Analysis of Temperature Rise in a Car Parked ...

Analysis of Temperature Rise in a Car Parked under Sunlight, Its Effects and Possible Solutions

Author Name : Sibin Balakrishnan, Jaimes Paul, Aishwarya Krishna Mahibalu and Christo Pauly

Abstract: Thermal comfort is one among the factors that affects the driving experience. Several infants/children death reported across the globe after left in the parked car and high temperature may create heat stroke. The aim of the project is to determine the temperature variation inside the car cabin under direct sunlight and to reduce it. When a vehicle is parked under the direct sunlight, the accumulated heat is affecting many interiors inside the vehicle cabin, such as plastic and fibres including piano black plastic, faux carbon fibre and hard black plastic of the dashboard, the leather covers and the electronic components. Vehicle interior is a specific environment of smaller volume, with a large variety of materials placed inside, including hard and soft plastics, adhesives, paints, lubricants and many others. As a result, particularly in case of new vehicles, large amounts of volatile species, especially volatile organic compounds like Benzene are emitted. The normal benzene content is 50 ml/sqft which is not harmful to us. The temperature levels in the cabin of the vehicle can be more than 20°C above the ambient temperature (almost 60°C).In a closed car parked under sunlight, the benzene content varies from 2000 to 4000 ml/sqft (40 times greater). Many of these compounds are harmful for human health and toxic, this is the reason for increasing concern of vehicle manufacturers and users recently
The project is mainly carried out in three steps. Partially insulating the heat entering through the metal body, providing a pop-up layer of insulation material to reduce the heat through the glasses, protect the dash-board from the exposure to higher temperatures using wooden skin. The air inside the cabin can also be conditioned. The temperature inside a parked car could be brought from 62ºC to 32ºC using Cross Linked Polyethylene Sheets (XLPE Sheets) during our experiment. The contamination level varies with different vehicles and may be influenced by atmospheric conditions, external pollution, colour of the vehicle, quality of materials used and others. The main aim of our project is to present current knowledge status on the temperature rise and the measurement, analysis, also the indication of main air pollutants and their concentrations.