TN 29: Fundamentals of the Multizone Air Flow Model- COMIS

The COMIS workshop (Conjunction of Multlzone Infiltration Specialists) was a Joint research effort to develop a multlzone Infiltration model. This workshop (October 1988 - September 1989) was hosted by the Energy Performance of Buildings Group at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's Applied Science Division. The task of the workshop was to develop a detailed multizone Inflitratlon program taking crack flow, HVAC-systems, single-sided ventilation and transport mechanism through large openings Into account. This work was accomplished not by Investigating Into numerical description of physical phenomena but by reviewing the literature for the best suitable algorithm. The numerical description of physical phenomena Is cleady a task of lEA-Annex XX "Air Flow Patterns In Buildings", which will be finished in September 1991. Multlgas tracer measurements and wind tunnel data will be used to check the model. The agenda Integrated all participants' contributions Into a single model containing a large library of modules. The user-friendly program Is aimed at researchers and building professionals.
From Its announcement In December 1986, COMIS was well received by the research community. Due to the Internationality of the group, several national and International research programmes were co-ordinated with the COMIS workshop. Colleagues from France, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Peoples' Republic of China, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States of Amedoa were working together on the development of the model.
Even though this kind of co-operation Is well known In other fields of research, e.g., high energy physics; for the field of building physics it Is a new approach.
The COMIS Fundamentals contains an overview about Infiltration modelling as well as the physics and the mathematics behind the COMIS model.