CFD-aided ventilation design for a large experimental chamber to study aerosol dispersion and removal

Building Physics and Services, Department of the Built Environment, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands

^* Corresponding author: l.kang@tue.nl

Abstract

To aid the design of a new large experimental chamber with a mixing ventilation system, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were employed in assessing the ventilation performance with different configurations of supply and exhaust positions, as well as the introduction of a plate beneath the supply openings to facilitate attachment of the supplied air to the ceiling. The simulation results indicate that a crossed configuration enhances air mixing within the experimental room in the investigated chamber (9.910 m × 6.729 m × 2.995 m) compared to a parallel configuration of supply openings. In addition, incorporating a plate with a small gap between the ceiling supplies and the ceiling effectively reduces maximum velocities in different zones of the room, which is better to avoid draught issue and improve distribution uniformity. The CFD simulations offer insights into the important effect of supply and exhaust design on the flow pattern in the experimental chamber. Future research in this room is directed at analyzing these effects further, also in combination with, e.g., furnishing and use of air cleaners.