Experimental study and application of computational fluid dynamics on the prediction of air velocity and temperature in a ventilated chamber

Abstract

The shape of the air flow in the interior is heavily influenced by the air distribution system and the way air enters and exits. By numerically simulating flow by computational fluid dynamics, one can determine the flow pattern and temperature distribution and, with the help of the results, provide an optimal design of the air conditioning system. In this study, a chamber was first constructed and the temperature distribution inside it was measured. There was a fan installed at the back of the chamber for drainage. At the chamber entrance, three inlet for entering the flow were considered. The air from the middle inlet was heated by a heater. To prevent heat loss, the body of the enclosure was insulated. Several temperature sensors were installed at certain positions of the chamber for temperature measurement. Using Fluent software, the model of a full-sized chamber was created. Meshing is a hybrid and was used as a boundary layer Mesh. The inlet and outlet temperature of the chamber and the air output rates as boundary conditions were used in the simulation. Numerical analysis for K-e and K-ω turbulence models was performed and different wall conditions were investigated. The numerical simulation results were in good agreement with the measurement results. Using the K-e turbulence model with a scalable wall function had a better accuracy than other models. Changes in velocity and temperature were presented in graphs and contours at different positions of the compartment.