Home Building Simulation Article
Article Link
Cite
EndNote(RIS) BibTeX
Collect
Submit Manuscript
Show Outline
Outline
Abstract
Keywords
References
Show full outline
Hide outline
Research Article

Thermo-ventilation study by OpenFOAM of the airflow in a cavity with heated floor

Abdelhakim Limane, Hachimi Fellouah(), Nicolas Galanis
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500, Boul. Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K2R1, Canada
Show Author Information

Abstract

An OpenFOAM (Open Field Operation and Manipulation) code is used to carry out a thermo- ventilation study of the airflow in a heated rectangular cavity. Three RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) turbulence models (k-ε, RNG k-ε and k-ω SST) combined with four solvers treating the heat transfer phenomena are employed to test and validate the OpenFOAM code. The obtained results are in good agreement with the available measurements in the literature. They show that the choice of the turbulence model and the solver do not significantly affect the results. Based on the accuracy of results and execution time, the most satisfactory pair is obtained by the association of RNG k-ε model and BuoyantBoussinesqSimpleFoam (BBSF) solver. This pair is then used to perform a parametric study, in order to improve our understanding for ventilation control. To determine the best air ventilation configuration, an evaluation of the indoor air quality and the thermal comfort in the cavity is carried out. To this end, a new equation is implemented in an open-source C++ code OpenFOAM. It uses the concept of "air age" to quantify the air quality and two indexes, the "Effective Draft Temperature" and "People Dissatisfied", to quantify the thermal comfort. The results obtained show an evident contrast in the evolution in air quality and thermal comfort, therefore a compromise for the choice of air ventilation configuration is necessary, to have a both acceptable indoor air quality and thermal comfort.

Keywords

thermo-ventilationcomputational fluid dynamicsOpenFOAMRANS turbulence modelsindoor air qualitythermal comfort

References

 
F Ampfo, T Karayiannis (2003). Experimental benchmark data for turbulent natural convection in air filled square cavity. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 46: 3551-3572.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
ASHRAE (2002). ASHRAE Handbook—Refrigeration. Atlanta: American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditionings Engineers.
 
O Bellache, M Ouzzane, N Galanis (2005). Numerical prediction of ventilation patterns and thermal. Building and Environment, 40: 417-426.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
C Buratti, R Mariani, E Moretti (2011). Mean age of air in a naturally ventilated office: Experimental data and simulations. Energy and Buildings, 43: 2021-2027.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
V Chanteloup, PS Mirade (2009). Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of local mean age of air distribution in forced-ventilation food plants. Journal of Food Engineering, 90: 90-103.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
SF Corzo, SM Damián, D Ramajo, NM Nigro (2011). Numerical simulation of natural convection phenomena. Mecánica Computacional, 30: 277-296.
Google Scholar
 
A Daoud, N Galanis (2008). Prediction of airflow patterns in a ventilated enclosure with zonal methods. Applied Energy, 85: 439-448.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
R Ezzouhri, P Joubert, F Penot, S Mergui (2009). Large eddy simulation of turbulent mixed convection in a 3D ventilated cavity: Comparison with existing data. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 48: 2017-2024.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
X Li, D Li, X Yang, J Yang (2003). Total air age: An extension of the air age concept. Building and Environment, 38: 1263-1269.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
Z Lin (2011). Effective draft temperature for evaluating the performance of stratum ventilation. Building and Environment, 46: 1843-1850.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
L Mora, AJ Gadgil, E Wurtz, C Inard (2002). Comparing zonal and CFD model predictions of indoor airflows under mixed convection conditions to experimental data. In: Proceedings of 3rd European Conference on Energy Performance and Indoor Climate in Buildings, Lyon, France, pp. 23-26.
 
PV Nielsen, A Restivo, JH Whitelaw (1979). Buoyancy-affected flows in ventilated rooms. Numerical Heat Transfer, 2: 115-127.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
PV Nielsen (1976). Flow in air conditioned rooms. English Translation of PhD Thesis, Technical University of Denmark, (1974, Danfoss A/S), Denmark.
 
PV Nielsen, A Restivo, JH Whitelaw (1978). The velocity characteristics of ventilated rooms. ASME Journal of Fluids Engineering, 100: 291-298.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
M Omri, N Galanis (2009). Evaluation of confined natural and forced convection predictions by different turbulence models. International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat and Fluid Flow, 19: 5-24.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
A Raji, RM Hasnaoui, A Bahlaoui (2008). Numerical study of natural convection dominated heat transfer in a ventilated cavity: Case of forced flow playing simultaneous assisting and opposing roles. International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, 29: 1174-1181.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
M Shahi, AH Mahmoudi, F Talebi (2010). Numerical study of mixed convective cooling in a square cavity ventilated and partially heated from the below utilizing nanofluid. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 37: 201-213.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
E Sourtiji, SF Hosseinizadeh, M Gorji-Bandpy, JM Khodadadi (2011). Computational study of turbulent forced convection flow in a square cavity with ventilation ports. Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A, 59: 954-969.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
S Van Buggenhout, T Zerihun Desta, A Van Brecht, E Vranken, S Quanten, W Van Malcot, D Berckmans (2006). Data-based mechanistic modelling approach to determine the age of air in a ventilated space. Building and Environment, 41: 557-567.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
J Xamán, J Tun, G Álvarez, Y Chávez, F Noh (2009). Optimum ventilation based on the overall ventilation effectiveness for temperature distribution in ventilated cavities. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 48: 1574-1585.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
H Xue, C Shu (1999). Mixing characteristics in a ventilated room with non-isothermal ceiling air supply. Building and Environment, 34: 245-251.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
Z Zhai, Z Zhang, W Zhang, Q Chen (2007a). Evaluation of various turbulence models in predicting airflow and turbulence in enclosed environments by CFD: Part 1—Summary of prevent turbulence models. HVAC&R Research, 13: 850-870.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
Z Zhai,, W Zhang, Q Zhang, Q Chen (2007b). Evaluation of various turbulence models in predicting airflow and turbulence in enclosed environments by CFD: Part 2—Comparison with experimental data from literature, HVAC&R Research, 13: 871-886.
Crossref Google Scholar
 
JS Zhang, LL Christianson, GJ Wu, GL Riskowski (1992). Detailed measurements of room air distribution for evaluating numerical simulation models. ASHRAE Transactions, 98(1): 58-65.
Google Scholar
Building Simulation
Volume 8 Issue 3,
June 2015
Pages 271-283
DOI: 10.1007/s12273-014-0205-4
Cite this article:
Limane A, Fellouah H, Galanis N. Thermo-ventilation study by OpenFOAM of the airflow in a cavity with heated floor. Building Simulation, 2015, 8(3): 271-283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-014-0205-4
Metrics & Citations  
Article History
Copyright
Return