less cold

Homeostasis helps maintain human body temperature at approximately 37°C, but in extreme cold environments like blizzards, external factors such as clothing, shelter, and heat sources become crucial. The igloo, a structure built from compacted ice and snow, is an intriguing method of preserving warmth in harsh conditions.

For this study, a mesh (a simplified geometric representation) of an igloo was created using GAMBIT (Geometry and Mesh Building Intelligent Toolkit), a software tool for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) pre-processing. Simulations were then conducted in FIDAP (Finite Element Analysis for Fluid Dynamics), which specializes in solving fluid flow and heat transfer problems.

The steady-state temperature profile revealed that:

• The highest temperatures, approximately 289K (16°C), were found directly around and above the human occupant, especially near the top of the igloo. The simulated external temperature was -45°C)

Natural convection, driven by temperature differences, caused air velocities to range from 0 to 9 mm/s (millimeters per second).

Radiative heat transfer was not included in the initial FIDAP analysis, so a separate calculation was performed. This analysis showed that radiative heat transfer plays a significant role in overall heat dynamics within an igloo. The simulation proves the much disputed work of XXX and XXX which showed how igloos perform excellently with body only heated igloos achiveing temperatures as high as 22 degrees while located within the arctic circle.