Analysis and Design of Room Air Distribution Systems

Abstract

This article analyzes room air distribution and describes a design chart that makes it possible to evaluate variables such as air quality, air speed and draft rate (DR), temperature gradient (PD_grad ), mean radiant temperature, and radiant temperature asymmetry (PD_rad ) as a function of flow rate and temperature difference in the supply system. Five different air distribution systems are analyzed: mixing ventilation from a wall-mounted diffuser, mixing ventilation from a ceiling-mounted diffuser, mixing ventilation from a ceiling-mounted diffuser with swirling flow, displacement ventilation from a wall-mounted low-velocity diffuser, and a low-impulse system based on a textile terminal in the ceiling. The procedure to some extent can be based on flow elements, but especially full-scale experiments and computational fluid dynamics predictions have been used for the development of the design charts described herein.