Human body acts as a heat engine and thermodynamically could be considered as an open system. The energy and mass for the human body’s vital processes are taken from external sources (food, liquids) and then exchanged with the environment. These exchange mechanisms are of great importance, since they define the thermal sensation, i.e. thermal comfort. Therefore, the pathway of energy, mass, and the transformations associated with their generation leading to an exchange with the environment should be considered. Thermal models of the human body and its interaction with the surrounding thermal environment have been available for more than 30 years. These models range from simple one-dimensional, steady-state simulations to complex, transient finite element models [1], [2], [3], [4] and [5]. The main similarity of most models is the application of energy balance to a simulated human body (based on the 1st law of thermodynamics) and the use of energy exchange mechanisms. The models differ mainly in the physiological response models and in the criteria used to predict thermal sensation [6] and [7].
In this paper a different approach is presented, namely an analysis based on the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Every energy transfer and conversion is accompanied by an exergy transfer and conversion. Energy is conservative in its transfer and conversion process (1st law of thermodynamics: nothing disappears), while exergy is known to be non-conservative due to the irreversibility of its transfer process (2nd law of thermodynamics: everything disperses). As a result, exergy transfer has rules of its own which are different from those of energy transfer. Exergy is only conserved, or in balance, for a reversible process, but is partly consumed in an irreversible process. For a real process the exergy input always exceeds the exergy output; this unbalance is due to irreversibilities and represents exergy destruction or exergy consumption. There are corresponding entropy flows associated with heat and mass flows; combining the energy and entropy balance brings about exergy balance [8], [9] and [10]. One of the objectives of the presented research is to calculate entropy generation or exergy destruction (based on the Gouy–Stodola theorem). The calculation of exergy destruction is usually based on second law analysis, either from the rate of exergy destruction within the relevant control volume, or from the unbalanced rate of exergy input within the control volume [11].
In the case of the human body, exergy is consumed as a consequence of heat and mass transfer and/or conversion. These processes are dependent on the human thermoregulatory system and on the state of the environment. Therefore, the human body generates specific mechanisms of irreversibilities. The purpose of the presented study is to introduce an approach to calculate the rate of exergy destruction within the human body and to identify the magnitude and mechanisms of those irreversibilities.
An example is considered to verify the presented model and it is shown that there is a correlation between the exergy consumption within the human body and the expected level of thermal comfort. Furthermore, the existing methods for comfort assessment could be improved and expanded with the inclusion of exergy analysis.