Comparison of gaseous contaminant diffusion under stratum ventilation and under displacement ventilation

The gaseous contaminant diffusion under stratum ventilation is investigated by numerical method which is validated by experiments carried out. The concentration of gaseous contaminants along the supply air jet is found to be lower than the other parts of the room. Compared with displacement ventilation, the formaldehyde concentration in breathing zone is lower when a contaminant source locates close to the occupant. The concentration is at the same level when the contaminant source locates up-steam to the occupant. The concentration in the occupied zone (<1.9 m from the floor) is also lower when the contaminant source locates on the floor. At supply air temperature optimized for displacement ventilation, the toluene concentration in breathing zone for stratum ventilation is higher than that for displacement ventilation when the area source locates on the four surrounding walls of the room.     

Computer modeling of displacement ventilation systems based on plume rise in stratified environment

A model for displacement ventilation system based on plume rise of single point heat source was developed. The errors for temperature gradient ratio were less than 6% in most cases. Errors for temperature gradient and displacement zone height were relatively higher (up to 28.1%) which might be due to the derivation of the parameters from experimental data. Still, the errors were lower than those from design model/method of some other workers (68.5% for the temperature gradient ratio and 15.7% for the temperature difference between the supply air and at 0.1 m above floor level). With a room height of 2.4 m (common for office in Hong Kong) and design room temperature 25.5 °C defined at 1.1 m above floor level under the normal load to air flow ratio of 12,000 W/m³/s (typical values for sub-tropical region) and minimum supply temperature of 18 °C, there existed a zone capacity range from 1000 to 5000 W that stand alone operation displacement ventilation system was feasible and that the displacement zone height (minimum 2.2 m) was above normal breathing level. The feasible zone capacity range diminished with decrease in design room temperature and/or room height. In this case, the load to air flow ratio had to be reduced, resulting in a higher flow rate when compared to a mixing ventilation system, or an auxiliary cooling facility such as a chilled ceiling had to be used.     

Multiple steady states in stack ventilation

We investigate the natural ventilation of an occupied open-plan space, which is ventilated through two stacks connected to the roof of the space and a low-level opening or doorway located at the base of the space. The occupants at the floor level act as the source of heat and provide buoyancy driving the ventilation with a nearly uniform distribution of heat. These conditions can produce up to three steady state displacement ventilation regimes. In the first regime, colder air from the outside is drawn into the space through the shorter stack and bottom opening, while warm air inside the room leaves through the taller stack. In the second regime, colder outside air is drawn through the bottom opening and displaces warm air in the room upwards and out through both stacks. In the third regime, outside air is drawn through the taller stack and bottom opening, while warm interior air is displaced out through the shorter stack. A quantitative model is developed to describe these three steady state ventilation regimes. The model is successfully tested with laboratory experiments, and shows that the ventilation regime that actually develops in the room depends on the geometry of the room and the history of the flow. We discuss how these multiple ventilation regimes may be manipulated to bring about ventilation and thermal comfort to the occupants inside the ventilated space.     

Measurements and computations of ventilation efficiency and temperature efficiency in a ventilated room

In order to improve the indoor air quality in a room and to save energy, the air movement and contamination distributions in the room with ventilation have been studied experimentally and numerically. The experiment is carried out in a full-scale climate room with different air supply systems, heat gains from the venetian blinds and ventilation rates. The measurements concern room airflow patterns and air temperature, velocity and contamination concentration fields, etc. The airflow computer program PHOENICS and the cooling load program ACCURACY have been applied for the numerical simulations. PHOENICS solves the conservation equations of air mass, momentum, energy, concentration, kinetic energy and dissipation rate of kinetic energy. ACCURACY, which considers the influence of room air temperature distributions, is employed for the determination of cooling load, wall surface temperatures and convective heat transfer on room enclosure surfaces. These are the boundary conditions required by PHOENICS.The agreements between the computations and the measurements are good. The ventilation efficiency and temperature efficiency which are used for evaluation of indoor air quality and energy consumption are reported for each case. Additional application of these computations to annual energy analysis is also discussed.     

Ventilation by displacement in a three-dimensional room— A numerical study

Displacement flow systems are becoming popular, especially in Scandinavia, for comfort ventilation. In these systems air is supplied near the floor at low velocity; the temperature of the supply air is a few degrees below that of the air in the room. The supply air is heated by persons and/or machinery in the room. Turbulent plumes are formed above these heat sources. Apart from the plumes, the flow in the room is divided into two zones: a lower zone (the occupied zone) to which clean cool air continuously is supplied, and an upper zone (above the occupied zone) where contaminated warm air is recirculating.

In the present study, the flow in displacement flow systems (a water box model) has been calculated using finite difference methods; the results have been compared with experimental data, and the agreement is reasonably good.     

Airflow and air temperature distribution in the occupied region of an underfloor ventilation system

Measurements were carried out in an office-type experimental room ventilated by a floor return-type underfloor ventilation system to investigate the distributions of airflow velocity and air temperature. A fan-powered floor air unit (FAU) with rectangular supply and return air outlets covered by straight-profile linear bar-type air diffusers was installed to deliver the conditioned air in the experimental room. Turbulence intensity and draught rate distributions inside the room were also calculated by using the measured data. From the experimental results, it is found that undesirable high air velocities and high draught rates were created within a small region near the supply outlet of the FAU. Temperature differences between different height levels were maintained within an acceptable comfort level under the tested supply air conditions and heat loads. The results indicated that the temperature stratification could be maintained at an acceptable comfort level by designing the supply air conditions properly. A clearance zone is suggested as a design consideration for locating the FAUs and occupants to avoid undesirable draught discomfort to the occupants.     

Influence of the floor-based obstructions on contaminant removal efficiency and effectiveness

Dimensioning of dilution ventilation is often made using the perfect mixing approximation, assuming uniform contaminant concentration throughout the room space. However, the contaminant removal efficiency and effectiveness of air conditioning system should be accounted for during design. The effectiveness is in this context used as a measure of the contaminant distribution uniformity within the occupied zone. Influence of an occupied zone obstruction level, air distribution method, air change rate, cooling load and contaminant source non-uniformity on the contaminant removal efficiency and occupied zone contaminant concentration uniformity were studied in scale model. The room air distribution method results in contaminant concentration non-uniformity inside the occupied zone. A method was developed to take this into account during the design of air distribution system. Contaminant supply non-uniformity was found to have great influence on the concentration non-uniformity with two tested air distribution methods.     

地板送风技术条件与舒适条件的研究

本文阐明了下部送风房间热力分层和垂直温度分布规律，给出了确定垂直温度分布曲线的方法及确定最佳送风量的原理。为了计算冷负荷，作者初步推荐了不同位置热源的负荷系数，并且说明了如何决策送风口的型式与数量和相关数据。最后在实验基础上分析了地板空调的热感觉，其结果说明这种送风系统在适宜的风量与温度下能够提供舒适条件，并使风感百分数低于１５％。     

Control of Airborne Particle Concentration and Draught Risk in an Operating Room

The influence of location of airborne particle source, ventilation rate, air inlet size, supply air velocity, air outlet location, and heat source on the dkributiuns of airborne particle concentration and draught risk in an operating room is investigated. The investigation is carried out by using a flow program with the k-E mdel of turbulence. Based on a standard case, five cases, each with one changed parameter, are computed, and the detailed field distributions of air velocity, temperature, airborne particle concentration, and draught risk are presented. The parametric study concludes that, for a better air quality and thermal comfort, it is desirable to use a higher inflow rate, a larger inlet area, and a uniform velocity profile of supply air. Outlet location and heat source have little influence on the disrributions of the particle concentration in the room. It has also been found that the distributions of particle concentration in the recirculating zone are very sensitive to the location of the particle sources.     

A nodal model for displacement ventilation and chilled ceiling systems in office spaces

A nodal model has been developed to represent room heat transfer in displacement ventilation and chilled ceiling systems. The model uses precalculated air flow rates to predict the air-temperature distribution and the division of the cooling load between the ventilation air and the chilled ceiling. The air movements in the plumes and the rest of the room are represented separately using a network of 10 air nodes. The values of the capacity rate parameters are calculated by solving the heat and mass balance equations for each node using measured temperatures as inputs. Correlations between parameter values for a range of cooling loads and supply air flow rates are presented.     

Instrumentation strategies for energy conservation in broiler barns with ventilation air solar pre-heaters

At the present consumption rate, world fossil-fuel reserves are expected to be depleted by 2050 unless their consumption is optimized and supplemented with renewable energy sources. The objective of this project was to evaluate the performance of a simple data acquisition system installed to conduct an energy balance and identify energy saving strategies in two commercial broilers barns with ventilation air solar pre-heaters. Located near Montreal, Canada, the two identical barns were instrumented for inside and outside air conditions, ventilation rate and energy recovery by the solar air pre-heaters. Whereas the temperature, relative humidity and radiation sensors were reliable, inside air temperature stratification complicated energy balance analyses and broiler heat production rate calculations. Lack of room air mixing resulted in the loss of 25 and 15% of the generated heater load and recovered solar energy. The proper monitoring of all environmental conditions required their measurement every 5 rather than 20 min. Instead of using a data transmission service found to be unreliable in rural areas, all data loggers were downloaded onto a portable computer every 45 days during regular instrument maintenance. Accordingly, room air mixing is recommended to facilitate energy balance studies and improve the efficient use of heating energies.     

Numerical study on temperature stratification in a room with underfloor air distribution system

In this study, numerical prediction using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was utilized to investigate air temperature stratification in a room with an underfloor air distribution (UFAD) system. The numerical modeling using CFD computation was validated with physical test in a full size experimental room with an UFAD system. The different supply air conditions and heat loads were discussed. The results show that the effect of three parameters, heat load, supply volume flux and supply air velocity, on room air temperature would be expressed by the length scale of the floor supply jet. When the length scale increased from 0.8 to 1.56 m, the ratio of vertical temperature difference between 2.5 and 0.1 m at the occupied zone to the difference between return and supply air temperature decreased from 0.62 to 0.25. When there was only one local heat source in the room, there was a thermal stratified interface at the occupied zone. The interface height was about 1.42 times the length scale. The results may suggest ways to optimize UFAD design and operation.     

On underfloor air-conditioning of a room containing a distributed heat source and a localised heat source

This paper studies air flow in an air-conditioned room containing a distributed heat source and a localised heat source, into which cool air is supplied at low momentum through openings at a low level, and from which old air is extracted from a high level. This situation may be analogous to an auditorium containing a distributed audience and a localised group of actors and lighting on a stage, into which cool air is distributed from underneath the seating, and from which old air is removed through a ceiling, for example. Using a combination of a theoretical model and laboratory experiments, the paper shows that, in such conditions, if the localised heating is sufficiently strong compared to the distributed heating, the room will become stratified into two layers at steady state. A layer of warm air lies atop a cooler layer that attains a temperature above that of the supply air. This temperature structure depends primarily on the supply air flow rate and the ratio of the distributed heating to the total heat flux. For a room with fixed heating, increasing the supply air flow rate raises the interface between the upper and lower layers, while cooling both layers. The temperature in the upper layer depends on the total heat flux, but the temperature in the lower layer depends on the flux of distributed heating. For a room with a fixed supply air flow rate and a fixed total heat flux, increasing the strength of distributed heating warms the lower layer, but does not affect the temperature in the upper layer. Such increase in the strength of distributed heating also raises the interface. To achieve sufficient ventilation and thermal comfort in an occupied lower zone while keeping any pocket of uncomfortably warm air well above it, cool air needs to be supplied within an appropriate range of flow rates, which depends on the ratio of the distributed heating to the total heat flux. The paper shows how to determine such appropriate ranges of flow rates for different heating ratios, using the model.     

On the transition from displacement to mixing ventilation with a localized heat source

We investigate the steady state natural ventilation of a room heated at the base and consisting of two vents at different levels. We explore how the air flow rate and internal temperature relative to the exterior vary as a function of the vent areas, position of the vents and heat load in order to establish appropriate ventilation strategies for a room. When the room is heated by a distributed source, the room becomes well mixed and the steady state ventilation rate depends on the heating rate, the area of the vents and the distance between the lower and upper level vents. However, when the room is heated by a localised source the room becomes stratified. If the effective ventilation area is sufficiently large, then the interface separating the two layers lies above the inlet vent and the lower layer is comprised of ambient fluid. In this case the upper layer is warmer than in the well mixed case and the ventilation rate is smaller. However, if the effective area for ventilation is sufficiently small, then the interface separating the two layers lies below the inlet vent and the lower layer is comprised of warm fluid which originates as the cold incoming fluid mixes during descent from the vent through the upper layer. In this case both the ventilation rate and the upper layer temperature are the same as in the case of a distributed heat load. As the vertical separation between lower and upper level vents decreases, then the temperature difference between the layers falls to zero and the room becomes approximately well mixed. These findings suggest how the appropriate ventilation strategy for a room can be varied depending on the exterior temperature, with mixing ventilation more suitable for winter conditions and displacement ventilation for warmer external temperatures.     

风口上置置换通风的实验研究

对风口上置置换通风系统进行实验研究,得出此种通风方式下送风口的速度分布,室内的温度分布,O.1m处的风速等实验数据.通过分析实验数据得出,风口上置置换通风在满足室内热舒适性的前提下,能够提高房间的负荷承担能力,与混合通风相比能够得出较高的通风效率;另外,阶梯形的风口较普通的送风口能较少的卷吸上区品质差的空气,能更好地满足上置置换通风的风口特性要求.     

A study of the air quality in the breathing zone in a room with displacement ventilation

This paper is concerned with the difference in the air quality that is perceived by the occupants (breathing zone) and that existing in the occupied zone as a whole. An environmental chamber with displacement ventilation system has been used to carry out the measurements with the presence of a heated mannequin and other heat sources. Measurements of the age of air distribution, the air exchange index and the ventilation effectiveness were carried out at different points in the chamber for different room thermal loads. CFD simulations were also carried out for the purpose of flow visualisation as well as the calculation of air velocity, temperature and age of air distribution. In addition, CFD simulations were carried out to study the effect of changing the airflow rate to the chamber and the position of air inlet to extend the range of parameters. The results from the CFD simulations were compared with those from measurements and good agreement was obtained in most cases.     

单侧自然通风条件下强热源附近热环境的试验研究

以某冷轧钢厂房为研究对象,采用模型试验的方法,搭建试验模型小室,研究了单侧自然通风条件下不同热源放置位置对热源两侧迎、背风面温度分布规律的影响,以及热源非中央放置时模型小室两侧内壁面温度和中央温度梯度的分布情况。在不受其他因素影响下,迎风侧空气温度低于背风侧;热源距离侧面墙壁较近一侧空气温度高于较远一侧。指出在热源散热量确定的情况下,合理的热源布置位置和优化的通风方案是改善强热源室内热环境的有效措施。     

Field study on occupant comfort and the office thermal environment in rooms with displacement ventilation

A field survey of occupants' response to the indoor environment in 10 office buildings with displacement ventilation was performed. The response of 227 occupants was analyzed. About 24% of the occupants in the survey complained that they were daily bothered by draught, mainly at the lower leg. Vertical air temperature difference measured between head and feet levels was less than 3 degrees C at all workplaces visited. Combined local discomfort because of draught and vertical temperature difference does not seem to be a serious problem in rooms with displacement ventilation. Almost one half (49%) of the occupants reported that they were daily bothered by an uncomfortable room temperature. Forty-eight per cent of the occupants were not satisfied with the air quality. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The PMV and the Draught Rating indices as well as the specifications for local discomfort because of the separate impact of draught and vertical temperature difference, as defined in the present standards, are relevant for the design of a thermal environment in rooms with displacement ventilation and for its assessment in practice. Increasing the supply air temperature in order to counteract draught discomfort is a measure that should be considered carefully; even if the desired stratification of pollution in the occupied zone is preserved, an increase of the inhaled air temperature may have a negative effect on perceived air quality.     

A study of the effect of heat source location in a ventilated room using multiple regression analysis

Multiple regression analysis is a statistical technique which allows to predict a dependent variable from more than one independent variable and also to determine influential independent variables. Using experimental data, in this study the multiple regression analysis is applied to predict the room mean velocity and determine the most influencing parameters on the velocity. More than 120 experiments for four different heat source locations were carried out in a test chamber with a high level wall mounted air supply terminal at air change rates 3–6 ach. The influence of the environmental parameters such as supply air momentum, room heat load, Archimedes number and local temperature ratio, were examined by two methods: a simple regression analysis incorporated into scatter matrix plots and multiple stepwise regression analysis. It is concluded that, when a heat source is located along the jet centre line, the supply momentum mainly influences the room mean velocity regardless of the plume strength. However, when the heat source is located outside the jet region, the local temperature ratio (the inverse of the local heat removal effectiveness) is a major influencing parameter.     

Ventilation and energy performance of partitioned indoor spaces under mixing and displacement ventilation

Large variation in indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort can occur in partitioned office spaces due to heterogeneous air mixing. However, few published studies examined IAQ, thermal comfort, and energy performance of partitioned occupied spaces, which are commonly found in today’s buildings. The objective of this study is to evaluate indoor environmental quality and air conditioning performance of a partitioned room under two typical ventilation modes: (1) mixing ventilation and (2) displacement ventilation. For a total of six representative air-conditioning scenarios, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are performed to examine temperature distribution, ventilation effectiveness, energy consumption, and local thermal comfort for two partitioned spaces. Simulation results indicate that temperature distribution in a partitioned room is a strong function of ventilation strategy (mixing vs. displacement), but marginally affected by diffuser arrangements. Local age-of-air (air freshness) significantly varies with both diffuser arrangement and ventilation strategy. Regarding energy consumption, displacement ventilation can achieve an indoor set-point temperature in the partitioned spaces about two times faster than mixing ventilation. Under mixing ventilation, the time to achieve a set-point temperature was notably reduced when each partitioned space is served by its own diffuser. For the same supply airflow rate, displacement ventilation can generate local draft risk at ankle level, while mixing ventilation may result in a draft sensation in wider areas around an occupant. Overall, the results suggest that mixing ventilation system can save energy if each partitioned zone is served by its own diffuser such as a multi-split air conditioning. However, when multiple partitioned zones are served by only one diffuser, displacement ventilation is more energy-efficient and can achieve higher ventilation effectiveness than mixing ventilation.