Modelling of heat and carbon monoxide emitted from moving cars in an underground car park

Abstract

Three computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based numerical models—the average-diffused model, the random-stationary and the random-average model-are proposed and developed to simulate the distribution of temperature and carbon monoxide concentration in an underground car park. The average-diffused model provides information on the effectiveness of ventilation system to remove the heat and dilute carbon monoxide contaminant in a well-mixed scenario. The random models are able to account for the movement of cars and the accumulating effect of heat and carbon monoxide contamination. By assuming that heat and CO emitted from cars are highly mixed, the random-average model shows reasonable result as compared with that of random-stationary model. The distribution of velocity, temperature and CO of the three models are compared and discussed. The study explored the possibility of assisting in the design of the ventilation system for an underground car park using the CFD technique.