The effect of thermal mass is becoming increasingly important under the scope of low energy use building construction and energy conservation. In this paper the dynamic behaviour of the effect of the thermal mass of external walls on the development of solar-assisted buoyancy-driven ventilation flow rates, air flow patterns and temperature distributions in a simple three-storied atrium building was investigated using unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS) modelling approach. The SST-k-omega turbulence model and the Discrete Transfer Radiation Model (DTRM) were used in the CFD simulations. The unsteady-state governing equations were solved using a commercial CFD solver FLUENT©. The numerical results were obtained for indoor transient thermal conditions by assuming the external concrete walls of the building under three situations: (i) walls with internal insulation covering (ii) walls with external insulation covering, and (iii) walls without insulation covering. The buoyancy-driven ventilation volume flow rates and internal temperature variations from 8:00 to 15:00hrs on July 15, 2011 were calculated using CFD simulations. Numerical results obtained indicate that the transient CFD simulations provide important information about the effect of the thermal mass on the thermal behaviour of the building. It was found that the thermal mass of external walls with external insulation covering was a better option which helped to control the diurnal temperature swings making the conditions within the building more comfortable. Heat stored in the walls can be useful for the night-time buoyancy-driven ventilation when there is no solar radiation.
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ASME 2012 Heat Transfer Summer Conference collocated with the ASME 2012 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting and the ASME 2012 10th International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels
July 8–12, 2012
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Heat Transfer Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4478-6
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
A Numerical Study of the Effect of Thermal Mass on the Transient Thermal Performance of a Simple Three Storied Atrium Building
Shafqat Hussain,
Shafqat Hussain
Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
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Patrick H. Oosthuizen
Patrick H. Oosthuizen
Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Search for other works by this author on:
Shafqat Hussain
Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Patrick H. Oosthuizen
Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Paper No:
HT2012-58132, pp. 943-952; 10 pages
Published Online:
July 24, 2013
Citation
Hussain, S, & Oosthuizen, PH. "A Numerical Study of the Effect of Thermal Mass on the Transient Thermal Performance of a Simple Three Storied Atrium Building." Proceedings of the ASME 2012 Heat Transfer Summer Conference collocated with the ASME 2012 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting and the ASME 2012 10th International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels. Volume 2: Heat Transfer Enhancement for Practical Applications; Fire and Combustion; Multi-Phase Systems; Heat Transfer in Electronic Equipment; Low Temperature Heat Transfer; Computational Heat Transfer. Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, USA. July 8–12, 2012. pp. 943-952. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/HT2012-58132
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