Heat and mass transfer under an infant radiant warmer – Development of a numerical model

Abstract

The main objectives of this paper are to present a procedure of how to create and set up a model for the physical processes that take place within an infant radiant warmer and to validate that Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be used to resolve such problems. In this study, the results are obtained for a simplified model, both in terms of the geometry employed and the prescribed boundary conditions. The results were numerically verified in terms of the convergence history, monitor data and the physical correctness. This study shows that the physical situation is unsteady and the results tend to oscillate, almost periodically, around a mean value. The results presented in the paper are found to be in qualitative agreement with the experimental data. This gives us confidence that the techniques employed in this paper are appropriate and form the starting point for the inclusion of more realistic effects, e.g. real shape of the newborn and radiant lamp, heat generated inside the newborn, moisture transport, etc.