A review of advanced air distribution methods - theory, practice, limitations and solutions

Ventilation and air distribution methods are important for indoor thermal environments and air quality. Effective distribution of airflow for indoor built environments with the aim of simultaneously offsetting thermal and ventilation loads in an energy efficient manner has been the research focus in the past several decades. Based on airflow characteristics, ventilation methods can be categorized as fully mixed or non-uniform. Non-uniform methods can be further divided into piston, stratified and task zone ventilation. In this paper, the theory, performance, practical applications, limitations and solutions pertaining to ventilation and air distribution methods are critically reviewed. Since many ventilation methods are buoyancy driving that confines their use for heating mode, some methods suitable for heating are discussed. Furthermore, measuring and evaluating methods for ventilation and air distribution are also discussed to give a comprehensive framework of the review

A comparison between four different ventilation systems

Measurements and CFD simulations from four systems are compared using the air change index and a new Ventilation Parameter (VP). VP combined with thermal comfort and indoor air quality indices gives a good index for comparison of four systems. Impinging Jet is capable of achieving better air distribution in the space than the other systems (mixing, wall displacement and floor displacement) particularly at higher heat loads

Theoretical and experimental investigation of impinging jet ventilation and comparison with wall displacement ventilation

This paper focuses on evaluating the performance of a new impinging jet ventilation system and compares its performance with a wall displacement ventilation system. Experimental data for an impinging jet in a room are presented and non-dimensional expressions for the decay of maximum velocity over the floor are derived. In addition, the ventilation efficiency, local mean age of air and other characteristic parameters were experimentally and numerically obtained for a mock-up classroom ventilated with the two systems. The internal heat loads from 25 person-simulators and lighting were used in the measurements and simulations to provide a severe test for the two types of ventilation systems. In addition to a large number of experimental data CFD simulations were used to study certain parameters in more detail. The results presented here are part of a larger research programme to develop alternative and efficient systems for room ventilation

The air distribution index as an indicator for energy consumption and performance of ventilation systems

This paper deals with the energy consumption and the evaluation of the performance of air supply systems for a ventilated room involving high- and low-level supplies. The energy performance assessment is based on the airflow rate, which is related to the fan power consumption by achieving the same environmental quality performance for each case. Four different ventilation systems are considered: wall displacement ventilation, confluent jets ventilation, impinging jet ventilation and a high level mixing ventilation system. The ventilation performance of these systems will be examined by means of achieving the same Air Distribution Index (ADI) for different cases. The widely used high-level supplies require much more fan power than those for low-level supplies for achieving the same value of ADI. In addition, the supply velocity, hence the supply dynamic pressure, for a high-level supply is much larger than for low-level supplies. This further increases the power consumption for high-level supply systems. The paper considers these factors and attempts to provide some guidelines on the difference in the energy consumption associated with high and low level air supply systems. This will be useful information for designers and to the authors' knowledge there is a lack of information available in the literature on this area of room air distribution. The energy performance of the above-mentioned ventilation systems has been evaluated on the basis of the fan power consumed which is related to the airflow rate required to provide equivalent indoor environment. The Air Distribution Index (ADI) is used to evaluate the indoor environment produced in the room by the ventilation strategy being used. The results reveal that mixing ventilation requires the highest fan power and the confluent jets ventilation needs the lowest fan power in order to achieve nearly the same value of ADI

The characteristics of wall confluent jets for ventilated enclosures

This paper reports experimental measurements on the diffusion of confluent jets that form a wall jet. The experiments were carried out at a fixed air flow rate and fixed temperature difference between the supply and room air in the cooling mode. Based on these experiments, the results presented show the behaviour of the wall confluent jet in the form of velocity profiles, the spreading ratio of jet on the wall, etc. The empirical equations derived are compared with other types of air jets, such as the free confluent jet, free plane wall jet, and free plane jet. It is concluded that the wall confluent jet has a better self preservation characteristics than other types of air jets. The flow field of the wall confluent jet is classified into three regions: Free jet region, Coanda effect region, Wall jet region