“Thermal comfort is an individual perception and not a measurable value,” Giovanni Lombardi, University of Pisa professor of airplane and vehicle aerodynamics said.
“Qualitative statements from a test team do not really help car developers who want to measure the design quality and usefulness of design changes objectively and comparably."
"An experimental approach for determining the data required was virtually impossible. For that reason, we used engineering simulation software from ANSYS, which had advantages for this scenario and rendered accurate and reliable results.”
To avoid having to ask every single Ferrari buyer what is his/her optimal comfort temperature, Ferrari and ANSYS will use, together with the University of Pisa, several local indices: the thermal equilibrium of the human body, discomfort caused by drafts, and horizontal and vertical temperature gradients.
Other factors, like the car’s velocity and materials or the sensitivity to warming or cooling on various body sites were also taken into account.
“Ferrari and the University of Pisa faced the difficult task of developing a measure for quality. They saw a high business value in applying our software and made profitable use of it,”Jim Cashman, ANSYS CEO added.
"Companies across the whole industry spectrum - not just automotive - are seeing the benefits of this process. In this case, with help from ANSYS software, Ferrari is living up to its expectations of designing one of the most desirable brands worldwide."
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