CFD modelling of natural displacement ventilation in an enclosure connected to an atrium

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to investigate buoyancy-driven natural ventilation flows in a single-storey space connected to an atrium. The atrium is taller than the ventilated space and is warmed by heat gains inside the single-storey space which produce a column of warm air in the atrium and drive a ventilation flow. CFD simulations were carried out with and without ventilationopenings at the bottom of the atrium, and results were compared with predictions of analytical models and small-scale experiments. The influence of key CFD modelling issues, such as boundary conditions, solution controls, and mesh dependency were investigated. The airflow patterns, temperature distribution and ventilation flow rates predicted by the CFD model agreed favourably with the analytical models and the experiments. The work demonstrates the capability of CFD for predicting buoyancy-driven displacement natural ventilation flows in simple connected spaces