COMPUTER MODEL FOR THE SIMULATION OF RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF AN INDOOR ENVIRONMENT

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Demand and the supply of energy is a major issue today, leading to consideration of energy efficiency in buildings. Especially for residential buildings, energy requirements are increasing day-by-day. Humans typically spend 80 percent of their time mostly inside a building. To provide
comfortable and healthy working and living environments, modern buildings often require HVAC systems. Proper ventilation is also very important, because it helps in controlling the indoor air quality (IAQ). HVAC mainly consists of fans and ducts that supply fresh air from the exterior, and replace polluted air from the interior. Too much moisture in indoor environments may lead to issues
like condensation or mould growth on walls. Adjusting moisture and ventilation inside a building plays a key role in determining human comfort and indoor living environment. Relative humidity controlled ventilation systems may help to increase the energy performance of a building without exposing them to moisture damage.

This paper gives a brief overview of a heat and moisture model using SOLIDWORKS, a widely used CFD-tool for modelling and simulating flows. A three dimensional (3D) model was chosen to design a kitchen room in a building with a HVAC system. In order to see preliminary results, a simulation was done in a 3D kitchen (4.4 m x 5.17 m x 4.4 m). The kitchen room is analysed for
understanding internal environment, which is controlled by a centralised system. The 3D model had two openings located on either side of the room near the ceiling. Where one outlet had an exhaust fan pulling air out of the room at a constant flow rate, similarly the other opening had no fan and ambient air exchanged naturally. An exhaust vent was designed to extract the hot humid air from the cooking area. To study the effect of humidity indoors, the model was studied by defining water vapour in the gas, i.e. air. The computational model derived results for better understanding of the indoor climate of kitchen environments.

Keywords

  • 3D Modelling, Indoor environment, Relative Humidity, Finite Element Simulation
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of 29th Inter-American Congress of Chemical Engineering incorporating the 68th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference
Number of pages1
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2018
Event29th Inter-American Congress of Chemical Engineering incorporating the 68th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference: This international event is co-organized by the University of Toronto, Ryerson University and the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering. - Sheraton Centre, Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Duration: 28 Oct 201831 Oct 2018
http://csche2018.ca/symposiaspecial-sessionstechnical-tracks

Conference

Conference29th Inter-American Congress of Chemical Engineering incorporating the 68th Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference
Abbreviated titleCSChE2018
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto
Period28/10/1831/10/18
Internet address
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