Thermal Comfort Manikins

ADAM "ADAM" Advanced Automotive Manikin
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"ADAM" is the world's most advanced thermal comfort manikin and represents a true leap in technology for thermal manikins. Developed for the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), "ADAM" will be used to evaluate the highly non-uniform and transient environments in vehicles. "ADAM" is subdivided into 126 individual sweating zones for a highly accurate prediction of occupant sensation and comfort. The manikin mimics human responses such as sweating and breathing with incredible accuracy, and its high spatial resolution and rapid response to environmental changes allow it to respond realistically to transient, non-uniform inputs. "ADAM" has all electronics within the manikin body cavity, including batteries and a wireless transceiver for true cordless operation of all manikin systems.

"Newton" Fiberglass-Epoxy Thermal Manikin
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"Newton" is constructed of a thermally conductive carbon-epoxy system with embedded distributed heating and sensor wire. The mass and thermal properties of this manikin can be adjusted during construction for rapid transient response or easier handling. Available body forms now include 50th percentile Western Male, 50th percentile Asian Male, and 50th percentile Western Female. 20 and 34 zone models are standard (dry or sweating), but 'Newton" can be constructed with up to 43 thermal zones for the precise evaluation of regional thermal variations.

As with our other thermal manikin models, "Newton" is fully jointed, providing motion at the ankles, elbows, knees, and hips (optional joints at the wrists and neck) to allow virtually any possible body pose. Joints feature adjustable friction with positive stops, and all packages include Measurement Technology Northwest's automatic manikin control software, ThermDAC.

"STAN" Seat Test Automotive Manikin
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The Seat Test Automated Manikin was developed to evaluate the thermal comfort and moisture management of automobile seating. The STAN model consists of an epoxy-resin back and buttocks with embedded sweating sections, along with heaters, temperature sensors, and a fluid supply system to simulate metabolic heat and perspiration levels. A dedicated PC Pentium computer controls manikin temperature and fluid supply while logging data.

Weights can be added to control the amount of seat compression. The system is accurate to ±0.1 C, and includes the back and buttocks manikin, automatic PC based ThermDAC control system, and documentation.

ST-2 Comfort Test System
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MTNW has developed the innovative, single zone ST-2 Comfort Test System to support in-house development of testing procedures and to help evaluate the need for more advanced thermal instrumentation tests. The ST-2 can be used on seat backs or cushions to quickly evaluate the thermal properties and moisture management of automobile seating. The ST-2 can be quickly and easily positioned on different seat regions to evaluate the regional effects from different coverings or internal seat construction. Ruggedly made, it can also support the weights needed to simulate seat compression.

By using a single heating/sweating zone, the complexity of the test and subsequent data analysis is greatly reduced, along with the device cost. This lightweight, portable, carbon-epoxy unit contains one thermally controlled porous metal sweating insert, temperature sensors, and a computer-controlled fluid supply system that simulates metabolic heat and perspiration levels. The ST-2 system is accurate to ±0.1°C, and includes MTNW’s exclusive PC-based ThermDAC control system.