Flow Simulation - HVAC Module 2014
Flow Simulation - HVAC Module 2014
Contents
Lesson 1:
Introduction to HVAC
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
HVAC Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Case Study: Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Project Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Stages in the Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Default Outer Wall Thermal Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Radiation Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Absorption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Radiation Source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Blackbody Spectrum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Radiative Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Comfort Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Predicted Percent Dissatisfied (PPD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Draft Temperature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Draft Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Air Diffusion Performance Index (ADPI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
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Lesson 1
Introduction to HVAC
Objectives Upon successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to:
I Properly apply radiation boundary conditions.
I Properly apply absorptive properties to solids.
I Understand the comfort parameters and their application.
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Lesson 1 SolidWorks 2014
Introduction to HVAC
HVAC Module HVAC module brings you advanced tools and libraries to simulate
environmental conditions and their effect on humans. One of the tools
of the HVAC module is an advanced radiation model that allows for
spectral radiation. Additionally, post-processing parameters dealing
with radiation and comfort level have been introduced. Finally, the
engineering database has been enhanced with more materials, fans, etc.
Case Study: In this lesson, we will introduce some of the features of the HVAC
Office module in Flow Simulation. We will learn about the enhanced radiation
model and how to properly set this up in Flow Simulation. We will also
learn about some of the enhanced post processing options, including
the comfort parameters that will allow us to make judgements on the
design of our room.
It is recommended to refer to the Flow Simulation documentation for
further details on the theory behind the solver.
Project An office is located in a building
Description kept at an ambient temperature
of 20°C. Outside of the building,
the temperature is 0°C. To keep
the employee warm, a radiator is
located in the room that
generates 1500 W of heat. To
prevent someone from
mistakenly touching the radiator,
it is covered by a glass cover. At
the top of the room, air flows in
at ambient temperature and 0.01
m^3/s to maintain some circulation. Additionally, the door to the room
is open to the hallway.
We will study the comfort of a person sitting at the desk in the office.
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Introduction to HVAC
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Introduction to HVAC
Database of In the Fluids list, under Gases, double-click Air to add it to the Project
Fluids Fluids.
Solids Default solid should be set to Hardboard (medium) under the Building
Materials, Boards, Sheets, and Deckings list.
Wall conditions Select Heat transfer coefficient as the Default outer wall thermal
condition. Enter 10 W/m^2/K and 20.05°C as the Heat transfer
coefficient and Temperature of external fluid, respectively.
Leave the Default wall radiative surface and the Default outer wall
radiative surface as Blackbody wall.
The default Roughness value of 0 micro meter is acceptable for this
analysis.
Initial conditions Default conditions
Results & Set the Result resolution to 3.
Geometry
Resolution
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Introduction to HVAC
Default Outer Wall In this lesson, we specified a Default Outer Wall Thermal Condition
Thermal Condition as a convection coefficient and ambient temperature. This defines the
thermal condition in the rest of the building. The office is surrounded
by the hallway (ambient temperature) on the wall of the door.
Additionally, it is neighbored by other offices on either side of the
radiator. We will define an outer wall thermal boundary condition to
define the heat lost to the cold outside (0°C).
3 Apply materials.
Under Input Data, right-click Solid
Materials and select Insert Solid Material.
Select Steel (Mild) under Alloys and apply it
to the radiator component.
Under Radiation Transparency, select
Opaque. Click OK.
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Lesson 1 SolidWorks 2014
Introduction to HVAC
4 Apply materials.
Under Input Data, right-click Solid
Materials and select Insert Solid Material.
Select Quartz glass under Glasses and
Minerals.
Select the five window panes in the room.
Also select the radiator cover.
Under Radiation Transparency, select
Absorptive. Leave the default settings.
Click OK.
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Introduction to HVAC
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Lesson 1 SolidWorks 2014
Introduction to HVAC
Note The rest of the wall conditions were specified in the Wizard (10 W/
m^2/K and 20.05°C as the Heat transfer coefficient and
Temperature of external fluid). Only this wall touches the outside.
The rest of the walls interact only with the surroundings of the building
itself.
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Introduction to HVAC
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Introduction to HVAC
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Introduction to HVAC
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10 Radiative surface.
Under Input Data, right-click Radiative
Surfaces and select Insert Radiative
Surface.
Select the four faces on the radiator
component that contact the surrounding
air.
Under Type, select Predefined, Real
Surfaces, Iron, cast, turned and
heated.
Click OK.
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SolidWorks 2014 Lesson 1
Introduction to HVAC
Click OK.
Note This step is required before solving the project if you wish to evaluate
the comfort parameters. These will be described later in the lesson.
14 Solve.
Flow the Flow Simulation menu, click: Solve, Run.
Make sure Load results is checked.
Click Run.
Discussion Prior to fully solving the model, we should check the quality of the
mesh. In this model with thin walls, especially in the radiator cover, we
would want to insure that there are enough cells to accurately describe
the heat transfer and flow fields. Local initial mesh techniques could be
used to improve the mesh in these regions. Additionally, manual
meshing techniques discussed in the SolidWorks Flow Simulation
training manual could be used. The accuracy of the results will directly
depend on the quality of the mesh, and in this case, the default mesh
settings may not be satisfactory to accurately resolve the geometry.
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Lesson 1 SolidWorks 2014
Introduction to HVAC
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SolidWorks 2014 Lesson 1
Introduction to HVAC
Comfort There exists standard criteria called comfort parameters to calculate the
Parameters performance of ventilations systems. Comfort parameters are used to
evaluate the comfort and air quality for people residing in the room that
is analyzed. SolidWorks Flow Simulation can calculate various comfort
parameters.
Predicted Mean The seven point thermal sensation scale is used to evaluate a person’s
Vote (PMV) comfort. A vote of -3 would indicate the person is cold. A vote of 3
would indicate the person is hot. A vote of 0 would indicate a neutral
temperature feeling. The Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) is the average
thermal sensation rating of a group of people.
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Note Please refer to the help menu for further information on the comfort
parameters.
17 PMV plot.
Edit the definition of the cut plot.
Select PMV as the Parameter.
Reset the legend limits to the plot maximum and minimum.
Click OK.
It seems that most people would feel comfortable with the temperature
of the room in these conditions.
Important! The comfort parameters are only calculated if the setting is turned on in
the Calculation Control Options.
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18 PPD plot.
Edit the definition of the cut plot to show PPD as the Parameter.
This plot leads to similar conclusions. Unless near the radiator, most
people would feel comfortable in the room.
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Introduction to HVAC
21 Result summary.
Right-click the Results folder and select Summary.
Scroll to the bottom to see the report of the ADPI.
The ADPI is 58.2%, and most of this region has been seen to be
surrounding the worker.
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22 Flow trajectory.
Right-click Flow Trajectories and select Insert.
Select the Environment Pressure 1 boundary condition and select
Temperature as the Parameter.
Reset the legend limits to the plot maximum and minimum.
Click OK.
You can see how the air moves around the room.
23 Surface parameters.
Right-Click Surface Parameters and select Insert.
Select the outer faces of the radiator cover.
Select All and click Show.
The Maximum Temperature (Solid) is almost 70°C.
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