Simulation of Room Airflow Using Comsol Multiphysics Software

Abstract

Airflow in a room can be supplied both through natural mean and also by the helps of mechanical ventilation. Natural ventilation is more sustainable compared to mechanical system; however natural ventilation, it may not be sufficient to fulfil the need of ventilation for a specific room. This study presents simulation works carried out regarding to the airflow movement in a room due to mechanical ventilation. The measurement of air velocity was taken using Davis anemometer at random point in the room. The measured air velocity then used as an input in simulation work which used Comsol Multiphysics software. The simulation process begins by building up geometry of the room, assigning constant parameters, meshing the geometry of the room, and finally run the solver analysis. The results from simulations indicate that the air distributions in the room are below ASHRAE standard. This is due to the airflow distribution from the airflow injection of air-conditioning system is not well distributed. The simulations results are validated with the measured value and found that the percentage differences between the simulated and measured values are within the range of 3 - 10 %. Keywords: Simulation, Airflow movement, Mechanical ventilation, Comsol Multiphysics software