Numerical study on airflow through large openings

The paper presents a numerical study on the airflow within a single-sided heated room with a large vertical opening, with and without interaction of an air curtain. The influence of temperature differences between the heated wall and the exterior on the inflow has been investigated. Also how an air curtain, with different inlet velocities and widths, affect the flow and thermal patterns in the room have been examined. The RNG k-e turbulence model is used for capturing the fluid flow and heat transfer in the building and through the opening. When there is no air curtain installed in the opening the temperature in the building falls down to nearly the outdoor temperature. This drop in temperature is avoided by installing an air curtain. However, although it provides good indoor climate regarding the temperature it also produces significantly higher air velocities that can cause discomfort due to draft. The results from this study show that CFD calculations can be used for simulating the airflow in buildings with air curtains. However more experiments are needed for a more detailed calibration of the numerical results.