Multizone Modeling Approaches to Contaminant-Based Design

Published

June 1, 2002

Author(s)

A L. Musser, Andrew K. Persily

Abstract

Indoor air quality is currently addressed in the design process primarily through prescriptive building codes based on specified flow rates. However, a contaminant-based design approach opens the door to design innovation, offering opportunities for improved indoor air quality, energy conservation, and reduced environmental impact. This paper discusses current design approaches, and some possibilities for the future of contaminant based design. Techniques and modeling approaches that could be used today are demonstrated using examples from a case study building. A multizone network airflow model is used to stimulate airflow rates, pressure relationships, and contaminant transport to support the design. These simulations are utilized to specify minimum ventilation rates to control non-occupied related contaminants for a system with carbon dioxide demand control. Contaminant buildup during an overnight shutdown is also studied, and strategies for a pre-occupancy purge are developed. The model is also used to size an exhaust fan to negatively pressurize an enclosure housing a biological process. The case study identifies the critical, or design conditions that must be addressed, and discusses strategies that could be used to meet them with contaminant-based design.

Proceedings Title

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Annual Meeting | | | ASHRAE

Volume

108

Issue

Pt. 2

Conference Dates

June 22-26, 2002

Conference Location

Undefined

Conference Title

ASHRAE Transactions

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

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Keywords

air quality, design, modeling, source control, VOC

Citation

Musser, A. and Persily, A. (2002), Multizone Modeling Approaches to Contaminant-Based Design, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Annual Meeting | | | ASHRAE, Undefined, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=860876 (Accessed April 26, 2024)