concluded that the model is a robust predictor of hu-man thermophysiological responses, and, the proposed numerical simulation approach to non-invasive assessment of body core temperature, a reliable method applicable to a broad range of exposure conditions, personal characteristics, ex-ercise intensities and type of clothing.