Efficient ventilation, thermal comfort, and inhalation exposure.
Fluid flows in indoor environments exhibit a rich variety of fluid dynamics such as turbulent jets, flow recirculation, flow separation and reattachment. These flow characteristics also exert significant influence on the distribution of contaminant particles suspended in the air, so the accurate prediction of such airflows plays an important role in designing ventilation systems for both occupant comfort and contaminant removal.
Ventilation systems that use linear diffusers supply air at relatively high velocity at or around the ceiling, producing turbulent jets, flow recirculation, flow separation and reattachment. Recent research in building and indoor airflows has shown that CFD simulations can play an important role in ventilation design for buildings.
Inhalation of toxic airborne contaminants such as asbestos, acid mist, smoke and diesel fumes is a frequent occurrence for those working in manufacturing and processing industries. Outbreaks of viruses (SARS, equine flu, swine flu, bird flu) are a consequence of viral particles transported in airstreams. CFD modelling provides insight into contaminant trajectories, their transport through the air, and their likelihood of being inhaled, leading to a characterisation of inhalation exposure and indoor air quality.
Wake flows are traditionally studied in wind tunnels, visualising flow over stationary bodies. In indoor particle flow studies, moving objects such as people disturb their immediate surroundings. To investigate this, we created an experimental setup that visualises smoke generated by a chemical reaction between a room saturated with acetic acid and a moving manikin spotted with cyclohexylamine. We also perform CFD simulations of a moving manikin in a confined room using dynamic-mesh methods. See also the indoor built environment project.
