Numerical simulation of air flows: an essential tool of comfort optimization of modern buildings and HVAC systems

The paper deals with the CFD (computational fluid dynamics) application to the comfort optimization of some complex architectural projects in which the physical interaction effects between the building and its environment affect strongly the building’s comfort conditions and the HVAC system behaviour. The author reports on his practical experience of modelling aerodynamic and thermodynamic interaction effects between internal and external air flows. The selected examples range from the investigation of the pollutant transport around several skyscrapers in the city of Frankfurt to the simulation of internal air flows in very complex large spaces like modern atria or shopping malls.