Numerical Analysis of Air Exchange Between two Enclosed Spaces

Abstract The air quality problem has never been so acute as in this period of COVID-19. The three-dimensional modeling of thermo-aeraulic transfer in buildings is characterized by its complexity due to the large dimensions and the behavior’s laws problem of the fluids to be adopted. The number of finite elements increases with the processed volume, negatively impacting CPU time. Well-conducted numerical modeling can be more advantageous than an expensive experimental study requiring significant equipment, an extensive testing campaign, a large staff, and time. This work is aimed to carry out numerical modeling of an existing experimental device to simulate the effects of ventilation systems. We used the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT. The results obtained showed good agreement with previous experimental data. A good correlation was obtained by analyzing temperature and velocity profiles in stationary and variable regimes. This validated modeling of the problem allows us to consider later, with sufficient confidence, reliable simulations of several other cases of air transfer to achieve new human comfort and health conditions.