| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Keutenedjian Mady, Carlos Eduardo
[1]
;
Ferreira, Mauricio Silva
[1]
;
Yanagihara, Jurandir Itizo
[1]
;
Nascimento Saldiva, Paulo Hilario
[2]
;
de Oliveira Junior, Silvio
[1]
Total Authors: 5
|
| Affiliation: | [1] Univ Sao Paulo, Polytech Sch, Dept Mech Engn, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Pathol, BR-01246903 Sao Paulo - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 2
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | ENERGY; v. 45, n. 1, p. 546-553, SEP 2012. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 28 |
| Abstract | |
Exergy analysis is applied to assess the energy conversion processes that take place in the human body, aiming at developing indicators of health and performance based on the concepts of exergy destroyed rate and exergy efficiency. The thermal behavior of the human body is simulated by a model composed of 15 cylinders with elliptical cross section representing: head, neck, trunk, arms, forearms, hands, thighs, legs, and feet. For each, a combination of tissues is considered. The energy equation is solved for each cylinder, being possible to obtain transitory response from the body due to a variation in environmental conditions. With this model, it is possible to obtain heat and mass flow rates to the environment due to radiation, convection, evaporation and respiration. The exergy balances provide the exergy variation due to heat and mass exchange over the body, and the exergy variation over time for each compartments tissue and blood, the sum of which leads to the total variation of the body. Results indicate that exergy destroyed and exergy efficiency decrease over lifespan and the human body is more efficient and destroys less exergy in lower relative humidities and higher temperatures. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 09/17578-0 - Thermodynamic indicators for diagnosis of pathologies: applications on pathologies caused by urban environmental imbalances |
| Grantee: | Carlos Eduardo Keutenedjian Mady |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct) |