Splitting the Manikin into Segments

Fiala Manikin

For the Fiala models, body parts such as Head, Neck, Thorax, and so on, are called segments. The manikin body is divided into 20 such segments. These segments are further sub-divided into a varying number of sectors for each segment, for example, Head_Top or Head_Back. In total, you must divide your manikin geometry part into 58 part surfaces for each of the 58 sectors. When you sub-divide the manikin according to the Fiala model sectors, you can also use the sub-divided manikin for the Equivalent Homogeneous Temperature model.

The Fiala manikin is built from partial spheres and cylinders [405]. This standard manikin is then used to construct a thermal network. However, you are not required to rebuild the manikin in the form of partial spheres and cylinder. You can import a manikin geometry of any shape. The manikin can even be in different positions such as standing, sitting, lying down, and so on.

Equivalent Homogenous Temperature Manikin

You must sub-divide the manikin geometry into 17 segments corresponding to body parts such as head, thorax, shoulders, and so on.

You are advised, although optional, to follow a certain convention for naming the segments. Applying the naming convention to your segmented manikin simplifies the setup of the network links considerably. See Step 7d of Modeling Thermal Comfort. For the naming conventions, see Manikin Segmentation Naming Convention Reference.

To split the manikin: