Airflow pattern in an air-conditioned seminar room.

The pattern of airflow influences the propagation of airborne pollutants, the thermalenvironment and general comfort conditions. In designing a good HVAC system, it isideal to determine the airflow distribution in the occupied zone to ensure good quality ofair and comfort condition are provided to the occupants. In most instances, it may not befeasible to conduct such study experimentally. This paper presents an investigation on thepredictions of air movement within a room and compared them with the physicalmeasurements.This study is carried out in a seminar room at a University. The 3D turbulent recirculatingairflow in the room was numerically simulated based on the site measurements,such as the air velocities at the air supply grilles. The accuracy of numerical prediction isinfluenced by several parameters. Some of these parameters include inlet airflowmodelling, meshing procedure and turbulence model. In this paper, the inlet airflowmodelling will be discussed in detail.The predicted results of airflow pattern were validated against the measured data. Resultsshow that the methods of modelling at the inlet diffuser has great impact on the air flowpattern within the room and therefore affect the accuracy of the air velocity prediction.