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CONTAM RESULTS EXPORT TOOL

Published

Author(s)

Brian Polidoro, Lisa Ng, William Stuart Dols

Abstract

CONTAM is a multizone indoor air quality and ventilation analysis program developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Since CONTAM simulation files are binary and not human-readable, the CONTAM Results Export Tool was created to convert them to tab-delimited text files that can be read using a spreadsheet program. The Export Tool is similar to the current SimreadW utility but adds the ability to export infiltration rates for use in EnergyPlus, a building energy simulation program. This document describes three of the five features of the CONTAM Results Export Tool. The "Export .sim file to text files:" feature exports airflows, pressure differences, contaminant concentrations, temperatures, and wind speed. The "Compute temporal/spatial averages of concentrations:" feature exports contaminant concentrations averaged over time and/or over several zones. The "Process exposure results:" feature exports separate text files for each contaminant or each occupant simulated. The other two features, "Export infiltration to EnergyPlus: whole building air change rates:" and "Export infiltration to EnergyPlus: zone-specific air change rates:" are described in a separate document by Polidoro et al. (2015). The results that can be exported include contaminant concentrations, zone temperatures, weather conditions, airflow from paths and leakages, temporal and spatial averages of concentration, and exposure results. The CONTAM Results Export Tool is available on the Software page of the NIST Multizone Modeling Website. Revisions to Section 7.2 posted 4/20/21.
Citation
Technical Note (NIST TN) - 1912r1
Report Number
1912r1

Keywords

airflow, CONTAM, contaminants, occupant exposure, simulation

Citation

Polidoro, B. , Ng, L. and Dols, W. (2021), CONTAM RESULTS EXPORT TOOL, Technical Note (NIST TN), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.1912r1, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=932375 (Accessed March 28, 2024)
Created May 5, 2021, Updated November 29, 2022