Investigating thermal environment inside the kitchen of air‐conditioned pantry car on Indian Railway using CFD

Abstract

In an indoor kitchen environment, proper installation of supplying air system is essential for maintaining optimal human thermal comfort level. Current thermal comfort investigation has been accomplished during "various cooking periods (breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner)" inside the air-conditioned kitchen environment of railway pantry car in India. The study goals to improve thermal comfort inside the pantry kitchen by implementing proper installation of the supply air system. A field experiment and computational fluid dynamics approach has been carried out during the summer season. Also, standard effective temperature (SET) index was utilized to determine the thermal comfort status. Three proposed design modified cases of pantry cars (based on supplying air system concepts) have been executed followed by validation and comparison with the existing case model. Results revealed modified Case III as a better design concept (indicating better air supply circulation and temperature decrease at the desired location) compared to the existing and other two proposed cases. Simultaneously, the SET index range was 26.5-28.6°C; indicating "comfortable thermal sensation throughout the cooking period." This study's outcomes suggest improvements in thermal comfort and energy savings of "airconditioned" pantry car kitchens in "Indian Railways" that could be referred directly.