Investigating thermal conditions in a tropic atrium employing CFD and DTM techniques
Focusing on the ‘worst-case scenario’, a modelling study was carried out to examine whether a low cost ventilation solution could provide basic comfort in a specific atrium-building design. This study combined dynamic thermal modelling (DTM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in investigating...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2011
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/7900/1/J5980_a5881eb2425234e4baac339e48e2b745.pdf http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/7900/ https://doi.org/10.1093/ijlct/ctr005 |
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| Summary: | Focusing on the ‘worst-case scenario’, a modelling study was carried out to examine whether a low cost
ventilation solution could provide basic comfort in a specific atrium-building design. This study
combined dynamic thermal modelling (DTM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in
investigating how thermal conditions, namely the air movement and temperature distribution within an
atrium responded to the side-lit form and other changes of design variables such as inlet to outlet
opening area ratios and also the outlet’s arrangement. The predicted temperature distribution, airflow
patterns and comfort indices would provide a better understanding how the design variables affect
thermal condition and comfort within the atrium, particularly at the occupied areas under a low cost
ventilation solution—pressurized ventilation. The simulation results revealed that sufficiently higher
inlet to outlet opening area ratio (i.e. n . 1) could improve the thermal condition on the open
corridors, the occupied areas, even on high levels; while with an equal inlet to outlet opening area ratio
(i.e. n ¼ 1), changing the outlet’s arrangement (i.e. location and configuration) did not significantly
affect thermal condition. The practical aspect of this study is 2-fold. First, the low cost ventilation
solution using exhaust air from surrounding fully air-conditioned rooms could provide acceptable
thermal comfort at the open corridors/walkways surrounding the atrium. Secondly, combining a DTM
and CFD can be an effective tool to test various design options to achieve an optimal solution. The
parametric presented here could be used in similar studies aiming at optimize environmental
engineering solutions that balance comfort and cost. |
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