English

The modeling of convective flows with 3D lattice Boltzmann fluid dynamics is presented using a lattice BGK approach for low Mach number flows with variable density combined with a large eddy turbulence model.

This report introduces the rapid prototype method newly developed to design individual housings. (Reference 1) Since the individual housing naturally owns different indoor configuration and surrounding environment, an introduction of the rapid prototype method into housing design is therefore effective. Especially, the scene of the individual housing with the surrounding buildings thus reproduced can allow to propose the individual housing not only as a housing simply, but also a special space emphasizing the relationship with the surrounding environment.

The application of building simulation for the thermal improvement of buildings in developing countries is limited by the scarcity of hourly climate data and test reference years. Therefore a generally applicable method was developed to select and  combine monthly periods of hourly data, that correspond best to long-time mean values and assure representative mean temperatures and global radiation in the TRY for Central Chile.

This paper contains the results of an on-going collaborative research effort by the departments of Architecture and Computer Science of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, U.S.A., to develop a computer visualization application for the structural analysis of building structures. The VIRTUAL-SAP computer program is being developed by linking PC-SAP4 (Structural Analysis Program), and virtual environment software developed using the SVE (Simple Virtual Environment) library.

The control industry integrates more and more recent innovations, especially on the  sector  of communication networks (bus), control (fuzzy logic, neural networks…)  and  informatic  (hard-and software) for the development of  Building Management Systems (BMS). The necessity of innovation on this field imposes on the control industry to develop faster and faster new products while managing perfectly the quality of the products.

Future cities are likely to be characterised by a greater level of renewable energy systems deployment. Maximum impact will be achieved when such systems are used to offset local energy demands in contrast to current philosophy dictating the grid connection of large schemes. This paper reports on the development of a software tool, MERIT, for demand/ supply matching. The purpose of MERIT is to assist with the deployment of renewable energy systems at all scales.

The Energy Resources Center (ERC) at the University of Illinois at Chicago conducted an energy assessment to determine the peak cooling loads of the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) as part of MSI’s Long Term Development Plan. MSI is located in Chicago, Illinois next to Lake Michigan, and experiences substantial seasonal weather changes. The DOE-2.1E program was used to accomplish this goal. The MSI intended to use the DOE-2.1E model to analyze the lifecycle costs of several mechanical equipment configurations.

This paper describes the modelling and simulation work that was carried out to support the design team of the new "Indonesian Jungle" pavilion in Prague Zoo.   This   pavilion   is   basically   a   very   large transparent (acrylic) dome maintaining a warm and humid jungle-like indoor environment. Problematic issues include very high solar gains in summer, very high heat losses in winter, and potential condensation against the roof at various times throughout the year. After elaborating the above, the various modelling problems associated with this building are discussed.

Over the last fifteen years, there have been a number of UK initiatives which facilitated practitioner access to simulation programs (e.g. Clarke and Maver 1991; McElroy et al 1997). Following the success of these activities, the Scottish Energy Sys tems Group (SESG) was established in 1999 to assist with the further transfer of simulation into design practice. The SESG is a joint government, industry and academic venture.

A directory of building energy software tools is now available on the web. The directory contains information on more than 100 tools ranging from research software to commercial products with thousands of users. The common thread for all the software is improving energy efficiency or incorporating renewable energy concepts in buildings.