This paper presents a computational fluid dynamics ( CFD) study of the indoor environment provided by a cold air distribution system using three alternative types of diffusers, i.e., a square multi--cone type, a wall-mounted nou.le type, and a ceiling nozzle type. The surface condensation risk on the diffusers is also discussed using the CFD results and a simple condensation model. An innovative proposal to prevent surface condensation and cold air dumping when using multicone circular diffusers with cold air is presented.
Previous work by Linden, Lane-Serff and Smeed (1990) has developed a simple mathematical model for natural displacement ventilation of an enclosure. The work also introduced the experimental salt-bath technique, which uses salt solutions and fresh water to generate buoyancy forces that are analogous to those found in naturally ventilated buildings. The work claims that a good correlation exists between the predictions of the simple mathematical model and the results obtained using the salt-bath technique.
This paper considers the numerical modeling of room airflows and illustrates the usefulness of computational fluid dynamics as a design tool for ventilation systems. A computer code, which simulates steady, buoyant, turbulent, three-dimensional flows in Cartesian coordinates, was developed. The time-averaged equations for conservation of mass, momentum, and energy are solved. A low Reynolds number kE model is used to simulate the turbulent transport. The code was validated by comparing it to benchmark data for both liddriven and buoyancy-driven cavity flows.
The rising stream around a human body attributable to metabolic heat can carry contaminants from the floor level to the human breathing system. Thus, the quality of the breathing air greatly depends on the concentration distribution in the lower part of the room and the characteristics of the local air motion around the body. In this paper, a modeled human body (computational thermal manikin) is placed in a room that is air-conditioned with a displacement ventilation system.
Rapid activation of fire protection systems in response to a growing fire is one of the important factors required to provide for life safety and property protection. Airflow due to the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system can significantly modify the flow of smoke along the ceiling and must be taken into consideration when a particular system is designed. At present, the standards used to guide the design of fire protection systems contain very little quantitative information concerning the impact of airflow produced by HVAC systems.
NFPA Standard 92B presents computational methods for determining the position of a smoke layer in a large-volume space. Although NFPA 92B is a guide to smoke management design, the methods have been adopted, with certain modifications, by model building codes and are mandated for use in atriums and large-volume spaces. This paper makes use of a recently developed CFD fire model to assess the NFPA 92B calculation methods. A total of 13 simulated tests were conducted.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFO) was used in a study of the air flow characteristics in the occupied building zone. Correlation equations between the mean air speeds and the percentage dissatisfied with the macroscopic flow numbers were derived. Ten macroscopic flow numbers including the total ventilation rate, the air change rate, ventilation rate, air diffusion performance index, modified jet momentum number, two new flow numbers and three expressions of jet momentum ratio were investigated.
Convective heat transfer from internal room surfaces has major effect on the thermal comfort, air movement and heating and cooling loads for the room. Recent studies have shown that the values of convective heat transfer coefficient used in building thermal models greatly influence the prediction of the them1al environment and energy consumption in buildings. In computational fluid dynamics ( CFD) codes for room air movement prediction accurate boundary conditions are also necessary for a reliable prediction of the air flow.
The performance of a glazed solar chimney for heat recovery in naturally-ventilated buildings was investigated using the CFD technique. The CFO program was validated against experimental data from the literature and good agreement between the prediction and measurement was achieved. The predicted ventilation rate increased with the chimney wall temperature. The effects of solar heat gain and glazing type were investigated. It was shown that in order to maximise the ventilation rate in a cold winter, double or even triple glazing should be used.
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