Indoor air quality analysis based on the ventilation effectiveness for CO₂ contaminant removal in ventilated cavities

J. Serrano-Arellano^a*, M. Gijón-Rivera^b, J.M. Riesco-Ávila^a, J. Xamán^c, and G. Álvarez^c

^a Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Universidad de Guanajuato, Carretera Salamanca-Valle de Santiago Km 3.5+1.8. Comunidad de Palo Blanco, Salamanca, Gto. C.P. 36885, México.

^b Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Puebla, Vía Atlixcáyotl 2301, Reserva Territorial Atlixcáyotl, Puebla, Puebla CP 72453, México.

^c Centro Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico, CENIDET-DGEST-SEP, Prol. Av. Palmira S/N. Col. Palmira. Cuernavaca, Morelos C.P. 62490, México.

Received 3 December 2013.
accepted 4 June 2014.

Abstract

A theoretical study to determine an optimal configuration for removal a CO₂ contaminant from inside a room is presented. The geometry considered was a 2D ventilated cavity in turbulent flow regime and solving the governing equations of mass, momentum and chemical species by the finite volume method. The interval of Reynolds number under study was 0 ≤ Re ≤ 2.5 X 10⁴. The air inlet gap is located on the lower side of vertical right wall of the cavity. Three configurations of the cavity varying the air outlet gap on vertical left wall were analysed: in the upper side (case A), in the middle side (case B), and in the lower side (case C). From the results, case A removed the most amount of contaminant from inside room for a Re = 5 x 10³, which had an effect on energy savings. The lower levels of contaminant for higher Reynolds numbers were obtained for the case B. The case C was the less desirable for contaminant removal purposes.

Keywords: Ventilation; indoor air quality; forced convection; turbulent flow; CO₂ contaminant.

PACS: 47.11.Df; 47.27.E-

References

1. M.M. Monroy, Calidad ambiental en la edificación (Manuales ambientales CARO, 2005). pp. 113-125.         [ Links ]

2. ASHRAE Standard 62-2007, Ventilation for acceptable indoor air quality.         [ Links ]

3. E. Baez, B. Bermúdez, and A. Nicholas, Rev. Mex. Fis. 50 (2004) 36.         [ Links ]

4. B. Bermudez and A. Nicolas, Rev. Mex. Fis. 54 (2008) 236.         [ Links ]

5. Di Liu, Fu-Yun Zhao, Han-Qing Wang, and Ernst Rank, Int. J. Thermal Sciences 64 (2013) 81.         [ Links ]

6. Sumon Saha, Mohammad Nasim Hasan, and Iftheker Ahmed Khan, Chem. Eng. Res. Bull. 13 (2009) 17.         [ Links ]

7. Kyoungsik Chang, George Constantinescu, and Seung-o Park, J. Fluid Mech. 561 (2006) 113.         [ Links ]

8. M. A. Sheremet and N. I. Shishkin, J. Eng. Phys. Thermophys. 85 (2012) 828.         [ Links ]

9. Hao Cai, Weiding Long, Xianting Li, and Douglas Barker, Build. Environ. 45 (2010) 485.         [ Links ]

10. Z.F. Tian, J.Y. Tu, G.H. Yeoh, and R.K.K. Yuen, Build. Environ. 41 (2006) 1504.         [ Links ]

11. Bin Zhaoa, Xianting Li, Xi Chen, and Dongtao Huang, Build. Environ. 39 (2004) 1035.         [ Links ]

12. Tatsuya Hayashi, Yoshiaki Ishizu, Shinsuke Kato, and Shuzo Murakami, Build. Environ. 37 (2002) 219.         [ Links ]

13. K. Hagstrom, A.M. Zhivov, K. Siren, and L.L. Christianson, Build. Environ. 37 (2002) 55.         [ Links ]

14. Zhirong Wang, Yuanyuan Hu, and Juncheng Jiang, Energy Build. 66 (2013) 461.         [ Links ]

15. J. M. Villafruela, F. Castro, J. Francisco San José, and J. Saint-Martin, Energy Build. 57 (2013) 210.         [ Links ]

16. L. James Lo and Atila Novoselac, Build. Simul. 6 (2013) 69.         [ Links ]

17. Xinke Wang, Wei Tao, Yuanyuan Lu, and Fenghao Wang, Build. Simul. 6 (2013) 395.         [ Links ]

18. Cristina Cornaro, Alessandro Paravicini, and Annamaria Cimini, Indoor Build. Environ. 22 (2013) 445.         [ Links ]

19. I. Almesri, H.B. Awbi, E. Foda, and K. Siren, Indoor Build. Environ. 22 (2013)618.         [ Links ]

20. R. Henkes, F. Van-Der-Vlugt, and C. Hoogendoorn, Int. J. Heat Mass Tran. 34 (1991) 377.         [ Links ]

21. H. Awbi, Ventilation of Building, (E & FN Spon, 2003), pp 80-82.         [ Links ]

22. S. Patankar, Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow, (Hemisphere Publishing Co., Mc. Graw Hill Co., New York, 1980), pp.113-135.         [ Links ]

23. J. Van Doormaal and G. Raithby, Num. Heat Tran. 7 (1984) 147.         [ Links ]

24. P. Nielsen, Energy Cons. Build. Comm. Sys. An. 20, Denmark, Nov., (1990).         [ Links ]

25. J. Serrano-Arellano, J. Xamán, and G. Álvarez, Int. J. Heat Mass Tran. 62 (2013) 9.         [ Links ]

26. J. Lage and A. Bejan, Int. J. Heat Mass Tran. 35 (1992) 1169.         [ Links ]