Survey of the existing approaches to assess and design natural ventilation and need for further developments

ISBN : 978-0-947649-40-1 Disponible à l'adresse : www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/BS2009/BS09_0220_227.pdfInternational audienceIn the last years many building designers have turned their attention to natural ventilation, due to the potential benefits in terms of energy consumption related to ventilation and air-conditioning, especially in mild and moderate climates. Consequently, several calculation techniques have been developed to design and predict the performance of natural ventilation. This article presents a review of the existing approaches to predict natural ventilation performance, including simple empirical models, nodal models (mono-zone and multi-zones), zonal models and CFD models. For each approach, we analyse the physical basis, the main modelling assumptions, the necessary input data and the area of applicability. Thus, the integration of these methodologies in the available simulation programs is examined, with reference to the different phases of the natural ventilation design process and some examples of application are given. The aim of the review is to identify the main practical limits of existing programs in designing natural ventilation and in predicting its performance and the consequent need for further developments

Influence Of Building Zoning On Annual Energy Demand

Simulation tools are widely used to assess the energy consumption of a building. In the modeling process, some choices should be made by the simulation tool user such as the division of the building into thermal zones. The zoning process is user dependent, which results in some difference in energy consumption results and model set-up and computational times. The aim of this work is to assess the influence of building zoning on the results of the dynamic thermal simulation including airflow and thermal transfers between zones For this purpose, several different building zonings are applied to the same office building, and then the results of the dynamic thermal simulations are compared in terms of energy consumption (heating, cooling, and auxiliaries) and computational and set-up times. To assess the impact of thermal zoning, five cases are studied (from the most to the least complex): - 1) *49-zone model* : each zone gathers the premises with the same air handling system, the same occupancy profile, at each floor and building orientation. - 2) *44-zone model* : the premises containing the same air handling system are gathered at every floor, even though their occupancy profile is different. - 3) *26-zone model*: all floors are merged, except for the first and the top floors (under-roof). - 4) *21-zone model* : the first and the under-roof floors are merged with the others if the premises have the same occupancy profile and handling system. - 5) *11-zone model* : the premises with a different orientation but with the same occupancy profile and handling system are gathered. The importance of airflow coupling is evaluated by using the most detailed model (49 zones) and comparing the cases with or without considering air transfer from offices to corridors and toilets (from which air is extracted). Then, to study the impact of thermally connecting juxtaposed zones, the “21-zone model” with and without thermal transfer are compared. Finally, the impact of merging the floors is analyzed by considering different roof and floor insulations and the impact of merging the orientations is studied by using different glazed surface ratio

A deep phenotyping experience: up to date in management and diagnosis of Malan syndrome in a single center surveillance report

Background Malan syndrome (MALNS) is a recently described ultrarare syndrome lacking guidelines for diagnosis, management and monitoring of evolutive complications. Less than 90 patients are reported in the literature and limited clinical information are available to assure a proper health surveillance. Results A multidisciplinary team with high expertise in MALNS has been launched at the "Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesu", Rome, Italy. Sixteen Italian MALNS individuals with molecular confirmed clinical diagnosis of MALNS were enrolled in the program. For all patients, 1-year surveillance in a dedicated outpatient Clinic was attained. The expert panel group enrolled 16 patients and performed a deep phenotyping analysis directed to clinically profiling the disorder and performing critical revision of previously reported individuals. Some evolutive complications were also assessed. Previously unappreciated features (e.g., high risk of bone fractures in childhood, neurological/neurovegetative symptoms, noise sensitivity and Chiari malformation type 1) requiring active surveillance were identified. A second case of neoplasm was recorded. No major cardiovascular anomalies were noticed. An accurate clinical description of 9 new MALNS cases was provided. Conclusions Deep phenotyping has provided a more accurate characterization of the main clinical features of MALNS and allows broadening the spectrum of disease. A minimal dataset of clinical evaluations and follow-up timeline has been proposed for proper management of patients affected by this ultrarare disorder