CFD Modelling With Buoyancy Effects for a Heat and Moisture Transfer Ceiling Panel

A heat and moisture transfer panel (HAMP) capable of simultaneously transferring heat and moisture to/from a space to improve indoor air conditions is being developed at the University of Saskatchewan. Experiments have been performed for different air conditions to simulate heating, cooling, humidification and dehumidification of the air by the HAMP. A latent effectiveness value is calculated for each test to show the performance of the HAMP. The HAMP has the highest effectiveness (∼45%) when used to cool the airflow. When used to heat the airflow, the effectiveness is much lower (∼25%). This difference can be attributed to the presence of large buoyancy forces during cooling in comparison to heating. To observe the flow field characteristics under the varying test conditions, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed. The CFD model is able to provide a better insight into the features of the flow field. The presented streamlines and isotherms exhibit the effect of buoyancy for various conditions and help in understanding the experimentally determined effectivenesses.