Building ventilation: A pressure airflow model computer generation and elements of validation

TL;DR

This paper presents a detailed pressure airflow model for building ventilation, including its numerical implementation and validation through comparisons with analytical and experimental data, to improve thermal simulation accuracy.

Contribution

It introduces a new pressure airflow model integrated into CODYRUN, with detailed numerical implementation and validation methods for building ventilation simulations.

Findings

Model results align well with analytical expressions.

Experimental data validate the model's accuracy.

Numerical issues are addressed for large openings.

Abstract

The calculation of airflows is of great importance for detailed building thermal simulation computer codes, these airflows most frequently constituting an important thermal coupling between the building and the outside on one hand, and the different thermal zones on the other. The driving effects of air movement, which are the wind and the thermal buoyancy, are briefly outlined and we look closely at their coupling in the case of buildings, by exploring the difficulties associated with large openings. Some numerical problems tied to the resolving of the non-linear system established are also covered. Part of a detailled simulation software (CODYRUN), the numerical implementation of this airflow model is explained, insisting on data organization and processing allowing the calculation of the airflows. Comparisons are then made between the model results and in one hand analytical expressions and in another and experimental measurements in case of a collective dwelling.