Development and Application of an Updated Whole-Building Coupled Thermal, Airflow, and Contaminant Transport Simulation Program (TRNSYS/CONTAM)

Published

July 23, 2014

Author(s)

William S. Dols, Wang Liangzhu, Steven J. Emmerich, Brian J. Polidoro

Abstract

The TRNSYS energy analysis tool has been capable of simulating whole building coupled heat transfer and building airflow for several years. The current implementation is based on two TRNSYS modules Type 56 and Type 97. Type 97 is based on a subset of the airflow calculation capabilities of the CONTAM multizone airflow and contaminant transport program developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This paper describes the development of new CONTAM capabilities in support of an updated combined, multizone building heat transfer, airflow and contaminant transport simulation approach using TRNSYS. It also presents the application of this coupled simulation approach to a practical design problem of the energy use related to airflow through entry doors in non-residential buildings.

Citation

Journal of Building Performance Simulation

Volume

8

Issue

5

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1080/19401493.2014.938699

Keywords

building energy, contaminant modeling, coupled simulation, energy modeling, multizone modeling, CONTAM, TRNSYS

Citation

Dols, W. , Liangzhu, W. , Emmerich, S. and Polidoro, B. (2014), Development and Application of an Updated Whole-Building Coupled Thermal, Airflow, and Contaminant Transport Simulation Program (TRNSYS/CONTAM), Journal of Building Performance Simulation, [online], https://doi.org/10.1080/19401493.2014.938699 (Accessed October 8, 2025)