Experimental studies on natural smoke filling in an atrium induced by a liquid pool fire up to 1.6 MW were carried out. The new full-scale burning facility, the PolyU/USTC Atrium constructed at Hefei in China, was used. Five sets of hot smoke tests with diesel pool fires of 2 x 2 m placed on the floor were carried out. All openings were closed, except leaving a small vertical vent of 0.2 m high for supplying fresh air. Transient variations on the mass of the burning fuel, the vertical temperature distributions and the smoke layer interface heights were measured.
This paper investigates passive displacement flows in a simple, two-compartment building that comprises a single storey connected to an atrium. Heat gains in the storey and solar gains in the atrium create a stack pressure which drives a ventilating flow. A model is developed to determine the steady flow rate and thermal stratification for a range of heat gains, storey and atrium heights, and ventilation opening areas.
A case study of the ventilation characteristics of office accommodation forming part of a recently refurbished building is presented. A mechanical system has been installed to ventilate and cool two floors that are interconnected by a series of atria, with a novel application of displacement ventilation applied where there is a very low ceiling height. The air distribution and air quality within the space have been studied by the application of computational fluid dynamics (cFD) to allow the computation of air change effectiveness in terms of local mean age.
The Sapporo Factory is a large-scale commercial building complex in the heart of snowy Hokkaido. The complex has a large barrel-roof glass atrium with a comfortable indoor environment, which is maintained by making the most of cool outdoor air in summer and sunshine in winter. The atrium also provides a bright indoor space, which is never covered with snow, even in winter. Any snow falling on the glass roof is removed using the natural characteristics of snowfall.
This paper describes the results coming out of the European Commission supported THERMIE Target Project Energy Comfort 2000. This was the first Target project, containing eight non-domestic buildings, started in July 1993 and to be completed at the end of 1998. The project aimed to design and construct buildings which use less than 50% of the energy of a traditional equivalent, by using passive methods, particularly to avoid the need for air-conditioning. High quality internal conditions were to be achieved.
The impact of the radiation absorbed by room air moisture 011 heat transfer and air temperature distribution was investigated. Both analytical and CFO approaches were used. For large spaces such as atria, industrial workshops, hotel lobbies, and aircraft hangers, the neglect of radiation absorbed by the moisture within the air volume can lead to significant errors.
Login