As part of a recent ASHRAE research project (781-RP), a thermal sensation prediction tool has been developed. This paper introduces the tool, describes the component thermal sensation models, and presents examples of how the tool can be used in practice. Since the main end product of the HVAC industry is the comfort of occupants indoors, tools for predicting occupant thermal response can be an important asset to designers of indoor climate control systems. The software tool presented in this paper incorporates several existing models for predicting occupant comfort.
This paper traces the evolution of the concept for the Memorial Tunnel Fire Ventilation Test Program conducted in West Virginia during the period 1989-1995. It clearly identifies the objectives set forth for the program by the technical evaluation committee (TEC) representing ASHRAE Technical Committee 5.9
The Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/I) project, currently under way in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest interstate highway program in the United States. Estimated at $8 billion, the project will generate more than 50 lane-km of new vehicular tunnels and will accommodate more than 300,000 vehicles per day in design year 2010. A direct result of the planning and design efforts on the CA/I is the Memorial Tunnel Fire Ventilation Test Program, recently completed in a full-size facility in West Virginia.
In recent years, approaches to smoke management in atria have been introduced into many codes and engineering guides. This paper presents information that can be used for design analysis of atrium smoke management systems. Various approaches to manage smoke in atria are discussed Often a hot layer of air forms under the ceiling of an atrium, and this hot layer can prevent smoke from reaching the ceiling. A method is discussed for dealing with smoke detection when such a hot air layer prevents smoke from reaching the ceiling.
In recent years, the atrium building has become commonplace. This paper explains the physical concepts of the steady fire, unsteady fire, zone fire model, and the fire plume that are the basis of atrium smoke management. The approach to smoke control design calculation in codes is based on the zone fire model concept. In the zone model, smoke forms an upward-flowing fire plume that reaches the ceiling and is considered to form a perfectly mixed layer under the ceiling of the room of fire origin.
This paper presents results of a project initiated by ASHRAE and the National Research Council of Canada. The project applies both physical and numerical modeling techniques to atrium smoke exhaust systems to investigate the effectiveness of such systems and to develop guidelines for their design. This paper compares experimental results obtained from testing a physical model of a mechanically exhausted atrium space with results of two sets of numerical predictions of the same space.
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