Considerations on room airflow motion predictions

Airflow characteristics in the air-conditioned spaces play an important role to obtain the comfortable and hygienic conditions. This paper utilizes a 3D time dependent Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to assess the airflow characteristics in four different air-conditioned spaces. It was found that the location of the air extraction port represents a critical design factor and would have a direct effect on the heat removal efficiency and the energy efficiency of the air-conditioning system from the airside wise. The cavity flow configuration has the highest energy efficiency among the studied configurations. The piston flow configuration provides the optimum uniform temperature in the occupancy zone but with lowest energy efficiency. The present work raises several questions in the room airflow motion prediction techniques and describes the notable considerations that should be followed to obtain an efficient prediction model capable to predict the room airflow motion.