English

This paper describes an investigation into the ventilation performance and the indoor air quality of a portable classroom. Both field measurements and numerical simulations based on CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) technology were used. Field measurements in an unoccupied classroom used smoke to visualize the flow pattern, and hot-film probes to quantitatively measure air velocity. These field measurements provided the boundary conditions for CFD simulations and the experimental data to examine the accuracy of the CFD simulations.

Habitat for Humanity affiliates and other low-cost builders can achieve annual space conditioning costs of less than $250 per year through inexpensive envelope measures and equipment 'downsizing.

The light well is often designed in the center of high-rise apartment buildings in Japan. This light well is an empty space without ceilings or floors from the bottom to the top, and this well is called "Void" in Japan. In this well, the exhaust from the kitchen and the gas water heater is sometimes discharged to the corridors surrounding Void, and the exhaust can pollute the air in Void. To keep the air quality in Void clean, the natural ventilation is usually depended on.

The focus of this paper is on controlling ventilation rate to provide acceptable temperature and relative humidity in the space being ventilated. To this end, a system of heat and moisture balance equations for building indoor and components is described. The system is solved numerically. Based on a series of indoor temperature and moisture measurements for our experimental house and well-mixed air distribution in room, moisture generation rate is estimated. The model is validated by simulating the experimental house. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results is obtained.

Because of the lack of valid information regarding the influence of bends on the thermal and hydraulic performance of flues, a series of preliminary experiments were conducted using a full-scale Perspex rig. Analysis of the results and observations enabled the development of a methodology capable of determining the reduction of flow rate arising from the presence of bends. The analysis has also shown that existing quasi-steady-state methods used for the design of these flue systems are valid.

This project has studied a selection of 16 typical museums for antiquities in five Mediterranean countries and was partly funded by the JOULE III of the European Commission DG XII. Through an elaborate analysis and complete refurbishment of the Archaeological Museum of Delphi, the programme has provided an example for an innovative museum design based on present-day know-how.

Most indoor airflows are mixed convection. In order to simulate mixed convection accurately and efficiently, this paper uses a two-layer turbulence model. The two-layer model combines a one-equation model for near wall flow together with the standard k-E model for outer-wall flow. The model has been used to predict the mixed convection by displacement ventilation in an office. The computed results agree well with the corresponding airflow pattern and the distributions of air temperature , air velocity, air velocity fluctuation, and tracer-gas concentration.

Highly-glazed spaces are attractive in many ways (solar heating, aesthetics, etc.), however, their thermal behaviour remains difficult to predict. In such spaces, the assumptions or methods generally used in building thermal simulation tools - e.g. homogeneous air temperature in the room, simplified calculations of radiative heat transfer between walls, absence of airflow modelling within the room - do not seem appropriate. We have developed a new model (AIRGLAZE) to improve the prediction of the thermal behaviour of large highly glazed spaces.

Refuge floor is specially designed in high-rise buildings for the purpose of supplying a temporarily safe place for evacuees under emergency situations. The provision of such designated refuge floor is a prescriptive requirement in the fire code of Hong Kong. Such a provision appears to be desirable by the regulators as it relates to simple rules and has administrative convenience. In order to fulfill its function, the refuge floor should be a safe place for the evacuees.