Computer simulation of ventilation strategies for maintaining an acceptable indoor air quality in office buildings

Conference · Tue Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995

OSTI ID:87468

Said, M N.A.; Shaw, C Y ^[1]; Plett, E G ^[2]; Vaculik, F ^[3]

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1. National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Inst. for Research in Construction
2. Carleton Univ., Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
3. Public Works and Government Services Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Building Performance Division

This paper evaluates the effects of various ventilation strategies on contaminant distribution in a 22-story office building for two events: (1) a partial renovation event, when a part of an occupied building is renovated, and (2) a scheduled shutdown event, when the HVAC systems are shut down during a holiday or a weekend. A multizone air and contaminant flow model was used to predict contaminant distribution in a 22-story office building. The model calculates pressures, airflows, and the time varying contaminant concentration in the zones of a tall building. For a partial renovation event, the ventilation strategies included venting the renovated zone using window(s), a stairwell, a smoke control shaft, and mechanical exhaust. For a scheduled shutdown event, typical building operation was assumed with no specific source zone in the building. The objective of the computations was to determine the required start-up time of the HVAC system to diminish accumulated pollutant concentration in the building following a scheduled shutdown. Computations were conducted for winter, spring, and summer outdoor conditions. The effectiveness of various ventilation strategies for minimizing the spread of the contaminant from the renovated zone to the surrounding areas depends on the location of the renovated zone with respect to the neutral pressure plane in the building. For the building used in the study, based on an outdoor air supply rate of 0.94 ACH, a four-hour start-up of the HVAC operation is adequate to diminish accumulated pollutant concentration in the building after a scheduled shutdown.

• OSTI ID: 87468
• Report Number(s): CONF-950104--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
AIR QUALITY
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
OFFICE BUILDINGS
OPERATION
REPAIR
SPACE HVAC SYSTEMS
VENTILATION