Thermal Comfort Analysis of a Ship Air-Conditioning System Using Solidworks Flow Simulation

Abstract

The focus of this work is to simulate and optimize thermal comfort in a ship air-conditioning system by evaluating the performance of different types of air supply outlets. Thermal comfort analyses were performed in Solidworks Flow Simulation software by changing the number, type and position of air supply outlets and the comfort was optimized by evaluating the values of temperature, velocity, PMV (Predicted mean vote) & PPD (Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied). It was concluded from the results obtained from different analyses that air supply outlet is a vital part in any type of HVAC (Heating ventilation & air conditioning) system design, as its number, type and position has significant effect on the air distribution and thermal comfort in a subject space. It was also deduced that improper selection of air supply outlet can result in room air stagnation, unacceptable temperature gradients, and undesirable velocities in the occupied zone that may lead to occupant discomfort. Through this work the importance and effectiveness of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) design tools, in the design & optimization of HVAC systems has been evaluated and it was concluded that CFD design software like Solidworks flow simulation provide an excellent provision to validate different aspects of HVAC design before actual construction.