Control of humidity and temperature in an atrium by cooling the surface of a pond in the atrium

This paper presents a method for dynamic numerical analysis of the thermal environment in an atrium. In this study, the quantity of condensation on and the quantity of evaporation from the surface of water in a small pool (water surface area, 1m2) were experimentally measured, and changes in the vertical distributions of humidity and temperature in an atrium were numerically calculated by using the Successive Integration Method. The analysis was carried out using BASIC language software. The atrium used as the model for this study was 360 m2 in floor area, 11.78 m in height, and had a pond with a surface area of 50 m2. The airflow between the atrium and outdoor is naturally ventilated in summer. If the temperature of the surface of the pond is maintained at less than 20 degrees Celsius, the estimated rate of vapor condensation in summer is 6 kg/h. This would allow the cool and low humidity air to be circulated to other parts of the building. A cooled surface of a pond in an atrium would therefore function as a type of dehumidifier, like an air-conditioning system