Challenges and objectives
Thermal comfort represents a new essential issue in many sectors of activity, and in particular in the building sector.
With increasingly extreme environmental conditions (global warming, heat peak, etc.), the variables defining thermal comfort take a greater significance in the development of infrastructures welcoming the public.
Air conditioning systems must be ever more powerful to compensate for these new phenomena.
Conversely, environmental standards are becoming more and more restrictive in terms of energy consumption. The consumption/comfort ratio must be dimensioned as accurately as possible to achieve the desired performance criteria.
Thermal comfort is a real complexity since the temperature of a volume is not the only factor that characterises the comfort: draughts, vertical temperature variations, ground temperature, and metabolic activity can influence the sensation of thermal comfort.
We see them every day in our shopping centres, workplaces, underground stations, and others.
In addition, the issue of fine particles, gas release harmful to man, and more generally the environmental issues must be addressed in such dimensioning. The study of thermal comfort in 3D CFD calculation makes it possible to determine the so-called 'dead' zones where the accumulation of particles, harmful gases, and bacteria can be visualised, which can then be optimised.
CIMES services
- Pre-dimensioninng by system approach of air conditioning / heating characteristics (power, flow)
- Calculation of air renewal and circulation rates
- 3D digital simulation and qualification of dead zones
- Validation of temperatures, humidity, and thermal comfort
- Qualification of thermal comfort by Fanger criteria (PMV, PPD) or as prescribed by law
- Optimisation of thermal regulation systems (reduction of pressure drop, air distribution, thermal bridges)
Keywords: thermal comfort, dimensioning, air conditioning, air renewal rate, mixing, humidity, speed, power, flow, buildings, infrastructures, CFD, numerical simulation, 3D calculations, PMV, PPD.
Tools: STAR-CCM+, modeFRONTIER