An investigation over the influence of a radiant thermal mat’s dimensions on its local and average convective and radiative heat transfer characteristics

Abstract

For living spaces, radiant thermal mats are seen to be a good substitute for traditional heating systems. These devices, which are often powered by electricity, are installed on the floors, walls, and ceilings of rooms. The heat generated by the mat's absolute temperature causes direct and focused heating. The natural convection heat transfer properties of radiant heating and cooling systems have been well studied, while the properties of radiant mats placed on surfaces have received relatively less attention. Mats of square and rectangular dimensions (axb=0.5 m x 0.5 m, 1 m x 1 m, 1.2 m x 1.2 m, 1.4 m x 1.4 m, 1 m x 1.2 m, 1 m x 1.4 m, and 1 m x 1.6 m) are installed on the walls of an enclosure with floor dimensions (LxL= 4 m x 4 m) and a height of H= 3 m in order to address this gap in the literature. Average convective, radiative, and overall heat transfer characteristics—which are important for building energy simulation programs—are found and correlated for different mat dimensions using the surface-to-surface (S2S) radiation model and the k-ε RNG turbulence model in the numerical program, with error ranges of ±5%, ±5%, and ±15%, respectively.