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While the world advances industrially and technologically, an invisible threat has crept up into our indoor environments: air pollution. As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported, indoor air pollutants are often 2x to 5x higher than outdoor levels and can sometimes exceed 100 times outdoor levels.
Further compounding the issue, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified poor indoor air quality as a cause of respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung cancer.
These challenges underscore the necessity of employing advanced tools like Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to enhance HVAC systems and ensure health and optimal cognitive functioning in indoor spaces.
In this blog post, we will explore and understand how to balance ventilation using CFD analysis to uplift indoor air quality.
According to an air quality survey by Ambius, 40% of office workers in the US were ill due to poor air quality within office premises. Poor air can cause headaches and mental health issues. Moreover, lack of proper air circulation can even lead to the spread of deadly bacteria and viruses.
As Iza World of Labor reported, air pollution also affects scholastic achievements and the formation of human capital. They mentioned that the severe air pollution that lasted for 5 days in London during December 1952 alone led to a 3.2% decline in test scores of students and eventually a 2.1% decline in their monthly compensation as adults.
Other indoor air statistics mention that indoor air is 2–5 times more harmful than outdoor air and causes 50% of illness.
Therefore, balanced ventilation is important for optimal air quality indoors, and engineers leverage this CFD analysis to achieve this.
CFD is a branch of fluid dynamics. Its analysis helps engineers model and simulate indoor airflow patterns and thermal behavior. By identifying hot spots and areas of inadequate ventilation it can be leveraged to improve HVAC system designs and optimize IAQ (Indoor Air Quality).
Let’s understand more about how CFD analysis maximizes IAQ:
With CFD analysis, engineers can simulate airflow patterns. Subsequently,
Simulation helps in the identification of areas with inadequate ventilation
Based on this, the air distribution and its circulation are optimized
It also results in minimal build-up of pollution within indoor spaces
Temperatures throughout indoor spaces can also be optimized using CFD analysis. Then,
Engineers model the heat transfer
They analyze temperature variation and the source of heat
Later, they optimize the HVAC system designs to obtain the desired thermal conditions
With the help of CFD analysis, HVAC system configuration can be evaluated. Also,
This includes placement of diffusers, duct layout, design of air handling unit, etc.
Performance is simulated for several operating conditions
Parameters are optimized to maximize IAQ, minimize energy consumption and cost of operations
Data centers generally house multiple computer servers. These servers, when operational, produce a massive amount of heat. Overheating in server equipment can lead to failure. Through CFD analysis, engineers can simulate and model a perfect HVAC system design. It also helps them with:
Increasing the load on heat racks
Change in the layout of the equipment
First day’s analysis, leakage analysis, and failure scenarios
Mechartés, a leading CFD consultancy company, conducted a detailed analysis to help their clients optimize the HVAC designs for a data center. Let’s understand this case study in detail.
To ensure that proper air circulation was maintained within the data center
To ensure to eliminate hot spots on server racks and check that the temperature at their inlets was within the range recommended by ASHRAE
To check if the equipment was also within the temperature range
Mechartés did the CFD analysis for the below-mentioned scenarios:
With all HVAC units operational (N+2 or N+1)
N HVAC units are operational
Power transition simulations
Preparation of a 3D model of the data hall using CFD software
Optimized boundary conditions for managing airflow efficiently
The cold air was directed to the server racks through perforated tiles
Hot air from the servers was extracted through ceiling grilles
Performing CFD simulation for all scenarios to evaluate the system’s performance by studying pressure, velocity, and temperature
Uneven airflow from floor tiles revealed the hot spots
Conducted multiple iterations through selective opening and closing of floor tiles for airflow optimization
Proposed the final design with optimized configuration of floor tiles to check that the server rack inlet temperature is within range
No hot spots were observed during power transition scenarios, and the ASHRAE recommended temperature range was maintained
Read the full case study here.
CFD analysis is useful for balancing and maintaining ventilation to maximize IAQ. It helps the engineers to optimize ventilation systems for a healthier indoor environment. This also provides:
Accurate details of airflow and thermal behavior for precise system optimization
Cost-effective refining of design due to early identification of flaws
Environmental sustainability through reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions from HVAC systems
This analysis also ensures temperature control and efficient cooling in critical environments like data centers. Leveraging CFD simulation and modeling can let engineers mitigate risks and enhance performance by creating a healthier, more sustainable indoor environment.
With more than 30,000 successful project deliveries and expertise in complex engineering services, we at Mechartés invite you to seek our assistance in bringing efficiency to your work through our next-generation solutions.
For more insights, reach out to our experts now!
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