Assessing multi-zone airflow simulation software

Several standard multizone modeling programs, in order to improve their computational efficiency, make a number of simplifying assumptions. This paper examines how those assumptions reduce the solution times and memory use of the programs, but at the cost of restricting the models they can express. Applications where these restrictions may adversely affect the program's usefulness include: (1) natural ventilation, when buoyancy effects dominate mechanically-driven flow; (2) duct system design, when losses in T-junctions affect the system performance; and (3) control system design, when the dynamic transport of pollutants plays a significant role in the simulated system.