Towards Real-Time CFD Simulation of Indoor Environment

Abstract

Growing computational power and improved numerical algorithms make Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) an attractive tool for simulations of indoor environment. In this study di¿erent turbulent models and discretization approaches are investigated on set of di¿erent mesh resolutions in order to choose the CFD technique that suits best for indoor environmental simulations. The investigated con¿guration is the tall deferentially-heated cavity with height aspect ratio of 3.84, this con¿guration resembles a strati¿ed indoor environment, such as a building atrium. The relative error of global air¿ow quantities is compared against computational time for di¿erent CFD approaches. LES simulations together with staggered discretization show the best overall performance in terms of computational speed and accuracy ratio. Furthermore the capability of CFD to perform real-time and even faster than real-time simulations is studied in paradigm of applying it for indoor environmental design and control systems.