GSD 6205 Environmental Technologies in Buildings

Computational Approaches to
Natural Ventilation
Concepts and Fundamentals
Diego Ibarra
Today

Why model air-flow?

Modeling Challenges
Types of air-flow modeling: Natural Ventilation
Limitations of Simple models
Selecting the appropriate modeling tool
Overview of COOLVENT and Simulation Game
#2

Diego Ibarra
Why model Airflow? (at a building scale)

To improve Natural
Ventilation: building shape,
orientation, opening locations,
opening size, etc.

Coolvent - MIT

DesignBuilder CFD

Diego Ibarra
Why model Airflow? (at a building scale)

To improve Natural
Ventilation: building shape,
orientation, opening locations,
opening size, etc.

To evaluate specific space

conditions: atrium stratification, DesignBuilder CFD

effect of placing heat sources close

to outlets, urban wind vortex,
location of wind energy on site, etc

DesignBuilder CFD

Diego Ibarra
Why model Airflow? (at a building scale)

To improve Natural
Ventilation: building shape,
orientation, opening locations,
opening size, etc.

To evaluate specific space

conditions: atrium stratification, Glass Pavilion - Transsolar

effect of placing heat sources close

to outlets, urban wind vortex,
location of wind energy on site, etc

To optimize HVAC design:

supply grill locations, diffuser
effectiveness, Underfloor
DesignBuilder CFD
ventilation (UFAD), etc
Diego Ibarra
Natural Ventilation

Do you remember from last class

What are the benefits of Natural

Ventilation?

Diego Ibarra
Natural Ventilation
What are the benefits of Natural
Ventilation?

IMPORTANT Reduction of the

energy consumption and operating
costs of the building (reduced
cooling loads)

Wider occupant thermal comfort

ranges. (adaptive comfort)

Higher occupant productivity (linked

to many variables)

Diego Ibarra
Natural Ventilation

Do you remember from last class

What are the driving forces of Natural

Ventilation?

Diego Ibarra
Natural Ventilation
What are the driving forces of Natural
Ventilation?

Use of natural forces (wind, buoyancy) to generate airow through a space.

wind-driven buoyancy-driven
[Menchaca, 2010]

Ideal climates:
Tempered, or
Large daily temperature variations
Diego Ibarra
Natural Ventilation
What are the challenges to accurately implement
(model) natural ventilation?

1. Highly dependent on unpredictable variables:

Weather conditions
User behavior

2. Not easy to model the physical phenomena

3. Lack of simple simulations tools

Diego Ibarra
Natural Ventilation: modeling challenges
1. Highly dependent on unpredictable:
Weather conditions
User behavior

Temperatures Wind speeds

Hourly temperature distribution

November - March

Climate Consultant 5
Absolute Humidity

Wind directions Diego Ibarra

Natural Ventilation: modeling challenges
NV not easy to model:
1. Airflow and thermal dynamics are coupled

heat_ loads
Tin ~ (temperat
m

heat_ loads
Tin ~ (temperature)
m

[Menchaca, 2010]

Which means, that the air flow-rate through a space will affect the
spaces temperature, which will in return, affect the air flow-rate.
which considerably complicates calculations

Diego Ibarra
Natural Ventilation: modeling challenges
NV not easy to model:
1. Airflow and thermal dynamics are coupled
2 Multiple possible steady states
Opposing wind and buoyancy forces
Highly depend on initial conditions

heat_ loads
Tin ~ (temperat
m

heat_ loads
Tin ~ (temperature)
m

Buoyancy driven Wind driven [Yuan, 2007]

There can be multiple solutions (steady states) when having opposing

wind and buoyancy forces. (more about solutions in next slides)
Diego Ibarra
Natural Ventilation: modeling challenges
NV not easy to model:
1. Airflow and thermal dynamics are coupled
2 Multiple possible steady states
3 Complex temperature profile and airflows
Houghton Hall, Luton, UK. [Walker, 2006]

Airflow profiles Temperature profiles

Houghton Hall, Luton, UK. [Walker,
2006]
Diego Ibarra
How is Natural Ventilation currently modeled
NV not easy to model:

Input

Detailed Isothermal CFD CFD

(FLUENT, (FLUENT, PHOENICS, etc)
(slow) PHOENICS, DB,
etc) Zonal models
(E+, Esp-r, POMA, etc)

Multi-zone models
Rough (CONTAM, COMIS,
etc)
(faster)
coupled airflow and
No Yes thermal dynamics

Houghton Hall, Luton, UK. [Walker,

[Menchaca, 2010]
2006]
Diego Ibarra
How is Natural Ventilation currently modeled
NV not easy to model:

Input

Detailed Isothermal CFD CFD

(FLUENT, (FLUENT, PHOENICS, etc)
(slow) PHOENICS, DB,
etc) Zonal models
(E+, Esp-r, POMA, etc)

early stages
Multi-zone models of building
Rough (CONTAM, COMIS, design
etc)
(faster)
coupled airflow and
No Yes thermal dynamics

Houghton Hall, Luton, UK. [Walker,

[Menchaca, 2010]
2006]
Diego Ibarra
Types of Air-flow modeling: Zonal-Models
Fundamentals of Envelope flow and Zonal Models:

1. Envelope flow Single-Cell models: solves the

basic equation of airflow through an opening
by a relationship between flow-rate and
pressure difference (wind or buoyancy).

2. Envelope flow Multi-cel models: fundamentally

a single-cell model that accounts for partitions
between cells. This allows to account for flow-
resistance and temperature differences
between cells.

3. Zonal-models: step further of multi-cell

models, dividing rooms into zones and
allowing to couple airflow and thermal
dynamics.

Diego Ibarra
Types of Air-flow modeling: CFD
Fundamentals of COMPUTER FLUID DYNAMICS

CFD solves the fundamental equations of motion

for individual elements of fluid a all points of the
specific space* (Volume grid). It predicts the air
motion at all points in the Flow (conservation of
mass and momentum) using an iterative procedure
until meeting convergence.

By including thermal equations (conservation of

energy), it also predicts the effects of buoyancy
and the temperature field.

Typically used to answer questions on

temperature stratifications and local air movement.
*The numerical method typically used involves the solution of a set of equations that describe the conservation
of heat, mass and momentum. The equation set includes the three velocity component momentum equations
(known as the Navier-Stokes equations), the temperature equation and where the k- turbulence model is used,
equations for turbulence kinetic energy and the dissipation rate of turbulence kinetic energy. (CIBSE AM10)
Diego Ibarra
Types of Air-flow modeling: CFD
Fundamentals of COMPUTER FLUID DYNAMICS

Commercial packages consist mainly of 3 parts:

1. Pre-processor: where user sets the boundary

conditions (geometry, number of grid cells,
wind, temps, etc)

2. Solver: which carries the numerical solution and

runs until convergence is obtained (for pre-
defined error limits and monitor cell).

3. Post-processor: where results are presented for

display (i.e. contour plots displaying velocity or
temperature or pressure)
Phoenics

Diego Ibarra
How is Natural Ventilation currently modeled
Types of NV modeling and limitations

Computational Fluid Multi-zone models

Dynamics
Accuracy High Lower (average values per zone)
Airflow + thermal dynamics Yes No
Expertise required to use High Low
Time to run a simulation Hours/days Minutes/hours
Modifying input Very time-consuming Quick and easy
To be used during Late stages of design Houghton
EarlyH all, Lof
stages uton,
designUK. [Walker,
2006] [Menchaca, 2010]
Diego Ibarra
How is Natural Ventilation currently modeled
Ideal tool for early design decisions for improved NV

Computational Fluid Multi-zone models

Dynamics
Accuracy Lower (average values per zone)
Airflow + thermal dynamics Yes
Expertise required to use Low
Time to run a simulation Minutes/hours
Modifying input Quick and easy
To be used during Houghton
EarlyH all, Lof
stages uton,
designUK. [Walker,
2006] [Menchaca, 2010]
Diego Ibarra
Understand the task to select the NV tool

Early assessment design strategies (Slater and Cartmell, 2003)

Diego Ibarra
Site CFD Analysis for Optimized Natural Ventilation Wind speeds (m/s)

Natural Ventilation

Improve building
locations and
proportions for
optimized natural
ventilation

Summer predominant
winds speeds
7.8 m/s

Harvard GSD 6413 ZED Workshop , Dunster + Kao BOSTON ZED: Allston Western Avenue Initiative . 4 December 2009 Author: Diego Ibarra
Site CFD Analysis for Optimized Natural Ventilation Pressure (Pa)

SUBTITLE

Site distribution
improves Wind
Pressure coefficients
Pw

Harvard GSD 6413 ZED Workshop , Dunster + Kao BOSTON ZED: Allston Western Avenue Initiative . 4 December 2009 Author: Diego Ibarra 24
Overview of COOLVENT and Simulation
Game #2

Objective: Improve the design of this naturally ventilated

building to maximize the Total Overheated index (TOI), i.e.
percentage of total annual building occupied hours within
thermal comfort.

Whole building TOI, zone TOIs are added in proportion to the square footage
of each zone in respect to the whole building square footage: TOI=(zone
occupied comfort hours (%) x zone area (m2))/Total building area (m2).

The team with the highest TOI at the end wins and each team member will
receive 10 bonus points for the semester.

When time is up (after 90 minutes), your team must submit your final design
choices

Diego Ibarra
Overview of COOLVENT and Simulation
Game #2

Design Variables:
Select the best natural ventilation strategy
Chose a basic, rough geometry of the building shape
Chose orientation and number of stories.
Chose operable window areas
COOLVENT Building shapes

Building

Geometry (4)
Dimensions
Orientation
COOLVENT
Multi-zone simulation tool
Solves for airflow and temperature simultaneously
Accounts for thermal mass effects
Performs steady and hour-by-hour transient simulations
Output:
Air flow-rate
Temperature

Simple interface
Allows to test several designs in an easy, fast way
Requires little information about the building
COOLVENT Strengths
Simple, robust tool
To be used during early stages of design
Requires very little input information
run time
Coolvent
Solves for airflow and temperature
simultaneously
Accounts for thermal mass effects
Impact
Smarter, wider use of natural ventilation
Insight for how natural ventilation works
Coolvent
COOLVENT ASSUMPTIONS

Within a zone
Fully mixed air
Static pressure
No flow resistance

Heat transfer
Conduction only through floor slabs
Radiation: solar floor slabs
COOLVENT - Validation

CONTAM
Airflow: error <1%

PHOENICS (CFD)
Average zone temperature: error
<1%
Airflow on hottest zones: (error
~39%)

Transient field measurement

Average zone temperature
(error ~10%)
(Menchaca 2010)