Creating a computer model that is able to simulate different ventilation scenarios within a structure is essential for improving the understanding of passive designs that are both sustainable and environmentally acceptable. The purpose of this investigation was to build a prototype model that could be heated from both the outside and inside to duplicate an occupied structure during the morning hours. Two Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) models were created for this study to firstly compare and then validate results obtained from experimental data.
This paper reports the results of a study to test two novel procedures to model dynamic thermal conditions of an enclosure within Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The main area of investigation is the performance of the procedures in simulating the varying thermal response of the building fabric, the effects of external thermal load changes and the consequential effect on the air inside the enclosure. The dynamic thermal modelling procedures proposed utilise a transient time-varying grid schedule and Freeze-Flow techniques.