- Emeritus Professor, University of Reading, UKedit
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The DSF (double-skin facade) system is an important element in building design and is used in adjacent spaces to control the inlet solar radiation, heat the air, reduce energy consumption, decrease the acoustics levels, and produce... more
The DSF (double-skin facade) system is an important element in building design and is used in adjacent spaces to control the inlet solar radiation, heat the air, reduce energy consumption, decrease the acoustics levels, and produce photovoltaic energy, among other improvements. The DSF system can, for example, be used in winter conditions to heat the air, which is then transported to non-adjacent spaces to improve the thermal comfort level and the indoor air quality that the occupants are subjected to. Smooth DSF systems, which are a focus in the literature, are subjected to higher solar radiation levels at a specific hour of the day. The semi-circular DSF system used in this work, which was built from a group of smooth DSF systems with different orientations, guarantees the reception of the highest incident solar radiation throughout the entire day. This work presents a numerical study of a new DSF system, called the semi-circular DSF. The DSF system consists of a set of 25 smooth ...
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In this work a numerical model is applied in the development of the design of virtual binaural manikins and auditorium acoustic system. The binaural acoustic manikins is based in human body methodology and is developed using empirical and... more
In this work a numerical model is applied in the development of the design of virtual binaural manikins and auditorium acoustic system. The binaural acoustic manikins is based in human body methodology and is developed using empirical and geometrical equation numerical model also coupled with the CAD system. The auditorium geometry is based in a conic methodology and is developed using a geometric numerical model coupled with a CAD system. The binaural manikin geometry, using the Human Thermal Response and the Sound Propagation numerical models, is used in the human acoustic evaluation. The virtual binaural manikin evaluates the direct and indirect sound and calculates the reverberation time. In this preliminary study an auditorium with a group of rows and columns, occupied with 140 virtual manikins, is developed. Three virtual binaural manikins was selected to be evaluate the reverberation time. The acoustic level, in the left and right ears, that the virtual manikins are subjected are evaluated. In accordance the obtained results, the manikins acoustic level evolution, with the reverberation time in accordance with the international standards, presents slight differences between left and right ear and differences between the different binaural manikins.
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In this work the human design, the thermal comfort and the local thermal discomfort are evaluated. In the design the human geometry is developed for a standard seating occupant. In the thermal comfort the PMV and the PPD indexes are... more
In this work the human design, the thermal comfort and the local thermal discomfort are evaluated. In the design the human geometry is developed for a standard seating occupant. In the thermal comfort the PMV and the PPD indexes are calculated. In the local thermal discomfort, the Draught Risk is evaluated. The study, that considers the Human Thermal Modelling, calculates the evolution of the temperature in the body, namely in the skin and cold and warm thermo-receptors. The thermal comfort is dependent of the heat exchange between the body and the environment and the draught risk is dependent of the air temperature, air velocity and air turbulence intensity. The Human Thermal Modelling, that works in steady state and transient conditions, is based not only on the energy balance integral equations for the human body tissue, arterial and venous blood, but also on mass balance integral equations for the blood and transpired water in the skin surface. The clothing thermal system is bas...
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Part 1: Human comfort and ventilation. Part 2: Ventilation requirements. Part 3: Air infiltration and natural ventilation. Part 4: Principles of air jets. Part 5: Air diffusion devices. Part 6: Physical evaluation of room air movement.... more
Part 1: Human comfort and ventilation. Part 2: Ventilation requirements. Part 3: Air infiltration and natural ventilation. Part 4: Principles of air jets. Part 5: Air diffusion devices. Part 6: Physical evaluation of room air movement. Part 8: Measurement of ventilation and indoor air quality parometers.
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SUMMARY Many national and international standards and guidelines on IAQ assessment have been developed worldwide. However, specific measurement protocols on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration levels that apply to classrooms are yet to... more
SUMMARY Many national and international standards and guidelines on IAQ assessment have been developed worldwide. However, specific measurement protocols on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration levels that apply to classrooms are yet to be developed. Measuring concentration at a single location or height may not be an accurate indicator or act as a representative for the whole measured space. It is important not only for finding the sources of CO 2 but also how it is distributed in the room and being affected by occupants’ movement, heat sources as well as room air distribution. Therefore, this report seeks to investigate the associated uncertainties and measurement strategy to identify appropriate sampling points and locations in higher education classrooms with different ventilation systems. Owing to the varying occupancy density in these classrooms as compared to school classrooms, this research will highlight the variations in CO 2 concentrations resulting from the differences i...
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This paper reports CFD and experimental results of the characteristics of wall confluent jets in a room. The results presented show the behaviour of wall confluent jets in the form of velocity profiles, the spreading rate of jets on the... more
This paper reports CFD and experimental results of the characteristics of wall confluent jets in a room. The results presented show the behaviour of wall confluent jets in the form of velocity profiles, the spreading rate of jets on the surface, jets decay, etc. The empirical equations derived are compared with other types of air jets. In addition, the flow
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In this work a DSF system (Double Skin Facade) is used to improve the thermal comfort level that the occupants are subjected in an experimental chamber. The DSF system, build with three unities, is equipped in a south facade of the... more
In this work a DSF system (Double Skin Facade) is used to improve the thermal comfort level that the occupants are subjected in an experimental chamber. The DSF system, build with three unities, is equipped in a south facade of the experimental chamber. The study, made in winter conditions, uses the solar radiation to heated the air, injected in the occupied space with 6 people, to improve the thermal comfort conditions. The experimental chamber is build with wood and isolating material. The DSF system is build with two glass façades, equipped with 15 lamellas. This system, subjected to solar radiation, is connected to the interior with a duct system connected with two ventilators. The numerical study consider a software that simulates the building and the DSF thermal response. The numerical model, that considers buildings with complexes topologies, uses energy and mass balance integral equations for the opaque surfaces, transparent surfaces and internal air. The software also consi...
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In this paper the numerical study of the airflow around the occupant using confluent jets system is made. This study uses a software that considers a coupling between Computational Fluid Dynamics and the Human Thermal Modelling numerical... more
In this paper the numerical study of the airflow around the occupant using confluent jets system is made. This study uses a software that considers a coupling between Computational Fluid Dynamics and the Human Thermal Modelling numerical models with the inputs from the Building Thermal Modelling numerical model. The coupling of numerical models is used to evaluate the human temperature distribution, using the Human Thermal Modelling numerical model, the airflow around the occupants, using the Computational Fluid Dynamic numerical model, and the room surrounding temperatures, using the Building Thermal Modelling numerical model numerical model. In this numerical work, developed for winter conditions, the airflow around the occupants and inside the space are evaluated for a confluents jets ventilation system, build with one exhaust and one inlet ventilation systems. The study is made inside a virtual chamber, occupied with two virtual manikins and equipped with one tables and two chai...
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A numerical design of a DSF (Double Skin Facade) system subjected to solar energy and applied to the heating of occupied spaces inside a building, in winter conditions, is presented in this study. The simulation is done using a building... more
A numerical design of a DSF (Double Skin Facade) system subjected to solar energy and applied to the heating of occupied spaces inside a building, in winter conditions, is presented in this study. The simulation is done using a building dynamic thermal response software to assess, among other parameters, the solar radiation incident on the DSF, the occupant thermal comfort level, indoor air quality level and thermal energy production. The occupant thermal comfort level is assessed by the Predicted Mean Vote index. The indoor air quality is assessed by the carbon dioxide concentration. The space considered in this study is an auditorium occupied by 210 people. The DSF system was installed on the south facade of this auditorium. The DSF system consists of 25 DSF. Each DSF consists of two surfaces, an opaque interior and a transparent exterior, separated by an air channel. This channel is used to heat the air that will be transported, through ducts, to the indoor HVAC (Heating, Ventila...
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In this work a design of an integrated aero-thermal auditorium, with complex topology, is made for winter conditions. The three-dimensional geometry of the auditorium is obtained using cylindrical coordinates. Auditorium thermal response... more
In this work a design of an integrated aero-thermal auditorium, with complex topology, is made for winter conditions. The three-dimensional geometry of the auditorium is obtained using cylindrical coordinates. Auditorium thermal response is obtained using the Building Thermal Response (BTR), an own research software. The numerical model is based on mass and energy balance equations, considering phenomena such as radiation, convection, conduction, evaporation and diffusion. The BTR, whether in a transient or permanent regime, allows the assessment, among others, of the level of thermal comfort and the indoor air quality (IAQ) in the auditorium. Here, the thermal comfort is assessed by the Predicted Mean Vote index and the IAQ is assessed by the concentration of dioxide carbon. The auditorium has windows on the east and west facades that allow the entry of solar radiation during the early morning and late afternoon, respectively. The maximum occupancy of 420 people was considered. The...
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<jats:p>This paper presents a numerical simulation, done by a Building Dynamic Software, of an application of underground thermal energy storage in a university building with complex topology. In this study, the level of thermal... more
<jats:p>This paper presents a numerical simulation, done by a Building Dynamic Software, of an application of underground thermal energy storage in a university building with complex topology. In this study, the level of thermal comfort of the occupants of a building located in a Mediterranean type environment is evaluated for typical summer conditions. The Building Dynamic Software calculates the air temperature of the spaces, the surface temperature of opaque bodies, transparent bodies and internal bodies, the mass of contaminants and water inside the spaces and in the surfaces, the thermal comfort of the occupants, the indoor air quality and the flow thermal energy from underground to the occupied spaces. The university building is divided into 319 spaces, distributed by four floors, and is composed by 329 transparent surfaces (windows) and 3585 opaque surfaces (internal and external walls, doors, and others). Below the ground floor is numerically considered an underground floor, with the same area of the building and with a typical floor height, used to thermal energy storage. The building internal ventilation system, during the day, transport the cooled airflow from the underground to thermally uncomfortable spaces. The cooled airflow is transported to spaces turned to East in the morning and to spaces turned to West in the afternoon. However, throughout the day the cooled air is transported to all the south-facing spaces. Two situations were simulated numerically: with and without underground thermal energy storage. The occupancy and the internal ventilation were also considered. The results show that the internal airflow and the outside temperatures recorded during the 24 hours of the day allow to guarantee the necessary underground thermal energy storage to cool the more uncomfortable spaces. The indoor air quality is acceptable and the thermal comfort level of occupants, considering their adaptation, is near the acceptable level suggested by the standards.</jats:p>
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This paper presents a comparative study based on CFD simulation between the performance of Impinging Jet Ventilation (IJV) and Mixing Ventilation (MV) systems in providing indoor air quality and thermal comfort for a mechanically... more
This paper presents a comparative study based on CFD simulation between the performance of Impinging Jet Ventilation (IJV) and Mixing Ventilation (MV) systems in providing indoor air quality and thermal comfort for a mechanically ventilated occupied large open plan office (floor-to-ceiling height > 5m). Large spaces differ from spaces with standard heights because of the significant upward stratification. The evaluation was carried out using the Air Distribution Index (ADI) which combines several parameters, such as overall ventilation effectiveness for removing pollutants and for temperature distribution (ε?̅?,ε?̅?), percentage of dissatisfied (PD) and predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD). ADI has been used to characterize ventilation systems in spaces with typical floor-to-ceiling heights, but it has not been studied for large spaces to-date. In this study, different test conditions were considered for two cooling loads (48 W/m, 68 W/m) with full and half occupancy respec...
In this numerical study the energy production in solar collectors in a University building used to improve the internal thermal conditions is made. Passive and active solutions, using external solar collector and internal... more
In this numerical study the energy production in solar collectors in a University building used to improve the internal thermal conditions is made. Passive and active solutions, using external solar collector and internal thermo-convectors, are used. The numerical simulation, in transient conditions, is done for a winter typical day with clean sky. This numerical study was carried out using a software that simulates the Building Dynamic Response with complex topology in transient conditions. The software evaluates the human thermal comfort and indoor air quality levels that the occupants are subjected, Heated Ventilation and Air Conditioned energy consumption, indoor thermal variables and other parameters. The university building has 107 compartments and is located in a Mediterranean-type environment. External solar water collectors, placed above the building’s roof, and internal thermo-convectors of water/air type, using mixing ventilation, are used as passive and active strategies...
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This work presents the development of the coupling of differential Computer Fluid Dynamics and integral human thermo-physiology numerical models applied in indoor ventilated spaces. The study is performed in a virtual chamber, similar to... more
This work presents the development of the coupling of differential Computer Fluid Dynamics and integral human thermo-physiology numerical models applied in indoor ventilated spaces. The study is performed in a virtual chamber, similar to an existing experimental chamber, with dimensions of 4.50×2.55×2.50 m3. The chamber, occupied with twelve virtual manikins, is equipped with six tables, twelve chairs, one exhaust system and one inlet system, based on confluents jets system. In the exhaust system, they are considered six air ducts, located above the head level, connected to the ceiling area. The inlet system, based in four vertical ducts, with 0.15 m diameter, located on the corners of the chamber, is equipped with consecutive holes, that promotes horizontal jets near the wall. The results demonstrate that when the airflow rate increases the air quality number increases, the thermal comfort number decreases, and the Air Diffusion Index increases slightly. The predicted percentage of...
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This work evaluates the passengers thermal comfort level inside a vehicles compartment. The numerical study, made in winter conditions, consider a bus indoor environment equipped with internal curtains, internal seats, lateral panels,... more
This work evaluates the passengers thermal comfort level inside a vehicles compartment. The numerical study, made in winter conditions, consider a bus indoor environment equipped with internal curtains, internal seats, lateral panels, ceiling, floor and occupied by 52 passengers. The numerical model considers the passengers and vehicle grid generation, passengers body and clothing thermal response and passengers thermal comfort level. The grid generation is used to evaluate the view factors and Mean Radiant Temperature that the passengers are subjected. In this calculus the passengers and the vehicles surfaces shading devices are considered. The thermal response numerical models consider the energy and mass balance integral equations. The thermal comfort evaluation considers the heat produced inside the body and the heat exchange between the body and the environment. The human body numerical model considers also the thermoregulatory system to control the temperature. The numerical m...