SIMULATION OF AIR CIRCULATION IN A ROOM USING COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS VIA OPENFOAM AND OPEN-SOURCE TOOLS

Abstract

Natural ventilation is one of the most effective strategies for thermal comfort and energy consumption reduction in buildings, whether residential or commercial. It occurs due to a pressure difference induced by wind or air density, or both acting simultaneously in the environment. Therefore, this article will analyze airflow patterns in four different window architecture types with varying relative positions, where theoretically, the best conditions are created when the exhaust opening is larger and wider than the inlet. Furthermore, it will assess and diagnose the optimal architectural design for ventilation to enhance thermal comfort and achieve the best airflow pattern, thereby reducing energy consumption and the spread of airborne infectious diseases. In addition to the aforementioned analysis, another primary objective is to provide an introductory understanding of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) using the open-source software OpenFOAM, based on representations found in the literature. The simulation analysis was performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) through the open-source software OpenFOAM, responsible for numerical calculations and solving equations of interest using the Finite Volume Method (FVM).