Rehva

Displacement Ventilation in Non-industrial Premises

Rehva - Federation of European Heating and Air-conditioning Associations

REHVA, now almost 50 years old, is an organization of European professionals in the field of building services (heating, ventilating and air-conditioning). REHVA represents more than 100,000 engineers from 25 European countries. Rehvas principal activity is to develop and disseminate economical, energy efficient and healthy technology for mechanical services of buildings. The work is supervised by a Board of seven members. Each Board member is responsible for work is a specific area. One of these areas deals with the Rehva Guidelines. Its objectives are to: Initiate work for technical guidelines in the area of building services, Establish working groups for such guidelines Develop distribution of Rehva Guidelines to members and other professionals Supervise the quality of Rehva Guidelines Several work groups are currently working towards Rehva guidelines, for example, the commissioning of HVAC systems for good energy efficiency and indoor climate, and the control of Legionella bacteria in building systems. The guidelines on displacement ventilation are written by a work group of highly qualified experts under the leadership of Hkon Skistad of Norway. The work is done on a purely voluntary basis with no commercial interest involvement. This document is approved by the Rehva Board. The board would like to express its sincere gratitude to all members of the group for their invaluable work. Member countries of Rehva:
Belgium Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Hungary Italy Latvia Lithuania The Netherlands Norway Poland Romania Russia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom Yugoslavia

Olli Seppnen Rehvas vice-president for guidelines Professor at Helsinki University of Technology.

ii

Preface
This Guidebook aims to provide European engineers with a comprehensive, up-to-date and easy-to-understand design manual about displacement ventilation. It takes into account the experience gained through practical application and research by the work group authors. The initiative originated from the Rehva Technical Committee over a year ago, in April 2000, at the General Assembly in Istanbul. The purpose of the Rehva Technical Committee, over the last few years, has been: (i) to enable European experts to achieve more direct contact to enhance access to technical experiences throughout Europe (ii) to produce practical technical support which takes full account of the latest research, design and construction expertise. This Displacement Ventilation Guidebook is a direct result of this collaborative effort. Historically, displacement ventilation has been used for hundreds of years, it was first scientifically studied by Baturin in 1940. Displacement ventilation has been developed and used, mainly in Scandinavian countries. Initially during the seventies it was used for industrial applications, and then in the late eighties, it also became widely used for commercial premises. The rest of Europe has until now, largely neglected the practical experience gained in this field. DV systems have two main advantages compared with traditional mixing systems. First, as a means of ensuring improved air quality throughout the occupied space and removing more contaminants at high level than conventional mixing air distribution systems. Secondly, as an efficient use of energy due to its capability to remove exhaust air from the room at a higher temperature than that in the occupied zone, this strategy allows a higher inlet temperature for the same internal heat gain/load. The aim of the Guidebook is to simplify and improve the practical design procedure. It also takes into account different items which are correlated to well known key-words: free convection flow; stratification of height and concentration distribution; temperature distribution and velocity distribution in the occupied zone. We strongly recommend that the spirit of this new frontier be revived throughout Rehva, particularly with regard to exchange of technical information as a means of spreading practical knowledge. Knowledge is not just an intuitive and immediate action. It is rather, a process in which ideas do not merely report the reality, but develops ideas to produce and positively transform the reality. What we would like to say is, imagine the future of HVAC technology in Europe, from Santiago de Compostela to Moscow, from Helsinki to Palermo, as an example of pragmatism, by noticing Europe. Once it has paid due homage to the Americans for their handbooks, may it continue to develop throughout the years as a distinctive European way for HVAC technology. It seems that, nowadays there are many interesting technological answers to the requests of knowledge, yet too little has been done to satisfy the actual need for positive dissemination of this knowledge. There is now too much technical information, too many EC standards, too many options, too many choices, too many Internet sites, which together produce the desperate expression on the face of someone with a powerful tool but without the foggiest idea how to use it. This is Rehvas task, to inform people about how to use that tool, such as the Displacement Ventilation Guidebook which is based on the experience of people who, over the years, have developed and used the knowledge for its own satisfaction.

Livio de Santoli Chairman of Rehva Technical Committee Full Professor at University of Rome, La Sapienza
iii

List of Contents
1 Displacement ventilation in a nutshell ........................................................................ 1 2 Terminology, Symbols and Units ................................................................................ 5
2.1 Terms and definitions ............................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Symbols .................................................................................................................................. 6 2.3 Units ..................................................................................................................................... 7

3 Basic knowledge about displacement ventilation ..................................................... 9

3.1 Principles of displacement ventilation .................................................................................... 9 3.2 Air flow pattern ..................................................................................................................... 10 3.3 Temperature distribution ....................................................................................................... 10 3.3.1 Temperature at the floor ............................................................................................. 10 3.3.2 Vertical temperature distribution ................................................................................ 11 3.3.3 Temperature effectiveness ......................................................................................... 12 3.4 Practical assumptions for the temperature distribution ........................................................ 13 3.5 The Arcimedes number ........................................................................................................ 13 3.6 Convection flows - the engines of displacement ventilation ................................................ 13 3.6.1 Point and line sources ................................................................................................ 14 3.6.2 Convection flow along vertical and horizontal surfaces ............................................. 15 3.6.3 Extended sources ...................................................................................................... 15 3.6.4 Plume interaction ....................................................................................................... 16 3.6.5 Plumes and temperature gradients ............................................................................ 17 3.6.6 Convection flows from real objects ............................................................................ 19 3.7 Contamination distribution .................................................................................................... 20 3.8 Ventilation effectiveness ....................................................................................................... 20 3.8.1 Cpmta,omamt removal effectiveness ......................................................................... 20 3.8.2 Personal exposure index ............................................................................................ 21 3.9 Thermal comfort ................................................................................................................... 22 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8

4 Air diffusers ................................................................................................................ 23

Summary .............................................................................................................................. 23 Air flow from a low-velocity diffuser ...................................................................................... 23 The Adjacent Zone ............................................................................................................. 24 Air distribution from a wall-mounted diffuser ........................................................................ 24 Air distribution from a row of wall-mounted diffusers ........................................................... 27 Air distribution from a floor-mounted diffuser ....................................................................... 28 Commonly used diffusers ..................................................................................................... 28 Documentation for diffusers ................................................................................................. 31 4.8.1 Requided data ............................................................................................................ 31 4.8.2 Documantation of the adjacent zone by tables or curves ........................................ 31 4.8.3 Documentation of the adjacent zone by diffuser constants ....................................... 32 4.9 Common defects in diffuser design ...................................................................................... 32 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 33 Strategic Design of room air conditioning process ............................................................... 33 Displacement ventilation and room air conditioning strategies ............................................ 34 Factors influencing the thermal stratification and the design methods ................................ 35 Displacement Ventilation Design Procedure ........................................................................ 36 5.5.1 Design criteria for contaminant stratification .............................................................. 36 5.5.2 Design criteria for thermal comfort ............................................................................. 36 5.5.3 Design Procedure flow chart ...................................................................................... 36

5 Design procedures ..................................................................................................... 33

iv

List of Contents
6 Energy aspects ........................................................................................................... 39
6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 39 Lower air flow rates for the same air quality ......................................................................... 39 Reduced need for mechanical cooling ................................................................................. 39 Lower pressure drop across the diffuser .............................................................................. 40

7 Automation and control ............................................................................................. 41

Summary .............................................................................................................................. 41 Variable air volume systems ................................................................................................ 41 Temperature control ............................................................................................................. 41 Location of temperature and air quality ................................................................................ 41 Control logic ......................................................................................................................... 42 Combination of cooling panels and displacement ventilation .............................................. 43

8 Case studies ............................................................................................................... 45

8.1 Restaurant ............................................................................................................................ 45 8.1.1 Description ................................................................................................................. 45 8.1.2 Design criteria ............................................................................................................ 46 8.1.3 Ventilation strategy ..................................................................................................... 46 8.1.4 Design for air quality .................................................................................................. 47 8.1.5 Design for thermal comfort ......................................................................................... 47 8.1.6 Resulting ventilation data ........................................................................................... 48 8.1.7 Arrangements ............................................................................................................. 49 8.1.8 Key numbers .............................................................................................................. 52 8.2 Single cell office ................................................................................................................... 53 8.2.1 Description ................................................................................................................. 53 8.2.2 Design criteria ............................................................................................................ 53 8.2.3 Ventilation strategy ..................................................................................................... 54 8.2.4 Design for air quality .................................................................................................. 54 8.2.5 Design for thermal comfort ......................................................................................... 55 8.2.6 Resulting ventilation data ........................................................................................... 55 8.2.7 Arrangements ............................................................................................................. 56 8.2.8 Key numbers .............................................................................................................. 57 8.3 Auditorium ............................................................................................................................ 58 8.3.1. Description ................................................................................................................. 58 8.3.2 Design criteria ............................................................................................................ 58 8.3.3 Ventilation strategy ..................................................................................................... 59 8.3.4 Design for thermal comfort ......................................................................................... 60 8.3.5 Design for air quality .................................................................................................. 62 8.3.6 Recirculation .............................................................................................................. 63 8.3.7 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 64 8.3.8 Arrangements ............................................................................................................. 64 8.3.9 Resulting ventilation data / Key numbers .................................................................. 64 8.4 Meeting room ....................................................................................................................... 65 8.4.1 Description ..................................................................................................................... 8.4.2 Design criteria ................................................................................................................ 8.4.3 Ventilation strategy ......................................................................................................... 8.4.4 Design for air quality ...................................................................................................... 8.5 Casino .................................................................................................................................. 67 8.5.1 Description ..................................................................................................................... 8.5.2 Design criteria ................................................................................................................ 8.5.3 Ventilation strategy ......................................................................................................... 8.5.4 Design for air quality ......................................................................................................

References .................................................................................................................. 69
v

Work Group
This book has been developed during numerous discussions during the period from October 2000 until the printing in August 2001 in a work-group consisting of the following people: Livio de Santoli, Professor, Vice President, Rehva/ University of Rome, Italy Olli Seppnen, Professor, Vice President, Rehva/ Helsinki University of Technology, Finland, Derrick Braham, C.Eng., F.C.I.B.S.E. CIBSE - Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, London, UK Peter V. Nielsen, Professor, Aalborg University, Denmark, Elisabeth Mundt, Ph.D., KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden Kim Hagstrm, M.Sc., Halton OY, Vantaa, Finland Jorma Railio, M.Sc., AFMAHE Association of Finnish Manufacturers of Air Handling Equipment, Helsinki, Finland Hkon Skistad, M.Sc., SINTEF, Trondheim, Norway

Reviewers
The following persons have reviewed the book, and made valuable suggestions for improvements:

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

vi

1
The idea

Displacement ventilation in a nutshell

where surplus heat is the main problem, and not air quality, where ceiling heights are lower than approximately 2,3 metres, where disturbances to room air flows are strong, where the contaminants are colder/denser than the ambient air.

Displacement ventilation, as presented in this book, is the technique of allowing warm air contaminants to rise to the ceiling, extracting the contaminated air at ceiling level and supplying fresh, cool air at floor level.

The diffuser a crucial factor

Figure 1.1

The idea of displacement ventilation.

Best suited for:

Most draught problems reported from practice are due to inadequate diffusers. A diffuser designed for small under-temperatures gives draught along the floor when used for large under-temperatures. Choose a diffuser that is suited for the case you are dealing with, and only utilise diffusers from manufacturers that supplies reliable documentation together with the products!

Displacement ventilation is primarily a means of obtaining good air quality in the occupied spaces. It has proved to be superior to mixing ventilation in: Restaurants, Meeting rooms, Classrooms. Displacement ventilation is usually preferable in the following cases: where the contaminants are warmer and/or lighter than the surrounding air, where the supply air is colder than the ambient air, in tall rooms, e.g. where the room heights are more than 3 metres, where large air flows shall be supplied in small rooms.

Figure 1.2

The right diffuser has a limited draught zone (adjacent zone).

Airflow rates

Less suited for:

Mixing ventilation is often a better choice than displacement ventilation in single cell offices and rooms where air quality is no problem. Displacement ventilation may be less preferable than mixing ventilation in the following cases:

Usually, we find that both mixing and displacement systems require about the same airflow rates, but displacement ventilation usually gives a better air quality for the same amount of ventilating air. Laboratory tests indicate that displacement ventilation may work with lower ventilation rates than mixing ventilation.
1

When very low ventilation rates and large undertemperatures are used, mixing ventilation will in most cases be preferable.

The occupied zones the coolest part of the room

Collaboration with the architect is required

No cold feet, please!

Attention must be paid to the temperature close to the floor. In practice, this means that when the air is supplied with under-temperature, one has to choose a diffuser with the right amount of mixing between the room air and the supply air.

Height above floor

The diffusers require a certain amount of wall area, or space in the floor or at the floor. Thus, close cooperation with the architect is required to find a location for the air diffusers. There are many cases where collaboration between the architect and the ventilation engineer has given elegant diffuser designs. An example of this is shown in Figure 1.3.

In displacement ventilation, the air temperature increases from floor to ceiling. This means that the occupied spaces are the coolest part of the room. Compared to mixing ventilation, the temperature is about 1 - 2C lower for a room height of 3 metres, to 3 4C for tall rooms.
Displacement Mixing

&HLOLQJ

)ORRU
1 - 2C

Temperature [C]

Figure 1.4

Typical vertical temperature distributions, displacement and mixing ventilation.

Figure 1.3 2

Diffusers integrated in columns at the wall in a casino. (Lindab, France).

Plane, wall-mounted

Semi-circular, corner-mounted

Circular, free-standing

Floor-mounted

Figure 1.5

Some standard diffuser-types.

Types of diffusers

There are several types of standard diffusers. The most commonly used types are integrated in the walls. Other types are placed against the walls, in a corner, freestanding on the floor, or integrated in the floor. See figure 1.5.

Dont heat the room by means of the ventilation air

If a room is to be warmed by the ventilating air, one should not use displacement ventilation as described in this book. If warm air is supplied at floor level in a cold room, the warm, fresh air will rise due to

Figure 1.6

Supply of warm ventilation air means short-circuiting.

buoyancy, and be extracted when it reaches the ceiling. Thus, the fresh air will short circuit into the outlet openings and little of the fresh air will reach the occupied spaces.
3

2
2.1 Terms and definitions

Terminology, Symbols and Units

Draught: Unwanted local cooling of a body caused by movement of air and is related to temperature Face velocity: Average air discharge velocity from the diffuser. (Flow divided by face area) Isovel: Boundary line of points of equal mean velocity Mixing Air Diffusion: Air diffusion where the mixing of supply air and room air is intended. Occupied zone: Volume of air, which is confined by horizontal and vertical planes. The vertical planes are usually parallel with the walls of the room. Typical definitions for the occupied zone are given in Table 2.1 and visualised in Figure 2.1. When nothing else has been agreed upon, the default values are recommended. For external walls with windows or doors the element with the weaker requirement is taken as valid for the whole surface. Plume: The air current rising from a hot body (or descending from a cold body) Under-temperature: qoz - qs: Difference between the room air temperature 1,1metre above the floor and the temperature of the supply air.

The terms and definitions in this chapter are based on CEN Report 12792 (1997) and Goodfellow and Thti (2001). Adjacent zone: The zone in front of a diffuser where draught occurs. Air Change Rate: The ratio of the volumetric air supply or extract to a space related to the volume of that space. It is usually measured in air changes per hour, and normally relates to the fresh air change rate. Air Diffusion: The process of delivering air into the occupied zone by means of a diffuser. Air Stratification: The layering of air within a space, due to density differences. Air Throw: The distance an air stream travels on leaving a diffuser before its velocity is reduced to a specific value. Buoyancy: The vertical force exerted on a volume of air that has a density different from the ambient air. Displacement Air Diffusion: Air diffusion where the mixing of supply air and room air external to the air terminal device is at a minimum Displacement Ventilation: Room ventilation created by room air displacement, by introducing air at low level in a space at a lower air temperature than the room air.
Table 2.1 Element External windows, doors and radiators External and internal walls Floor (lower boundary Floor (upper boundary)
* ** *** Mainly seated occupants Mainly standing occupants Deviation from prEN 13779

Spacing between people and various interior elements. Distance from the inner surface of the elements [m] Typical Range Default Value (prEN 13779) 0,5-1,5 0,25 0,75 0,00 0,2 1,30* - 2,0** 1,0 0,5 0,00*** 1,8

1,0 m from wall with window door radiator

1,8 m above floor (standing) Occupied zone 1,3 m above floor (sitting)

0,5 m from walls

0,00 m above floor (disp.vent reccomendation) 0,10 m above floor (prEN 13779 recommendation)

Figure 2.1

Definition of occupied zone.

Dc

2.2

Symbols

cp d d0 e h ln l0,2 pd ps ptot Dptot qs,l qs qv qv,z qv,l s vs vx vx,max vy vz

Latin letters A Area [m] As Air diffuser face area [m] Ao Air diffuser opening area [m] B Width of an air diffuser [m] D Diameter (of a source) [m] H Height [m] Ka Air diffuser constant, jet discharge KDr Air diffuser constant, low velocity discharge, radial flow KDp Air diffuser constant, low velocity discharge, plane flow N Number of convection sources [-] T Absolute temperature [K] (= q + 273) W Depth of an air diffuser [m] bm Flow adjustment factor for supply units [-] bn Half-width of the adjacent zone [m] c Contaminant concentration [mg/m, ppm, etc.] ce Contaminant concentration in the extract air [mg/m, ppm, etc.] cexp Contaminant concentration in the breathing air [mg/m, ppm, etc.] cmean Mean contaminant concentration in the room [mg/m, ppm, etc.] coz Mean contaminant concentration in the occupied zone [mg/m, ppm, etc.] cs Contaminant concentration in the supply air
6

[mg/m, ppm, etc.] Difference between two contaminant concentrations [mg/m, ppm, etc.] Specific heat of air = 1004 J/kgC (1 J = 1 Ws) Diameter [m] Diameter of vena contracta, i.e. the most contracted cross section of a plume [m] Entrainment coefficient in the discharge flow from the diffuser [-] Height [m] Length of the adjacent zone [m] Length of the adjacent zone (to the 0,2 m/s-isovel) [m] Dynamic pressure = r v2 [Pa] Static pressure [Pa] Total pressure = pd + ps [Pa] Total pressure drop across a diffuser [Pa] Supply air volume flow per m width of the air movement [l/sm] Supply air volume flow [l/s] Air volume flow [l/s] Vertical air volume flow [l/s] Vertical air volume flow in a plume above a line source [l/sm] Vertical temperature gradient = Dq/Dz [C/m] Face velocity = qs /As [m/s] Horizontal velocity (x-direction) [m/s] Horizontal velocity at the border of the adjacent zone [m/s] Horizontal velocity (y-direction) [m/s] Vertical velocity (z-direction) [m/s]

H H[WUDFW

Dq Dqs Dqz

R] RFFXSDWLRQ]RQH V  P I IORRU

Figure 2.2 Air volume flows - definitions.
VXSSO\

q qe qf qoz qs qsu k r

x y z zmax zo zp zt z*, z**

Length co-ordinate [m] Length co-ordinate [m] Height co-ordinate [m] Maximum height for a plume in a stratified surrounding [m] Height between virtual (point) source and the source [m] Height between virtual (point) source and the chosen reference height [m] Equilibrium height for a plume in a stratified surrounding [m] Nondimensional height for a plume in a stratified surrounding

Temperature difference [C] Under-temperature in the supply air = qoz - qs [C] Temperature difference between centreline and ambient air in a plume [C] Temperature [C] Extract air temperature [C] Air temperature near the floor[C] Mean air temperature in the occupied zone[C] Supply air temperature [C] Surface temperature [C] Dimensionless temperature of the air near the floor Air density = 1,293 kg/m 273/( q + 273C). For normal room temperatures r = 1,20 kg/m (q =21C)

2.3

Different systems are common in different countries. In most metric countries, air volume flows are counted in m/h, and some engineers still have their reference values for heat flows in kcal/h. In this guidebook, the SI system is utilized with the option of l/s for volume flows In the case studies we have given the results for air volume flows in m/h in brackets, as guidance to those having their reference values in the old system.

Units

Greek letters F Heat flow [W, W/m] Ftot Total heat flow = F cf + F r [W, W/m] F cf Convective heat flow [W, W/m] F r Radiative heat flow [W, W/m] a Heat transfer coefficient [W/(m2 K)] acf Convective heat transfer coefficient [W/(m2 K)] ar Radiative heat transfer coefficient [W/(m2 K)] a0 Angular spread of the radial flow from an air diffuser [] b Thermal expansion coefficient of air = 1/ (q + 273C) 1/300 C-1 d Boundary layer thickness [m] ea Air change efficiency, a measure of how quickly the air in the room is replaced ec Contaminant removal effectiveness, a measure of how quickly an airborne contaminant is removed from the room eq Temperature effectiveness eexp Personal exposure index

3 Basic knowledge about displacement ventilation

Summary This chapter presents the basics for calculating the temperature gradient and estimating the contaminant concentration in a displacement ventilated room. Main items in this chapter are: Air flow patterns Temperature distribution Convection flows Contaminant distribution Thermal comfort Conclusions The contaminant concentration is always better in the occupied zone in a displacement-ventilated room than in a room ventilated by mixing ventilation. Theoretically we need a supply air volume flow of 20 l/s per person to keep the occupied zone free from contaminants. However due to the free convection around a person also a smaller supply air volume flow gives a much better air quality in the breathing zone. A supply air volume flow of 10 l/s per person gives e.g. a concentration that is only 20% of the concentration in the ambient at the same level. The vertical temperature distribution has to be given attention. Make sure that a suitable diffuser is utilised in order to avoid cold air along the floor.

Figure 3.1 Schematic illustration of the air flow that might be found in a room ventilated by displacement ventilation

3.1

Principles of Displacement Ventilation

The air-flow pattern in a ventilated room is mainly divided into two different types, mixing (dilution) ventilation and displacement ventilation. In mixing ventilation the air is supplied in such a way that the room air is fully mixed and the contaminant concentration is the same in the whole room. In displacement ventilation, which is the subject of this book, a stratified flow is created using the buoyancy forces in the room. The air quality in the occupied zone is then generally better than with mixing ventilation. The ventilation system supplying the air to the room is not considered in this book, only the air flow within the room.

Displacement ventilation has for many years been used in industrial premises with high thermal loads. Since mid 80s it has also been used in non-industrial premises to a large extent, especially in the Scandinavian countries. In recent years the interest in displacement ventilation has increased all over the world. Displacement ventilation presents the opportunity to improve both the temperature effectiveness and the ventilation effectiveness. The principle is based on air density differences where the room air separates into two layers, an upper polluted zone and a lower clean zone, see Figure 3.1. This is achieved by supplying cool air with a low velocity in the lower zone and extracting the air in the upper zone. Free convection from heat sources creates a vertical air movement in the room. When the convection heat sources in the room are also the contamination sources, the convection flows transport the warm polluted air up to the upper zone. The convection flow rates relative to the ventilation flow rate determine the height of the boundary between the two zones. The sum of the warm convection flow rates to the upper zone minus the downward directed flows from cold surfaces to the lower zone is equal to the ventilation flow rate in the room. An increased ventilation flow rate thus moves the boundary upwards and a decreased flow rate moves the boundary downwards at fixed convection flow rates.

3.2

Air flow pattern

In a displacement ventilated room the air flow pattern is governed by the convection flows from heat sources and sinks present in the room. This means that a distinctive feature of displacement ventilation is the formation of horizontal air layers. The warmest air layers are at the top and the coolest air layers are at the bottom. The air moves easily within a horizontal layer but the transportation between the layers needs a stronger force. See Figure 3.2. This means that the extract should be positioned at the layer in which the pollutants are. In most cases this means that the extract should be at the highest point in the room.

The supply air temperature must be lower than the room air temperature. If the supply air temperature is warmer there will be a short-circuit, see Figure 3.4. However the vertical air flow has a certain amount of entrainment which causes some circulation in the rest of the room, this is sometimes used for heating an empty room before occupational time.

Figure 3.4

Short-circuit of airflow in a room when the supply air temperature is warmer than the room air temperature.

3.3
Figure 3.2 Horizontal air movement.

Temperature distribution

Height above floor [m]

The vertical air movement is caused by convection flows from warm or cold sources. Warm objects such as people, computers, lamps etc. create rising convection flows. Depending on the power and geometry of the heat source the convection flows will rise all the way to the ceiling or settle at a lower height see Figure 3.3.

Since displacement ventilation supplies cold fresh air directly to the occupied zone, a potential draught risk exists at floor level. In addition, the temperature stratification may cause discomfort. See Figure 3.5. The temperature will, however, not vary much in the horizontal direction, except close to the diffuser.
2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0,0 0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1 Floor 1,2 ( - s) /(e - s)
Figure 3.5 Temperature stratification in a displacement ventilated room.

Ceiling

Figure 3.3

Vertical air movement.

3.3.1 Temperature at the floor The temperature of the supply air in the floor area rises due to induction and convection, as radiation from the other warmer surfaces in the room in turn

10

 = (f - s) / (e - s)

heats the floor. A dimensionless temperature of the air near the floor is often presented as
= f - s e - s

1,0 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 0

cf = 5 W/m K cf = 3 W/m K

(3.1)

where: f is the air temperature near the floor s is the supply air temperature e is the exhaust air temperature The total temperature difference gives together with the air volume flow rate the amount of heat removed from the space: qv cp (e - s ) / 1000 = tot (3.2)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ventilation flow rate per m floor area, ] qv / A [l/sm

Dimensionless temperature of the air near the floor as a function of the ventilation flow rate per m2 floor area with different heat transfer coefficients due to convection.

Figure 3.6

where q v is the volume air flow rate [l/s] is the air density = 1,2 kg/m c p is the specific heat of the air = 1004 J/kgC tot is the heat removed from the space [W] Based on a literature review (Mundt, 1990) the following equation can be used to estimate the dimensionless temperature of the air near the floor.
1 qv 10 cp
-3

1
r

1 + cf

) +1

(3.3)

3.3.2 Vertical temperature distribution The vertical temperature distribution in the room depends on the location of the heat sources. When the heat sources are in the lower part of the room the temperature gradient is larger in the lower part and the temperature more constant in the upper part. On the other hand, when the heat sources are located mostly in the upper zone, the temperature gradient is smaller in the lower part and increases in the upper part, see Figure 3.7. For a given arrangement of heat sources, the relative temperature distribution is relatively independent of the heat load.
Heat sources in the upper part of the room Height above floor [m] 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0,0 0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1 Floor 1,2 Temperature ratio ( - s) /(e - s)
Figure 3.7 Temperature gradient in a displacement ventilated room with the heat sources at different levels.

where A is the floor area [m] r is the heat transfer coefficient due to radiation ( 5 W/m K ) cf is the heat transfer coefficient at the floor due to convection ( 4 W/m K ) In Figure 3.6 the dimensionless temperature of the air near the floor is shown as a function of the ventilation flow rate per m2 floor area. The points shown in the figure are from measurements with distributed heat sources presented in eleven different references (Mundt, 1996).

Heat sources in the lower part of the room Ceiling

11

Height above floor

Temperature
Figure 3.8 Roof heated by sun - an example where displacement ventilation is efficient.

The temperature gradient is strongly influenced by the elevation of the heat sources. In rooms where the heat sources are located at a high level, displacement ventilation is efficient for keeping the occupied spaces cool. See Figure 3.8. However, the air temperatures near the floor f and the vertical temperature gradient are not only a function of flow rate and load, they are also a function of the type of heat source in the room. According to Nielsen (1996) and Brohus and Ryberg (1999) the relative air temperature near the floor, (see Eqn. 3.1) varies between 0,3 and 0,65 for different types of heat sources. See Figure 3.9.
Distributed heat sources

A concentrated heat load as e.g. a small furnace in an industrial environment can give a -value of 0,3. Ceiling light will give a vertical temperature gradient with a floor temperature of = 0,5, which is generated by radiation from the light source. When people are the primary heat source, will have a value of 0,58, and evenly distributed heat sources will give a value of 0,65. It is obvious that this variation can be of the same magnitude as the one found at different flow rates. The different temperature gradients are shown in Figure 3.9 where it is assumed that the vertical temperature distribution is a linear function of the height. If many different heat sources are present in the room it is advised to use the 50% rule (Chapter 3.4). 3.3.3 Temperature effectiveness

Ceiling

Height above floor [m]

Sedentary persons Ceiling light Point heat source

As the exhaust temperature is higher than the air temperature in the occupied zone, a temperature effectiveness can be defined
0 0,3 0,5 0,58 0,65 Floor 1

Temperature ratio ( s) /( e s)

e - s oz - s

(3.4)

Figure 3.9

Vertical temperature distribution for different types of heat loads.

where oz is the mean temperature in the occupied zone

12

3.4

Practical assumptions for the temperature distribution

3.5

The Archimedes number

As shown in Figure 3.5 and Figure 3.7, the temperature increases with height, and the temperature profile depends on the location of the heat sources and the flow rate. For most practical purposes, we may assume a temperature profile as shown in Figure 3.10.
Extract air temperature, e 50% Height above floor [m] 50% Ceiling

Several phenomena in a ventilated room, like the vertical temperature gradient, velocity levels in stratification flow, stratification level and ventilation effectiveness can all be described by the Archimedes number. The Archimedes number is simply a ratio between the buoyancy forces and the inertia forces. In its original form it is defined as:
Ar =

g L 2

where: density difference between the colder and the warmer air [kg/m] g acceleration of gravity = 9,81 m/s L a characteristic length [m] density of the air [kg/m] air velocity [m/s] The Archimedes number can be expressed in a number of ways, using temperature differences to express density differences etc. But the basic fact is always the same: Larger numbers means that the buoyancy forces are dominant Smaller numbers means that inertia forces (velocities) are dominant

Floor Air temperature at floor, f Temperature

Supply air temperature, s

Figure 3.10

The 50%-rule for vertical tempera ture distribution.

The 50%-rule for the vertical temperature distribution says that the air temperature at floor level is half-way between the supply air temperature and the extract air temperature. This is a general experience that may be used as a first approximation for most normal rooms and normal air diffusers. Example: If the heat balance and air flow rate in the room yields a temperature increase of e - s = 10C , then the temperature at floor level will become approximately 5C higher than the supply air temperature.

3.6

Convection flows the engines of displacement ventilation

Natural convection flows are the engines of displacement ventilation. A natural convection flow is the air current that rises above warm objects like people or computers, rises along a warm wall, or descends from cold objects like windows or outer walls, due to buoyancy. See Figures 3.11 - 3.13. To understand displacement ventilation, one has to understand the nature of the natural convection flows, and to know the magnitude of these flows. The convection flow rising above a hot object is called a thermal plume, or simply a plume. Empirical, analytical and computational fluid dynamics are the commonly used approaches to evaluate air temperatures, velocities and airflow rates in thermal plumes above different heat sources and convection flows at vertical surfaces.

13

The amount of air in the convection flows increases with height due to entrainment of the surrounding air. The amount of air transported in a natural convection flow depends on the temperature and the geometry of the source and the temperature of the surrounding air. As the driving force in convection flows is the buoyancy force caused by the density difference (i.e. the temperature difference) a temperature gradient in the room influences the plume rise height.
Figure 3.11 Convection flows - the engine of displacement ventilation.

All plumes encountered in practical ventilation are turbulent flows, and follow the similarity laws for fully turbulent flows.
Flow qv

su

su

Hot wall su >

Figure 3.12

Cold wall su <

Flow qv

3.6.1 Point and line sources Thermal plumes above point and line sources (Figure 3.14) have been studied for many years. Among the earliest publications are those from Zeldovich (1937) and Schmidt (1941). Turner (1973) gives a comprehensive record of most of the phenomena encountered in connection with buoyancy effects in fluids. Analytical equations to calculate velocities, temperatures and air flow rates in thermal plumes over point and line heat sources with given heat loads were derived based on the momentum and energy conservation equations and assuming Gaussian velocity and excessive temperature distribution in thermal plume cross-sections (Mundt, 1996). These equations correspond with those received experimentally by other researchers (Mierzwinski, 1981, Popiolek, 1981) and are listed in Table 3.1. The equations in Table 3.1 were derived with the assumption that the heat source size was very small and did not account for the actual source dimensions.

Convection flows at vertical surfaces.

Flow, qv

Point source
z

Line source

Figure 3.14

Plumes from a point source and from a line source.

Figure 3.13 14

Thermal plume above a horizontal source.

The coefficients in the equations differ slightly in different references depending on the entrainment coefficients used. is the convective heat flux in W

Table 3.1

Characteristics of thermal plumes above point and line sources. Point source vz = 0,128 1/3 z 1/3 z = 0,329 2/3 z 5/3 qv,z = 5 1/3 z 5/3 Line source vz = 0,067 1/3 z = 0,094 2/3 z 1 qv,z = 13
1/3

Parameter Centreline velocity, vz [m/s] Centreline excessive temperature, z [oC] Airflow rate, qv,z [l/s for point source, l/sm for line source]

Table 3.2

Characteristics of convection flows along vertical surfaces Laminar region vz = 0,1 z = 0,05 (z/ ) 0,25 qv,z = 2,87 0,25 z0,75 Turbulent region vz = 0,1 z = 0,11 - - 0,1 z 0,7 qv,z = 2,75 0,4 z1,2

Parameter Maximum velocity, vz [m/s] Thickness of boundary layer [m] Airflow rate, qv,z [l/sm width]

or W/m from the heat source and z is the height above the level of the heat source. The convective heat flux can be estimated from the energy consumption of the heat source tot by
= k tot
(3.5)

partly depending on the total air movement in the room. These surfaces are mostly treated as plumes from extended sources see chapter 3.6.3. 3.6.3 Extended sources In reality heat sources are seldom a point, a line or a plane vertical surface. The most common approach to account for the real source dimensions is to use a virtual source from which the airflow rates are calculated (Elterman 1980, Mundt 1992, Skistad 1994), see Figure 3.15. The virtual origin is located along the plume axis at a distance z0 on the other side of the real source surface.
Flow, qv

The value of the coefficient k is 0,7-0,9 for pipes and ducts, 0,4-0,6 for smaller components and 0,3-0,5 for larger machines and components (Nielsen, 1993 B). 3.6.2 Convection flow along vertical and horizontal surfaces Convection flow along vertical surfaces is also of major interest. When the vertical extension of the surface is small the convection flow is mainly laminar and at larger extensions the flow is turbulent. The basic equations for a surface with a constant temperature are given in Table 3.2 (Jaluria, 1980, Etheridge and Sandberg, 1996).

is the temperature difference between the surface and the surrounding air and z is the height from the bottom of the surface. The flow changes from laminar to turbulent at GrPr=7108, which for air and moderate temperature differences means around z = 1m and for air at higher temperatures around z = 0,5m.
Convection flows from horizontal surfaces are very difficult to determine in the same basic way as for point, line or vertical sources. The reason is that the flows behave in a very unstable way and leaves the flat surface from different positions at different times,
a) Point source
Figure 3.15

Virtual source

z0

b) Extended source

Illustration of the position of the virtual sourcesource surface.

15

which gives The adjustment of the point source model to the realistic sources using the virtual source method gives a reasonable estimate of the air flow rate in thermal plumes. The weak part of this method is how to estimate the location of the virtual located point source. The method of a maximum case and a minimum case provides a tool for such estimation. See Figure 3.16 (Skistad 1994). According to the maximum case, the real source is replaced by the point source such that the border of the plume above the point source passes through the top edge of the real source (e.g., cylinder). The minimum case is when the diameter of vena contracta of the plume is about 80% of the upper surface diameter and is located approximately 1/3 diameter above the source. The spreading angle of the plume is set to 25. For the low-temperature sources, Skistad (1994) recommends the maximum case, whereas the minimum case best fits the measurements for larger, high temperature sources. The maximum case gives z0 =2,3D and the minimum case z0 =1,8D with z0 defined in Figure 3.16. For a flat heat source Morton (1956) suggests the position of the virtual source to be located at z0 =1,72,1D below the real source. Mundt (1996) calculates the thickness of the boundary layer (see Table 3.2) at the top of a vertical extended heat source and adds this to the source radii and then calculates the position of the virtual source as z0 = 2,1(D+ 2 ) before using the point source equation. According to Bach et al (1993) the volume flow from the vertical surfaces should be added to the volume flow calculated by the equations for point or line sources. Example Calculate the convection flow rate 0,5 m above a cylinder with height 1 m and diameter 0,4 m. The convective heat flux is 50 W. In the maximum case we get and
z0 = D/(2 tan12,5O) = 2,255 D = 0,9 m z = z0 + h = 0,9 + 0,5 = 1,4 m q,z = 5 1/3z5/3 16

In the minimum case we get and

q,z = 5 501/3 1,45/3 = 32 l/s

z0 = 0,8D / (2 tan 12,5O) = 1,804 D = 0,72 m z = z0 - D/3 + h = 0,72 - 0,3 + 0,5 = 1,09 m q,z = 5 501/3 1,095/3 = 21 l/s

which gives

(the position of the virtual source is in this case (1,804 - 1/3) D = 1,47 D below the upper edge of the source)

d0 z z0

d0 D/3 z0 z

D Minimum case
Figure 3.16

D Maximum case
Convection flow above a vertical cylinder

3.6.4 Plume interaction When a heat source is located close to a wall the plume may be attached to the wall, Figure 3.17. In this case the entrainment will be reduced compared to the entrainment in a free plume. The airflow rate from a heat source can then be calculated as half of the flow from a source with a heat emission of 2 (Nielsen, 1993 B).
q,z = 5 (2 )1/3 z5/3 = 3,2 2
1/3

5/3

(3.6)

If the heat source is located in a corner the airflow rate is equal to 25% of the airflow from a heat source with a heat emission of 4 (Kofoed, 1991):
q,z = 2 1/3 z5/3 (3.7)

from Table 3.1 we use

When several heat sources are positioned close to each other the plumes merge into a single plume, see Figure 3.17. The total flow from N identical sources is then given by, (Nielsen, 1993 B)
q,z,N = N1/3 q,z

slightly decreased compared to the volume flow rates calculated with the equations presented for a non stratified medium, Mundt (1992). Jin, (1993) studied the maximum plume rise height for plumes above welding arcs.

(3.8)
Plume 3 Plume 1

where q v, z is the flow in the plume from one of the sources When the heat sources are more separated the total flow is equal to the sum of the flows from each heat source.

Plume1

Plume 2

Plume2 room

Figure 3.18 Schematic illustration of the air flow pattern in a room ventilated by displacement.

a) Plume attached to a wall

Figure 3.17

b) Interaction between two plumes

In the presence of a temperature gradient, the convective plume reaches the equilibrium height (zt) where the temperature difference between the plume and the ambient air disappears, see Figure 3.19. Also there is another level in the plume, where the air velocity equals to zero. This is referred to as the maximum height of the plume (zmax ).
Point source z* >0 2,8 2,1 zmax 2,95 2,0 Line source z**

Thermal plumes

3.6.5

Plumes and temperature gradients When there is temperature stratification in a room, as in a room ventilated by displacement ventilation, the plumes are influenced by the temperature stratification. The driving force for the plume is the temperature difference between the plume and the surroundings and when this difference diminishes the plumes will disintegrate and spread horizontally in the room, see Figure 3.18. Batchelor (1954) noticed the influence of a temperature gradient in the surroundings and Morton et al (1956) gave a solution for calculating the maximum plume rise from a point source in surroundings with a temperature gradient. The volume flow rates in the plumes in a room with temperature stratification is

s=

d dz

zt

Figure 3.19

Vertical plume in a room with temperature gradients and stratification

17

The plume spreads horizontally between these two heights. The convective flow below z t can be calculated from the following model (Mundt, 1996). Point source The position of the virtual source is calculated. A dimensionless height z* above the virtual source is calculated where: s vertical temperature gradient ( /z) in the room [C/m] cf convective heat from the source [W] As can be seen from Figure 3.19 only z* values less than 2,1 are relevant to further calculations. The volume flow rate at the height z* is then given by
qv = 2,38 cf3/4 s-5/8 (0,004 + 0,039 z* + 0,380 z*2 - 0,062 z*3) (3.10) z* = 2,86 z s3/8 cf-1/4 (3.9)

Line source The position of the virtual source is calculated. A dimensionless height z** above the virtual source is calculated where: s vertical temperature gradient ( /z ) in the room [C/m] cf convective heat from the source [W] As can be seen from Figure 3.19 only z** values less than 2,0 are relevant to further calculations. The volume flow rate at the height z** is then given by
qv,l = 4,82 cf 2/3 s-1/2 (0,004 + 0,477 z** + 0,029 z**2 - 0,018 z**3) (3.14) z** = 5,78 z s1/2 cf-1/3 (3.13)

where qv, 1 is the volume flow rate in l/(s m) The maximum height zmax is given by Equation (3.13) for z**=2,95
zmax = 0,51 cf 1/3 s-1/2 (3.15)

where q v is the volume flow rate in l/s The maximum height zmax is given by Equation (3.9) for z* = 2,8
zmax = 0,98
1/4 -3/8 cf

(3.11)

and the height zt by Equation (3.13) for z**=2,0

zt = 0,35 cf 1/3s-1/2 (3.16)

and the height zt by Equation (3.9) for z* = 2,1

zt = 0,74 cf 1/4 s
-3/8

(3.12)

200 Convection flow rate, qvz [l/s] 100 80 50 30 20 10 1,0

80 Convection flow rate, qvz [l/s]

Equation, Table 3.1

50 30

Personal computer 75W Fluorecent lamp 36W

Vertical temp. gradient: s = 0,3 C/m s = 0,09 C/m

10 5 3 0,3 0,5 1,0 Desk lamp 60 W 1,2 1,4

2,0

3,0

4,0 5,0

Height above floor, z [m]

Figure 3.20 18

Height above object, z [m]

Convection volume flow above a sedentary person and above some objects. From Mundt, 1992/Nielsen, 1993 B.

Height above floor [m]

3.6.6

Convection flows from real objects From the theories above, and practical experiments, Nielsen (1993 B) has summarised the convection flows above some common objects found in non-industrial environments, see Figure 3.20. The line drawn in the figure to the left is calculated by the equation for the
Figure 3.21 Convection flow in plume above a sedentary person in a normal environment.

2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0 s = d/dz = 1,5 C/m qv,z = 20 l/s

Height above floor, z [m]

2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0 0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1,0

Contamination ratio, croom/ce

Figure 3.22 Schematic illustration of the contamination distribution in a room ventilated by displacement ventilation and with warm contaminant sources.

Height above floor, z [m]

2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0 Contamination, croom Temperature, croom

plume2 room plume1

Figure 3.23

Schematic illustration of the contamination distribution in a room ventilated by displacement ventilation, when the contaminant source (the person) is not the warmest source. 19

air flow rate in Table 3.1. The convection flow above a seated person is thus approximately 20 l/s, see Figure 3.21. In order to keep the inhaled air at a lower concentration than the ambient a lower airflow may however be used in calculations, see Chapter 3.8.

The influence of a poorly insulated roof will, in the cold season decrease the concentration gradient, due to the downdraught of cold air, just like with the cold walls. However if the roof is heated by the sun this will help stabilise the displacement ventilation as it heats the air in the upper zone. (See Figure 3.8).

3.7

Contamination distribution 3.8 Ventilation effectiveness

Different definitions of ventilation effectiveness have been introduced. In defining ventilation efficiency, a distinction must be made between two terms: the contaminant removal effectiveness, c, which is a measure of how quickly an airborne contaminant is removed from the room (Brouns and Waters, 1991) and the air change efficiency, a, which is a measure of how quickly the air in the room is replaced (Sutcliffe, 1990). In a displacement ventilated room the air change efficiency is mostly higher (a 60-70 %) than in a room ventilated by mixing ventilation (a 50 %), (Mundt, 1994). A good survey of the relation between the different versions of ventilation effectiveness is given by Nielsen (1993), pp. 17 19. The most relevant versions of ventilation effectiveness for displacement ventilation in non-commercial premises are treated below.

The contamination distribution in a displacementventilated room depends on the position of the contamination sources and if the heat sources are also the contamination sources. In the ideal case with warm sources all contaminants are transported directly into the upper zone by the convection flows, see Figure 3.22. However if the source is too weak, the plume might disintegrate at a lower level and the contaminants will then be trapped at this level, see Figure 3.23, and only slowly transported indirectly by the stronger convection flows to the upper zone.

3.8.1
Figure 3.24 Poor building air tightness and insulation may reduce the benefit of displacement ventilation, and make it more like mixing ventilation.

Contaminant removal effectiveness The contaminant removal effectiveness is defined by

c=
ce - c s cmean - cs (3.17)

The contaminant concentration is of course also influenced by the downward directed convection flows that might occur at the outer walls in cold seasons, especially when the walls are poorly insulated. These downward flows will then transport the contaminants from the upper zone back to the lower zone. However as long as there is a positive concentration gradient in the room, the contaminant concentration in the occupied zone will always be lower than by mixing ventilation.
20

where c e is the contaminant concentration in the exhaust c s is the contaminant concentration in the supply c mean is the mean contaminant concentration in the room or for the occupied zone
c=
ce - cs coz - cs

(3.18)

where c oz is the mean contaminant concentration in the occupied zone

3.8.2 Personal exposure index. The thermal flow around a person, and also the airflow created by the movement of the person, may give a head high contaminant concentration that is different from that measured without any occupants being present.

Figure 3.26

Figure 3.25 Thermal flow around a person may give cleaner breathing air.

Iso-concentration map showing the dispersion pattern of a tracer gas emitted directly above a 4 W heat source in the lower zone. (Stymne et al, 1991)

This can be expressed by the following personal exposure index, Brohus and Nielsen (1996A):
exp =
ce - cs cexp - cs (3.19)

As pointed out above, the ventilation flow rate must not always be set to cover the convection flows above the occupants present in a room. Figure 3.27 shows the improvement in inhaled air quality relative to the air quality in the ambient as a function of the ventilation flow rate per person.

where c exp is the inhaled concentration. It is possible to work with a stratification height that is lower than the height of the breathing zone. The personal exposure index will often be larger than the local ventilation index because clean air is moved from the lower part of the room up to the breathing zone by the free-convection boundary layer around the person, see Figure 3.25 and Figure 3.26. Measurements of the personal exposure index made in situations with air movement in the occupied zone and contaminant sources close to a person can give rise to a very small exposure index, see Brohus and Nielsen (1996 B). Although the personal exposure index shows the ability of improved air quality in the inhaled air displacement ventilation should not be used when the contamination sources are mostly cold.
Figure 3.27 The ratio between the concentration in the breathing zone and in the ambient air at the same height (Etheridge and Sandberg, 1996) 21

With a ventilation flow rate of 20 l/(s,person) the boundary is above the person. A ventilation flow rate of 10 l/(s,person) gives however a concentration which is only 20% of the concentration in the ambient at the same level. Measurements by Mundt (1994) also showed the rapid almost instantaneous recreation of the thermal flow around a person when the person moves from one place to another in a room. Particle transportation in a displacement-ventilated room was studied by Mundt (2000), the results indicate that there seem to be little risk of re-suspension of particles from the floor into the supply airflow. The sizes studied were however only particles larger than 0,5 m and more research is needed for smaller particles.

3.9

Thermal comfort

One of the limiting factors for the thermal comfort in displacement ventilation is the air velocity at floor level. There is a zone close to the air supply where the air velocity is greater than that recommended, 0,15 m/ s in winter time and 0,25 m/s in summer time (ISO 7730). The extent of this zone, which depends on the air supply device, should be documented in the manufacturer 's catalogue . The other limiting factor is the temperature gradient, which should be less then 3 C/m between 0,1 m and 1,1 m above the floor (ISO 7730). In some countries the limit is set to 2C/m.

22

4 Air diffusers
4.1 Summary

Air supply without draught is as crucial in displacement ventilation, as it is in mixing ventilation. Most draught problems reported from practical experience are due to the incorrect choice of diffuser. The following items should be noted: A diffuser consisting of simple perforated sheets or grilles is very vulnerable to draught along the floor. Diffusers for different purposes have different aerodynamic characteristics. Supply of air with large under-temperatures requires special diffusers. The message of this chapter is: Always choose a suitable diffuser to achieve the required performance, and only use diffusers from manufacturers who supply reliable documentation with their products.

When the flow is isothermal, i.e. flows where the supply air has the same temperature as the surrounding air in the room, the flow will be distributed horizontally into the room according to the initial flow pattern at the surface of the diffuser, see Figure 4.2.

4.2

In displacement ventilation, air is supplied with low velocity. The air falls towards the floor when it leaves the diffuser if the air is colder than the surroundings. Due to gravity the air moves along the floor in a stratified flow with a relatively constant depth. A typical depth is about 20 cm. The maximum velocity in the stratified flow is about 10% of this depth above the floor, i.e. approximately 2 cm, see Figure 4.1.
]

Airflow from a low-velocity diffuser

Figure 4.2

Isothermal air supply.

If the supply temperature is higher than the surrounding temperature, the flow will rise evenly in the occupied zone, without spreading. This situation is shown in Figure 4.3, and it can be concluded that displacement ventilation can only be used effectively when the supply air is cooler than the room air. The flow indicated in Figure 4.3 may be accepted in special cases when the air distribution system is used for pre-heating only during periods when the rooms are unoccupied.

Typical depth 20 cm

~ 2 - 5 cm
Y[ Y ]

Figure 4.1

Velocity distribution in front of a diffuser, when the supply air is colder than the room air.

Figure 4.3

Supply of warm air. 23

4.3

When the air from a wall-mounted diffuser flows directly into the room, this may give rise to draught along the floor in the occupied zone. This draught zone is called the adjacent zone. This may be corrected by restricting the flow rate to a level where the length of the adjacent zone, ln, only has a short penetration into the occupied zone. (The length ln, is defined as the distance from the diffuser to a point where the maximum velocity has decreased to a certain value, usually 0.2 m/s.) Avoiding draught is the major challenge in developing low velocity air diffusers. Generally, it is necessary to provide a certain mixing between the room air and the primary air, to avoid any draught along the floor. One way to reduce the draught in the occupied zone is to direct the supply air parallel to the end wall outside the occupied zone. Figure 4.4 shows two typical cases with forward discharge and sideways discharge.
D Forwards discharge

The Adjacent Zone

4.4

The flow in the occupied zone is illustrated in Figure 4.5. This shows how the cold stratified layer of supply air flows into the occupied zone as a radial air movement that covers the whole floor in the room.

Air distribution from a wall-mounted diffuser

Figure 4.5

The cold supply air flows radially into the occupied zone.

E Sideways discharge

1.5 1.0 Diffuser 0.5

Dist. from centre line of diffuser, \ [m] Adjacent zone 0.20 m/s Diffuser 0.15 m/s

1.5 1.0 0.5

Dist. from centre line of diffuser, \ [m] Adjacent zone 0.20 m/s 0.15 m/s

- 0.5 - 1.0 - 1.5 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 Dist from diffuser front, [ [m]

- 0.5 - 1.0 - 1.5 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 Dist from diffuser front, [ [m]

Figure 4.4

Adjacent zones for wall-mounted diffusers. Diffuser data: Height: H = 0,9 m, Width: B = 0,6 m. Supply air flow: qs = 40 l/s. Under-temperature: Dqs = 6C.

24

Measurements of this air movement show that the entrainment in the horizontal flow is very small and it also demonstrates that the depth of the flow is constant in a given situation. The depth of the stratified layer is a function of the Archimedes number
Ar = b g h (qoz - qs) v
2 s

obtained at a distance of 0,6 m from the diffuser. The Preface measurements indicate that the velocity v x is proportional to 1/x for distances larger than ~1 m from the diffuser. From the above assumption it is possible to find the maximum velocity vx at any distance from the diffuser when the distance ln, is known from measurements. The maximum velocity is given by
vx = 0,2 ln x [m/s]

(4.1)

or of the ratio
(qoz - qs) q2s

(4.2)

(4.3)

where b volume expansion coefficient = 1/Toz g acceleration of gravity = 9,81 m/s q oz q s under-temperature, i.e. difference between the temperature at a height of 1.1m inside the room and the supply temperature vs face velocity = qs / As qs supply air flow rate As face area of the diffuser (height H times width B). A radial stratified flow with constant depth will have a velocity distribution that is inversely proportional to the distance from the diffuser or from a point (virtual origin) very close to the diffuser. Measurements of the flow from diffusers confirm the theory of this behaviour, see Nielsen (1992) and (2000). Figure 4.6 shows measurements of maximum velocity in the stratified flow along the floor from a wall-mounted diffuser. The cold air has a high initial acceleration due to the buoyancy effect, and the highest velocity is
Y[[m/s]
0,60 0,50 0,40 0,20 0,10 0,08 0,06 0,04 0,2 0,4 0,6 1,0 2,0 4,0 6,0 [ [m]

where x is the distance from the diffuser. The length, ln of the adjacent zone is a function of the flow rate qs , under-temperature Dqs and the type of diffuser. The velocity vx will e.g. be equal to 0,075 m/ s at a distance of 4 m if the length ln is 1,5 m. The maximum velocity will be located 2 to 5 cm above the floor when the temperature difference is large, but it will have a higher location if the temperature difference is small. It is assumed in equation (4.3) that ln, has such a level that the velocity is inversely proportional to the distance for x larger than ln (this condition is fulfilled for the measurements in Figure 4.6). It is also possible to find the velocity distribution in the occupied zone as a function of the volume flow rate and the temperature difference. The maximum velocity is given by
vx = 10-3 qs KDr 1 x [m/s]

(4.4)

where KDr is a function of the flow rate and the undertemperature (function of Archimedes number). The equation is valid for x 1 - 1,5 m. The length of the adjacent zone, ln , can be found from equation (4.4):
ln = 0,005 qs KDr [m] (4.5)

Figure 4.6

Maximum velocity close to the floor versus distance x from the diffuser. qs = 28 l/s.

KDr has to be measured for each individual diffuser. Figure 4.7 shows the variation of KDr for different types of diffusers. The figure indicates that the first generation of diffusers - located in the upper part of the shaded area had a radial distribution of the flow and a high level of the KDr value. Some diffusers had a forward discharge of the flow at a low Archimedes number, which in this situation will give a further
25

increase in KDr , but the gravity effect turns the flow into a radial pattern at higher Archimedes numbers. The newest generation of diffusers has a distribution with high velocity parallel to the wall and a lower velocity perpendicular to the wall (sideways discharge). This will give the low KDr values shown in the lower part of Figure 4.7.

.'U [m -1 ] 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
R]  V 10 TV
Figure 4.7

where e factor that represents the initial increase in the flow rate, which is due to entrainment in the downward accelerating flow close to the opening, bm factor that adjusts the flow in the direction of the x-axis to the flow profile generated by the diffuser, see Nielsen (1994 A), a0 the angular width of the radial flow close to the diffuser d the depth of the stratified flow defined as the height from the floor to the level where the velocity is vx/2. The variables are indicated in Figure 4.8. Both e and bm are functions of the Archimedes number.
TV

HTV EP !

R
[R

Y[

s [C m ]
6

Figure 4.8

KDr-values for different types of wall-mounted diffusers for displacement ventilation. (Note that qp is in l/s).

The diffuser in this case has a forward discharge, bm > 1, and a0 is smaller than p. The distance x0 can be ignored in many practical cases.

The upper part of the shaded area in the figure is therefore typical of diffusers with radial/axial distribution of velocity and the lower part is typical of a flat velocity distribution. Figure 4.7 indicates that KDr is a function of the square root of the Archimedes number (qozqs)/qs2. The maximum velocity vx will therefore be a linear function of the square root of the Archimedes number and a linear function of the flow rate, see equation (4.4). The KDr value is expressed by the following equation, see Nielsen (2000)
KDr = 0,9 e bm a0 d

An all-round conventional diffuser has a KDr value of ~ 7 corresponding to d~0,1m, ao=p and b m ~ 1. Many of the early diffusers had a radial distribution of the flow with a relatively high level in the symmetry plane as e.g. a bm value of 1,5. This will give a K Dr value of 11, which is in good agreement with the values given in Figure 4.7. A further increase in the velocity level will be obtained by a design where ao is smaller than p, which also is typical of an early diffuser design. A design with sideways discharge, see Figure 4.4, can for example be expressed by a bm value of ~ 0,85, which gives a K Dr value of ~ 6, which is typical of the latest generation of diffusers.

(4.6)

26

Example: Calculation of the adjacent zone for a wall-mounted diffuser In practice, the crucial question is: How long will the adjacent zone be for a given supply airflow rate? The following example shows the calculation of the adjacent zone for a wall-mounted diffuser with adjustable nozzles behind the front cover, see Figure 4.9.

The obtained length of the adjacent zone may be too long for some applications. It is possible to adjust the nozzles in the diffuser to obtain a flow with more sideways discharge. This adjustment will reduce the KDr-values to a lower level, and decrease the length of the adjacent zone.

4.5

Air distribution from a row of wall-mounted diffusers

% = 0,54 m + = 0,45 m
Y[

O

Figure 4.10 Figure 4.9 The wall-mounted diffuser of the example. H = 0.45 m, B = 0,54 m.

A row of wall-mounted diffusers.

The KDr-value for the diffuser with a given adjustment of the nozzles is given by:
KDr = 0,1185 qoz - qs q2s 103 + 7,7488 [m-1]

The flow from a number of diffusers placed close to each other on the wall will merge into a plane, stratified flow. See Figure 4.10. The velocity does not decrease with the distance from the diffusers in this area, and can be expressed by the following equation:
vx = 10-3 qs,l KDp (4.8)

(4.7)

The K Dr -value is evaluated from laboratory measurements, and given by the diffuser manufacturer. From equation (4.7) and (4.5) we can calculate the values of the following table:
Table 4.1 Length of adjacent zone for q oz - q s = 3oC qs [l/s] 20 30 40 60 KDr [m-1] 8,63 8,14 7,97 7,85 ln [m] 0,86 1,22 1,59 2,35

See Nielsen (1994 B). The flow rate qs,l should in this case be given as flow rate per m width of the main air movement. The KDp value is a function of the flow rate and temperature difference (Archimedes number) and it is dependent on the type of diffuser and on the installation of the diffusers (distance between diffusers). The equation shows that the velocity is independent of the axial distance x, see Nickel (1990), but it must be assumed that the Archimedes number has to have a certain level. The same type of plane flow will also be generated in a narrow and deep room with a single diffuser located at the end wall.

27

4.6

A floor-mounted diffuser supplies air vertically from the floor with a swirl. In this way, room air is entrained efficiently into the primary air, which implies that the velocity decreases very rapidly. Also, the temperature is evened out very rapidly. See Figure 4.11.

Air distribution from a floor-mounted diffuser

and they are often used in rooms with high thermal loads. The supply area is small and the supply velocity should have a sufficient momentum flux in vertical direction (2 ~ 4 m/s). When using floor-mounted diffuser, one should be careful to apply the right air volume flow. Too much air might throw the air up into the upper layer, so that mixing ventilation is created. On the other hand, too little air will create too low momentum and insufficient mixing with the room air, which creates a cold air layer along the floor. The velocity decay for a floor-mounted diffuser with swirl can be described by the same equation as for a free, circular jet:
vz v0 = Ka 2 A0 z

(4.9)

Figure 4.11

A floor-mounted diffuser should have the right vertical momentum.

where vz the maximum velocity at the distance z above the floor v0 supply velocity for floor mounted diffusers = qs /A0 Ao the supply area of the diffuser. The velocity decay for two different floor-mounted diffusers are shown in Figure 4.12. It can be seen that the velocity decays much more rapidly for a jet with swirl than for a jet without swirl. The Ka-value for the free jet (without swirl) is 6,8, and the Ka-value for the jet with swirl is 0,42. See Nielsen et al. (1988). This expresses how the swirl will generate a high entrainment and very fast velocity decay. The diffuser is often used in a group of four within an area of 0,6 m x 0,6 m. The velocity level will in this case be higher than the velocity level from a single diffuser but both arrangements will have the same velocity level at a height of 0,8 m.

An advantage of floor-mounted diffusers is the large entrainment of room air into the supply air. This makes them well suited for large under-temperatures,
Y] YR
1,0 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,10 0,08 0,06 0,04 0,03 0,02 0,01 1

4.7

)UHHMHW -HWZLWKVZLUO
2 4 6 10 20 40 \DR

There is a wide variety of air diffusers. In many cases, the units are tailor-made to the room. However, it is recommend that units with known performance data be utilised. Typical examples of units that are supplied from several manufacturers are shown below:

Commonly used diffusers

Figure 4.12 28

Velocity decay vz / v0 in a free jet and in a jet with swirl versus the height z above the floor.

1) Plane, integrated wall-units

[m]
Q

Plane, integrated wall-mounted units Y[= 0,2 m/s, ] = 0,05 m above floor 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 50 0,6 m x 1,2 m 100 150 200 250 Supply air flow, TV [l/s] -3C under-temperature 0,6 m x 0,6 m

Figure 4.14

Adjacent zone length,

Adjacent zone lengths for some plane, integrated wall units.

2) Semi-circular wall-units

'
+ %
Figure 4.13 Plane diffuser, integrated in wall.

These units are integrated in a wall, as shown in Figure 4.13. Typical data are: width (B):normally 0,6 m height (H): from 0,2 1,2 m supply flow rates for normal operations: up to 70 l/s maximum under-temperature: from -4C to 10C. (Depending on type!) Typical lengths of the adjacent zones for an undertemperature of 3C are shown in Figure 4.14. This is for relatively simple units. The zones vary with under-temperature and with the various makes.

+ : %

Figure 4.15

Semi-circular wall-unit.

These units are placed against the wall, and spreads the air radially from the centre. Typical data for these units are: diameters (B in Figure 4.15): from 0,2 m to 1 m heights (H in Figure 4.15): from 0,6 m to 1,8 m supply flow rates for normal operations: up to 300 l/s (1000 m/h) commonly used under-temperatures: up to -3C
29

[m]

Semicircular, wall-mounted units Y[ = 0,2 m/s, ] = 0,05 m above floor 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 Supply air flow, TV [l/s]

4)

Corner-mounted units

Adjacent zone length,

+ = 1,2 - 1,5m + = 0,6 m + = 1,2 m

3C under-temperature

Figure 4.16

Adjacent zone lengths for some semicircular units. Under-temperature = 3C.

Figure 4.18

Corner-mounted diffuser.

Typical lengths of the adjacent zone can be seen from Figure 4.16. Note: These data depends on the product, and differs from one manufacturer to another. 3) Circular, free-standing units Another freqiently used variant, is the circular freestanding unit. The supply duct can be either from below (as shown) or from above.

5) Floor mounted units These floor-mounted units spread the air in a vertical swirl. Typical data for these units are: diameters: from 0,1 m to 0,2 m supply flow rates for normal operations: up to 50 l/s (180 m/h) commonly used under-temperatures: 3 - 6 OC

Figure 4.17

Circular, free-standing unit. Figure 4.19 Floor mounted air diffuser.

30

4.8

Documentation for diffusers

4.8.1 Required data The documentation for low velocity diffusers is similar to that of other air supply devices, but instead of the throw we need to know the adjacent zone and temperatures in the airflow in front of the diffuser. For the whole range of air volume flow (qs) and for under-temperatures (Dqs) of 3C and 6C. the following data should be given: Length of the adjacent zone, ln Width of the adjacent zone, bn Air temperature 2 cm above the floor at the adjacent zone boundary, Pressure drop across the diffuser, Dptot Sound effect level generation Sound level attenuation

It must be stated: What velocity (vx,max ) has been used to define the border of the adjacent zone At what height above the floor is the velocity vx,max measured For some years, it has been usual to state the velocity v x,max 10 cm above the floor. Now, several manufacturers state vx,max 5 cm above the floor. Recent knowledge shows that the maximum velocity occurs about 2 cm above the floor. For future documentation it is recommended to measure vx,max 2 cm above the floor. 4.8.2 Documentation of the adjacent zone by tables or curves This can be documented as curves or tables as a function of the air volume flow, qs and the undertemperature, Dqs. Figure 4.20 shows an example of documentation by tables. Another alternative is documentaion by graphs, like in Figures 4.14 and 4.16.

1. Dim 100 m/h 115 120 151 155 200 210 260 360 470 580 500 650 720 1008 1115 1370 1620 1080 1260

TS
l/s 32 33 42 43 56 58 72 100 131 161 139 181 200 280 310 381 450 300 350

O

E

125 160 200 150

315 400

0,2 m/s

= R] V 3C O Q E  0,49 0,49 20 0,54 0,54 21 0,59 0,59 22 0,57 0,57 21 0,62 0,62 21 1,01 1,11 21 1,11 1,21 21 0,95 0,95 20 1,35 1,35 20 1,55 1,55 21 1,40 1,40 21 1,60 1,70 21 2,10 2,00 22 1,68 1,68 21 2,23 2,28 22 2,58 2,68 22 2,98 2,98 22 2,10 1,80 22 2,70 2,00 20

= R] V 6C O  E  0,65 0,65 19 0,70 0,70 19 0,85 0,90 20 0,85 0,80 19 0,90 0,85 19 1,15 1,13 20 0,13 1,22 20 1,17 1,10 19 1,45 1,30 20 1,80 1,70 20 1,75 1,65 20 2,00 1,95 21 2,60 2,40 21 2,00 1,90 20 2,80 2,60 20 3,10 2,90 21 3,40 3,00 21 2,50 2,00 20 2,90 2,30 19

Y[
Figure 4.20

The table gives data measured 5 cm above the floor. (We recommend measuring data 2 cm above the floor)

Documentation of the adjacent zone by table - Example.

31

4.8.3

Documentation of the adjacent zone by diffuser constants A documentation that is suitable for use by computers would be to have the diffuser constants given as a function of the under-temperature and the supply air volume flow:
KDr = f {(qoz - qs), qs} (4.10)

The length of the adjacent zone could then be calculated according to the formula:
ln = 0,005 qs KDr [m] (4.11)

Instability in the discharge flow The instability of the air supply from perforated ceilings has been known for many years. The cause of the problem is due to the suction created between the small air jets from each of the holes in the perforated sheet. See Figure 4.23. This phenomenon must also be tackled in connection with diffusers for low-velocity air supply. There are several ways to handle this problem, but the conclusion is simple. A perforated sheet is not adequate for a diffuser front panel when the panel exceeds a certain size.

4.9

The most common fault in diffuser design is the simple box with a perforated sheet at the front. Two defects are common with this type of diffuser: Skew discharge When air enters the diffuser at high velocity, it frequently leaves the diffuser parallel to the front, as shown in Figure 4.22.

Common defects in diffuser design

)ORZ SDWWHUQ VHHQ IURP DERYH

Figure 4.23 The small air jets from a perforated sheet create suction between them, and unstable outflow.

Figure 4.22

Skew discharge through simple perforated sheets.

32

5 Design procedures
5.1 Summary
b) Strategy The room air conditioning strategy is a fundamental scheme that describes the targeted temperature, humidity and contaminant distributions as well as air flow patterns within the air-conditioned room. The room air conditioning system consists of different methods and their controls that all together create the system performance. The system performance is evaluated by comparing the achieved conditions to the chosen strategy. Both the methods (room air distribution, exhaust, room heating and cooling, etc.) and processes and disturbances inside the room influence the resulting conditions. c) System The room air distribution method is often considered as a principal parameter to apply a certain room air conditioning strategy and heating and cooling as assisting methods. However, it must be noted that in some cases a strategy can be fulfilled also without any mechanical air distribution installations using buoyancy forces. The classification of ideal room air conditioning strategies is summarized in Figure 5.2

The design of a ventilation system should always follow a systematic procedure as follows: First, choose a suitable ventilation principle. (Displacement ventilation is not always the best for all purposes!) If displacement ventilation is chosen, calculate the required ventilation airflow rate with regard to air quality and temperature conditions. Select suitable diffusers with regard to vertical temperature distribution and adjacent zones.

5.2

Strategic design of the room air conditioning process

a) Target levels The aim of the room air conditioning is to maintain desired conditions, i.e. target levels, in the room during different operating conditions in the most economical way (energy usage, cost efficiency). Depending on the design criteria the designer has different strategies to choose from in order to achieve specified targets. The room air conditioning design and evaluation process is illustrated in Figure 5.1.

TARGET TARGET OF OF THE THE INDOOR INDOOR AIR AIR CONDITIONS CONDITIONS ROOM ROOM INDOOR INDOOR // OUTDOOR OUTDOOR LOADS LOADS DISTURBANCES DISTURBANCES

a) a)

Temperature C] Temperature [ [ C] Humidity Humidity [%RH] [%RH] Air Air quality quality [ppm] [ppm] Investment Investment cost cost [ [ ] ] Running Running Cost Cost [ [ ] ]

ROOM ROOM AIR AIR CONDITIONING CONDITIONING STRATEGY STRATEGY

b)

oC

oC

AIR AIR CONDITIONING CONDITIONING SYSTEM SYSTEM PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE VALUATION VALUATION AIR AIR CONDITIONING CONDITIONING SYSTEM SYSTEM & & CONTROL CONTROL

c) c)

Figure 5.1

The Room Air conditioning and Evaluation Process. (Hagstrm 2000) 33

Strategy

PISTON

STRATIFICATIONDISPLACEMENT

ZONING

MIXING

Description

Unidirectional flow through the room

Utilise density differences

Air flow from clean zones to contaminated zones Room dimension

Uniform conditions in all parts of the room Room dimension

Air quality;

Room dimension

Room dimension

temp, humidity RF contaminants, c

s
s = supply e = exhaust

s
, RF, c , RF, c
Flow pattern controlled by buoyancy

s
, RF, c
Flow pattern controlled partly by buoyancy and partly by supply air momentum

s
, RF, c
Flow pattern controlled by high momentum supply air

Main characteristics

Flow pattern controlled by low momentum supply air, strong enough to overcome disturbances

Ventilation effectiveness

e - s -s
oz

c =

ce - cs coz - cs

Figure 5.2

The summary of the ideal room air conditioning strategies.(Hagstrm 2000)

5.3

Displacement ventilation and room air conditioning strategies

Displacement is an efficient air distribution method when: the aim is air quality in rooms where the contaminants are warm, large heat surpluses are required be removed by large quantities of air (more than about 60 - 70 W/m2 or more than around 10 l/sm2 (36 m3/hm2)). The design criteria for these cases differ and they are discussed later in this chapter.
34

It is necessary to emphasize the difference between the room air conditioning system and the air distribution method. Choosing displacement ventilation as an air distribution method does not by itself result in a stratification strategy, if the whole room air conditioning system is not designed for that purpose. As an example overheated supply air through displacement units results in close to mixed conditions (Halton Oy, (2000)). Thus, it is possible to use displacement ventilation for example pre-heating of the space in the morning. However, due to the shortcircuiting effect, constant heating of a room by hot ventilation air should not be used in connection with displacement ventilation.

Cooled ceiling

Height above floor, z [m]

2,50 Height above floor level, z [m]

2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0

Supply air temperature, C p = 17.8

Rule-of-thumb curve

9AM

10AM

12AM

1 PM

= 0,6
2,00

= 0

= 0,5
1,50 1,00 0,50 0,00 0,8

= 0,4

= ratio of the cooled ceiling cooling output to the total cooling output (Tan 1998)

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

1,0

1,2

1,4

Temperature, [ C]

Relative air temperature (relative to temp. at 0,1 m above the floor)

Figure 5.4

Figure 5.3

Vertical air temperature distribution in a room with cooled ceiling. Temperatures relative to temp. 0,1 metre above the floor. Tan (1998)

Temperature profiles measured at various times during a meeting in a room with constant supply air temperature. (Skistad 1994).

Another example is a system consisting of displacement ventilation air supply and cooled ceilings. Low velocity air supply and cooled ceiling systems behave like mixing systems when the cooled ceiling provides a substantial part of the cooling. See Figure 5.3 (Tan (1998) et al.)

5.4

Factors influencing the thermal stratification and the design methods

The first displacement ventilation design methods applicable for manual calculations are based on the empirical coefficients, in which the influence of the thermal radiation exchange between upper and lower part of the room is built in. Such methods are presented as an example by Halton (2000) and Skistad (1994). The value of these methods is their ease of use and also the accuracy of the estimation which in many cases is still reasonable. More detailed methods allowing computational treatment of radiation exchange and situations beyond the traditional cases have been presented by Livtchak (2001) and Mundt (1996). However, these methods are iterative and too complex to be used manually, and need to be coded into software. It is also possible to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to simulate large, complex spaces. However, one needs to pay special attention to description of radiation exchange and the right interpretation of boundary conditions in heat and contaminant sources and also in supply air units.

While the contaminant stratification level is mainly affected by the relation of supply airflow rate and convective airflow rate, thermal stratification is also affected by thermal radiation exchange between different room zones. The thermal radiation from upper zone warms up the air temperature at floor level. From this fact, it follows that if the supply air flow rate in the room is decreased => the temperature stratification and ceiling temperature will increase => the thermal radiation from upper zone to lower zone will also increase and thus increase the air temperature at the floor level => the temperature stratification will then be decreased. This process has been presented by Mundt (1996) in her doctoral thesis. When the vertical temperature gradient has reached its maximum, the temperature in the whole room will start to rise. This is demonstrated in Figure 5.4.

35

5.5
5.5.1

Displacement Ventilation Design Procedure

Air quality: Design criteria for contaminant stratification The design criterion for the air quality based design is that the supply airflow rate is equal to the sum of convective flows at the stratification height (shift zone). Moreover, it should be ensured that any contaminants that are carried upwards by the convection do not re-circulate into the occupied zone. Once the required supply airflow rate is defined it is necessary to check that both the contaminant concentration and the thermal conditions requirements are satisfied within the occupied zone. It must be noted that the vertical stratification of the contaminants occurs only when the contaminant source is inside the warm convective current or the contaminant is lighter than air. If the heat and contaminant sources are separate there is a risk that contaminants are not carried out from the occupied zone. 5.5.2 Temperatures: Design criteria for thermal comfort The design criteria for temperature-based design are the removal of excess heat from the occupied zone and thermal comfort. Thus, the supply airflow rate is not chosen based on the convective flows but on: occupied zone temperature requirement (Minimum temperature at floor level and maximum temperature at the edge of the occupied zone) maximum vertical temperature gradient within the room.

5.5.3 Design Procedure flow chart The displacement ventilation design procedure taking into account both contaminant and temperature stratification is presented as a flow chart in Figure 5.5. The application of the design procedure is demonstrated with practical examples in chapter 8. The following notes apply to the chart: S1: Typically stratification layer is selected slightly above the breathing zone. S2: Take into account both ascending and descending air currents. S5: According to (Nielsen 1993) the lower (occupied) zone concentration is 0.1-0,3 times the exhaust air concentration. Using a conservative estimate of 0,3 it can be checked whether the occupied zone concentration is below acceptable level. If the occupied zone concentration is higher than required, then increase the supply airflow rate accordingly. T1: -Occupied zone temperature requirement (qmin at floor level and qmax at the edge of the occupied zone) -Maximum temperature gradient T3: Use the comfort criteria: a) The vertical stratification is calculated by multiplying the maximum temperature gradient with the room height. b) Estimate the air temperature at the floor level using 50% rule. T5: Use equation 3.2 T6: This can be done for example using dimensionless temperature method that was introduced in chapter 3.3.
Figure 5.5 Procedure. Displacement Ventilation Design

36

Air Quality S1
Select stratification height

Temperature T1 T2
Select thermal comfort criteria Calculate the heat surplus to be removed by the ventilating air

S2Determine the convective flow rates

through the stratification height Choose supply air flow rate, qp = sum of convective flows

S3

T3

S4Calculate the exhaust contaminant

concentration, ce

Calculate the maximum temperature increase from supply to exhaust air, e - p Calculate the supply air temperature, p Calculate the supply air volume flow rate, qp

S5 Evaluate the concentration in the

occupied zone, coz

T4 T5 T6

Re-evaluate the air temperature increase at floor level, f

R1 Check that the air flow rate is sufficient according to codes and
standards.

R2 R3 R4

Choose the air volume flow qp with regard to temperatures, air quality and regulations. Re-calculate the vertical temperature distribution in the room, and estimate the pollutant stratification height. Select diffusers and ensure that the adjacent zones are acceptable.

Result

37

38

6 Energy aspects
6.1 Summary

Generally, the energy consumption of displacement ventilation does not differ very much from mixing ventilation. However, there are some differences: For a given air quality, there are indications that displacement ventilation needs less air (contradictory to earlier assumptions that displacement ventilation needed more air). Displacement ventilation has more potential for free cooling, and needs less cooling energy than mixing ventilation. This is most pronounced in high rooms. Diffusers for displacement ventilation need less pressure drop than diffusers for mixing ventilation, and thus less fan power.

6 - 8 l/s

10 l/s

Figure 6.1

For a given air quality, ventilation rates are lower with displacement ventilation.

6.2

Due to the convection currents around a person, fresh air from lower levels of the room is brought up to the breathing zone. This effect has been shown in laboratories (Etheridge and Sanberg, 1996). See Figure 3.25. This means that for a given air quality, the required air flow rate is lower with displacement ventilation than with mixing ventilation. Example When using displacement ventilation with an air flow rate as low as 5 l/s per person, Etherige and Sandberg (1996) have found that the contaminant exposure to a seated person is between 40% and 50% of the exposure experienced in mixing ventilation with the same air flow rate. For example, mixing ventilation would require an air flow rate of more than 10 l/s to yield the same air quality for a seated person. Taking into account that these are idealised laboratory measurements, one should be careful concluding that this result is generally applicable in practice. However, it is reasonable to assume that air flow rates can be lowered by about 30% compared to mixing ventilation.

Lower air flow rates for the same air quality

Caution: The air quality benefit due to the convection around a seated person has only been demonstrated in laboratory tests. There is no published documentation for real life cases, and for rooms where people are moving. Thus: Be careful about reducing the air flow volume until more research has been done in this field!

6.3

In displacement ventilation, the air temperature is lower at floor level than at ceiling height. This means that for a given temperature in the in the occupied space, the extract air temperature, and thus the supply air temperature, is higher for displacement ventilation than for mixing ventilation. See Figure 6.2. In the case of a normal ceiling height of 2,5 metres, this difference is usually around 1 - 2C when the temperature difference between extract and supply air is 8 10C. For high rooms, like convention rooms and auditoria, this difference is higher. In such cases, the supply air temperature can be kept 2C 4C higher with displacement ventilation than with mixing ventilation, yielding the same temperature in the occupied zone.

Reduced need for mechanical cooling

39

Supply air temperature V=14C

Extract air temperature H= 23C

Mixing ventilation

Supply air temperature V=14C

Extract air temperature H = 23C

Mixing ventilation

9C 2,5C 9C 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 [C]

Average temperature in the occupied space R] = 23C

9C 4,5C 10C 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 [C]

Average temperature in the occupied space R] = 23C

Supply air temperature V=16,5C

Extract air temperature H= 25,5C

Displacement ventilation

Supply air temperature V =18,5C

Extract air Displacement temperature ventilation H= 28,5C

Figure 6.2

Displacement ventilation is most energy effective in high rooms.

6.4

This means that: In temperate climates, free cooling can be used for a greater part of the year with displacement ventilation than with mixing ventilation (i.e. mechanical cooling units will have lower annual operating hours). In hot and humid climates less cooling of the supply air will be needed, which implies less energy consumption for cooling and dehumidifying the supply air. The higher supply temperature also implies a better COP (coefficient of performance) for the refrigeration machine.

Normally, a low velocity diffuser has a very low pressure drop. This assists the design of ventilation systems with lower total pressure drops, and thus with less energy being used for running fans. However, in many cases, dampers with considerable pressure drops are installed to balance the air volume flows in the ductwork. In such cases, the possible system efficiency gains are not utilised.

Lower pressure drop across the diffuser

40

7 Automation and control

7.1 Summary
a floor-mounted diffuser with good swirl, is less sensitive to oscillating supply air temperatures). Generally, one should be careful when applying direct-expansion air-cooling units in displacement ventilation systems, because such units cause stepwise changes in the supply air temperature.

Control of displacement ventilation does not differ much from the control of mixing ventilation. The main difference is the location of the sensors for air quality and air temperature. Be careful if direct expansion cooling units are used! Sudden temperature decreases may cause draught problems.

7.4

7.2

Displacement ventilation is well suited for variable volume flow systems. When the air volume flow through a low velocity diffuser is reduced, the adjacent zone is also reduced.

Variable air volume systems

In rooms with normal ceiling heights, the recommended location for both the temperature and air quality sensors is in the occupied space, between 1 meter and 1,5 metres above the floor. In high rooms, like auditoria, where people are located at different heights, it is recommended that the air quality sensor be located at the top of the occupied

Location of temperature and air quality sensors

Reduced air volume flow = Reduced adjacent zone

Figure 7.1

Low velocity diffusers are well suited for variable air volume flow (VAV).

Temperature sensor Air quality sensor

7.3

In practice, supply air temperature has often been kept constant, with good results. Changing heat loads affect displacement systems less than mixing systems. In any case, the supply air temperature is varied less than for mixing systems. Caution: The supply air temperature should not vary too much, to avoid creating draughts along the floor. (This depends of course on the performance of the diffuser. A diffuser designed for large under-temperatures, or

Temperature control

Occupied zone

Figure 7.2

Location of temperature and air quality sensors.

41

zone. Locating the air quality sensor in the zone most prone to inferior air quality allows the air flow to be varied to maintain the required air quality standards. Temperature sensors should be placed both in the lower part of the room, about 1 meter above the floor, and also at the top of the occupied space so that the vertical temperature difference can be controlled.

Example In an auditorium, Figure 7.3, the following requirements apply for the occupied zone: maximum temperature, qmax = 25C minimum temperature, qmin = 21C maximum CO2-concentration = 1000 ppm The control logic may be as follows: The supply airflow, qs, is kept at the minimum value when the CO2-concentration at the top of the occupied space is below 600 ppm. When the CO2-concentration increases, the supply airflow rate increases, and reaches its maximum when the CO2-concentration reaches 1000 ppm. See Figure 7.4.
TV>OV@
Max

For rooms with people located on one level, the supply temperature, qs, can be controlled by the temperature in the occupied zone, qoz. The ventilation rate, qs can be controlled by the air quality and/or temperature in the occupied zone, qoz. For high rooms, the difference in temperature and air quality between the lowest and the highest level in the occupied zone has to be taken into account. This can best be illustrated by the following example:

7.5

Control logic

Min

TH
FPD[ = 1000 ppm
25C

R]PD[ =

600 ppm

1000 ppm

CO2concentration

Figure 7.4

Ventilation rate controlled by CO2concentration in the occupied zone.

V TV

R]PLQ =
21C

Figure 7.3

Auditorium. Temperature and air quality control.

The supply air temperature, qs, is kept at its lowest value, 18C, when the temperature in the lower part of the occupied space, qoz,1, is above 23C. When qoz,1 decreases below 23C, qs increases until it reaches

V
NB: Supply temp V > room temp R]1 !

22C 20C 18C

Temperature in lower zone, R] 18C 21C 23C

Figure 7.5 42

Supply temperature, qs, controlled by air temperature in the lower part of the occupied, zone, qoz,1

20C (at a room air temperature of 21C). When the temperature in the lower zone decreases below 21C, qs remains constant at 20C. This means that the supply air may become warmer than the room air, which defeats the effect of displacement ventilation. However, this is an emergency situation, where the room heating system does not function properly. See Figure 7.5. In high rooms, the temperature difference between the upper and lower part of the room should also be controlled. When the vertical temperature difference becomes too large, increasing the ventilation rate can reduce this temperature difference. This can be done as indicated in Figure 7.6.
TV [l/s] Max

Cooled ceiling controls the room temperature

Temperature sensor

Supply air temperature, V= constant

Figure 7.7

Temperature control in a room with cooled ceiling.

Min

R]2 R]1
2C
Figure 7.6

4C

Ventilation rate, qs controlled by temperature difference between upper zone and lower zone, q oz,2 q oz,1.

7.6

When cooled ceiling panels are used, the supply air temperature should be kept constant, and the cooling panels used to control the room temperature. The best alternative is variable volume systems controlled by an air quality sensor, and having the cooling panels control the operative temperature in the room.

Combination of cooling panels and displacement ventilation

43

44

8 Case studies
8.1 Restaurant

The first case study is a restaurant with dense seating and both smoking and non-smoking areas. This is a typical case where air quality is the major issue. 8.1.1 Description

Figure 8.1

The restaurant that shall be ventilated.

The restaurant to be ventilated, shown in Figure 8.1, has a floor area of 132 m. It will accommodate a maximum of 96 customers, 48 in the smoking area and 48 in the non-smoking area.
Table 8.1 Data for the restaurant. Room dimensions Height Floor area Room volume Max. number of people in the restaurant Smokers 48 pers. Non-smokers 48 pers. Employees 6 pers. Max occupancy Floor area per customer 3,0 132,0 396,0 m m m

102 1,38

persons m/customer 45

8.1.2 Design criteria The thermal comfort criteria are as follows:

Table 8.2 Thermal comfort requirements. Temperatures in the occupied space Max. temp. 26 C Min. temp. 20 C Target temperature 23 C Maximum vertical temperature gradient 2,0 C/m

The air quality demands of the restaurant owner are: it complies with the governmental regulations (*) the air quality is good the non-smokers are affected by tobacco smoke as little as possible (*) National requirements for the ventilation air flow rate per customer must be complied with .

8.1.3 Ventilation strategy In the smoking area, air quality is a major concern. Although displacement ventilation is the chosen method, by itself it may not be adequate to ensure good air quality for the non-smokers. The ventilation should be designed so that little or no air from the smoking area creeps into the non-smoking area. This can be achieved by supplying as much air as possible into the non-smoking area, and extracting air from the smoking area. The smoking zone and the building elements should be arranged so that smokecontaminated air does not infiltrate the non-smoking zone. This is illustrated in Figure 8.2.

(4)
Location of supply air Location of extract air Main air flow direction Column (unmovable)

g in k o Sm

ea r a
Kitchen
Doors for waiters

(1) (2)
Wardrobe

(5)

(3) Non-smoking area

Entrance doors
Figure 8.2 Seating arrangement and ventilation strategy for the restaurant.

46

8.1.4 Design for air quality The maximum number of people in the room is 102. Using a ventilation rate of 20 l/s per person, the ventilation flow required for contaminant stratification above the sedentary peoples heads is calculated (see chapter 3):
qs = 102 20 l/s = 2 040 l/s (= 7 344 m/h)

= e s = 10C

A temperature-diagram for this case is shown in Figure 8.3.

Temperature in the occupied space r ~ 23 C Extract air temperature C e =26

8.1.5 Design for thermal comfort The heat gain of the room is given in Table 8.3 and shows that almost 90% of the heat surplus comes from the customers. On a typical day, the restaurant is open for a couple of hours at lunchtime and a much longer period in the evening. The necessary airflow rate to remove the heat surplus is determined by taking into consideration the heat accumulation in the building fabric. For this example it is assumed that the heat accumulation in the building fabric reduces the need for air-cooling by 40%. Thus, the net requirement for cooling by the ventilation air becomes:
net = 0,6 9,87 kW 6 kW,

Height above floor [m]

According to the considerations in Chapter 3, we may also consider ventilation rates down to 10 l/s per person. This has to be considered together with the ventilation rates with respect to other criteria.

50% 3,0 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0

50%

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Temperature [ C] Air temperature at floor level, C f = 21

Supply air temperature C s =16

Figure 8.3

Temperature diagram at maximum temperature difference between extract air and supply air.

This gives a ventilation rate of:

qs = 478 l/s ( = 1 720 m/h)

This corresponds to a specific heat load of 45,5 W/m. The room is 3 metres high. A vertical temperature gradient of 2C/m corresponds to a temperature difference between floor and ceiling of 6C. By the 50% rule there is a temperature difference of 12C between extract air and supply air. However, this is more than most air diffusers can handle without causing draughts along the floor, so a maximum temperature difference between the extract and supply air is calculated as:

Comment: The maximum temperature difference of 10C between extract and supply air is similar to that normally used for mixing ventilation. Thus, the air volume flow for removal of heat surplus will be the same for both displacement and mixing ventilation.

Table 8.3 People: Lighting: Sum:

Heat gain without regard to heat accumulation in building elements. 102 persons 12 lamps 85 W/person 100 W/lamp 8 670 W 1 200 W 9 870 W 65,7 W/m 9,1 W/m 74,8 W/m 47

8.1.6

Resulting ventilation data

Temperature in the occupied space r ~ 23 C

A compromise of qs = 9,5 l/s per person is chosen, giving a temperature difference of 5C between supply and extract air. This provides a reasonable air quality when the restaurant is full, and a reasonable temperature difference between the supply air and the extract air. However, most of the time, the restaurant is only half full, in which case, the air flow rate will be up to 20 l/s per person. This will give excellent air quality.

Height above floor [m]

Ventilation air flow rate When comparing the ventilation rate from air quality considerations and from thermal comfort considerations, the ideal flow rate of 20 l/s per person gives a very high ventilation rate, while the ventilation rate for thermal comfort is very low.

Extract air temperature C e =24,5

50% 3,0 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0

50%

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Temperature [ C] Air temperature at floor level, C f = 22

Supply air temperature C s =19,5

Figure 8.4

Temperature diagram at the chosen ventilation rate and maximum heat gain.

Table 8.4 Ventilation rates. Ventilation rates With respect to air quality With respect to thermal comfort National regulations Choice Air change rate: total qs l/s 2040 478 1020 9,3 per person qs/n l/s pers 20,0 4,7 10 per floor area qs/Af l/s m (m/h m) 15,45 (55,6) 3,62 (13,0) - 7,73 (27,8)

Table 8.5 Design air quality for the ventilation of the restaurant. Air volume flow per person: CO2-concentration increase CO2-concentration in extract air Min. vent. qs/n ce - cs ce Max. vent 10 l/s 556 ppm 906 ppm 20 l/s 278 ppm 556 ppm

Table 8.6 Design temperatures for the ventilation of the restaurant. Air flow rate Temp. difference extract - supply Air temperature at floor level: Supply air temperature: Extract air temperature: Average vertical temp. gradient Temperature 1,1 m above floor Temp-diff. 1m - supply 48 qs qe - qs qf qs qe s q1,1m q1m- qs 1000 l/s = 5,0 C 22,1 C 20,1 C 25,1 C 0,8 C/m 23 C 2,9 C 3600 m/h

Design air quality The CO2-emission of a seated person is about 20 l/h = 0,006 l/s (Recknagel et.al. 2001). Assuming that the CO2-concentration in the supply air is cs = 350 ppm (the outdoor concentration), we can calculate the concentration in the extract air, ce. The air quality in the breathing zone will be better than in the extract air. Design temperatures With this choice of ventilation rate, the design data is shown in Table 8.6, and the temperature diagram in Figure 8.4. 8.1.7 Arrangements

kept away from those areas where a restaurant operator would find it natural to place furniture. The air diffusers are located beside two columns (pos 1 and pos 2 in Figure 8.2) and in the passage outside the door between the kitchen and the restaurant (pos 3 in Figure 8.2). There will probably be no seating in these areas, so that the adjacent zone can be large, if necessary. Diffusers have not been placed along the walls, because they would be too close to some of the seats. Units 1 and 2 Units (1) and (2) are located as shown in Figure 8.5. Two semi-circular wall units with the same diameter and width of the columns i.e. 0,7 m are installed in these locations. The unit is shown in Figure 8.6. The adjacent zone diagram for this unit is shown below. Looking at the seating plan, it can be seen that the nearest ankles are about 1,5 metres from the diffusers. From Figure 8.7 it can be seen that more than 350 l/s can be supplied from each unit. To allow for some margin of safety, choose
qs = 320 l/s from each of unit1 and unit 2

Location of air diffusers When locating the air diffuser, remember that many restaurants are refurbished and modified several times during the lifetime of a ventilation system. Thus, air terminal devices and ducts should be located in such a way that only minor changes are required when the room is refurbished. Moreover, the ventilation system should not require that the furniture should be

(1)

(2)

Figure 8.5

Air diffuser (1) and (2). 49

Supply unit 1 and 2

B=0,7m, H=1,8m W=0,65m

Adjacent zone length, ln [m]

5 4 3 2 1 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 t room - tsupply = 3 C

Figure 8.6

Semicircular wall unit for places 1 and 2.

Supply air flow, qs [l/s]

Figure 8.7

Adjacent zone length for units 1 and 2.

Some seats are closer than 1,5 metres from diffuser no.2. To protect these seats from draughts, partitions are placed between them and diffuser 2. This is shown in Figure 8.8.

Unit 3 For unit 3, the available space is shown in Figure 8.9. The front surface area is 2,5 metres wide and 1,25 metres high. The distance from the diffuser to the ankles of the nearest customers is about 1,5 metres.

Diffuser

Protecting wall

Figure 8.8 50

Partitions between the diffuser and the closest seats protecting the guests from draught.

Supply unit 3
B=1m, H=1,2m W=0,3m

Adjacent zone length, ln [m]

5 4 3 2 1 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 t room - tsupply = 3 C

2,5m 1,25 m 1,5 m

Supply air flow, qs [l/s]

Figure 8.11 Adjacent zone length for the units at place 3.

Figure 8.9

Diffuser no. 3.

Warning: When putting two or more units beside each other, the airflow from the diffusers merge, and the adjacent zone becomes larger than that from one single unit. To allow for this effect, the supply rate is reduced from 2 x 180 l/s = 360 l/s to 2 x 160 l/s = 320 l/s from unit 3. Location of extract units
640 l/s (4)

In this space two plane units were installed as shown in Figure 8.10.

320 l/s (1) 320 l/s (2) 320 l/s (3) 320 l/s (5)

Figure 8.10

Diffuser chosen for place 3.

Treshold below ceiling

The dimensions of this unit are: height = 1,2 m, width = 1,1 m and depth 0,3 m. The length of the adjacent zone for an undertemperature of 3C is shown in Figure 8.11 as a function of the supply volume flow. For an adjacent zone of 1,5 metres, each unit supplies approximately 180 l/s. Two units are placed at this location, giving total supply airflow of 360 l/s.

Figure 8.12

Location of extract units.

A total of 1000 l/s is extracted from the room. More air is extracted from the smoking zone than from the non-smoking zone, to prevent smoke drifting into the non-smoking area. In addition, a threshold is put below the ceiling between the two zones. Its location is shown in Figure 8.12. Also, see Figure 8.13.
51

Treshold

Extract, 670 l/s

Smoking area

Non-smoking area

Extract, 330 l/s

Figure 8.13

Threshold below the ceiling between the smoking and non-smoking zones.

8.1.8

Key numbers

Table 8.7 Key numbers for the restaurant.. Gross heat surplus Heat surplus removed by ventilation Ventilation rate Air changes: 74,8 W/m 45,5 W/m 7,7 l/s m = 27,8 m/h m 10 l/s pers = 36 m/h pers 9,3 per hour

52

8.2

Case: Single cell office

The second case study is a single cell office. Unlike the restaurant, the main task of the ventilation is to remove surplus heat. Air quality is usually taken care of by the large amount of air used for removing the heat surplus.

Diffuser

Air extract

Figure 8.14

A single cell office with displacement ventilation.

8.2.1 Description The office is shown in Figure 8.14. The diagram also shows the locations of the diffuser and the extract unit.
Table 8.8 Room dimensions. Length Width Height Floor area Room volume 4,2 m 2,4 m 2,5 m 10,1 m 25,2 m

8.2.2 Design criteria The design criteria for thermal comfort are as follows:
Table 8.9 Thermal comfort criteria. Max. temp. in the occupied space Min. temp. in the occupied space Max. vertical temp. gradient 24 C 20 C 2,0 C/m

Normally, there is one person in the room. For shorter or longer periods, there may be two people.

The air quality demands are: It complies with the governmental regulations The air quality is generally good

53

8.2.3 Ventilation strategy As pointed out earlier, air quality is not the main issue in cell offices. In most cases ventilation is use for heat removal. However, displacement ventilation has been used in many cell offices, so we illustrate the design process by the following example. 8.2.4 Design for air quality

qv = 5 (40)1/3 0,35/3 = 2,3 l/s

Figure 3.20 gives a convection flow rate of 3,5 l/s. Thus, measurements show a higher flow rate. This may be due to the fact that the light bulb is no point source, but a real source with a finite size. For this purpose we use
qv, lamp = 3 l/s

Ventilation air flow rate To achieve the very best air quality, a stratification height of 1,3 metres above the floor is preferred, keeping the sedentary person well within the lower zone. See Figure 8.15.
22 l/s 20 l/s 2 l/s 0,3 m

The ventilation demand with respect to stratification is the sum of the convection flow rates through the chosen level of stratification:
qv = 20 l/s + 3 l/s = 23 l/s ( = 83 m/h)

In this case, we ignore the cold draught from the window and other disturbing air flows because it is assumed they are small in comparison to the air flows already taken into account. Air quality The exhaust concentration is calculated as follows: Given a CO2 emission of 20 l/h = 0,006 l/s for one person (Recknagel et.al.2001) we get an increase in the CO2 concentration from the supply air to the exhaust of:
ce = 0,006 l/s / 31 l/s = 194 ppm

1,3 m

22 l/s

Figure 8.15

Designing for contaminant stratification 0,3 m above the head

There are two convection sources in the room shown in Figure 8.15, the person itself and the table lamp light bulb. The convection flow from a seated person 1,3 metres above the floor (qv) is found in Figure 3.20. With a vertical temperature gradient of 0,3 C/m in the room, qv is approximately 25 l/s. When the thermal stratification is approximately 1,5 C/m, the convection flow rate is approximately
qv,person = 20 l/s

According to studies by Nielsen (1993, 2) the lower (occupied) zone concentration is 0.1-0,3 times the exhaust air concentration. Using the conservative estimate, the concentration increase in the occupied zone is 0,3 times the increase in the extract. The CO2 concentration increase from the supply air to the breathing zone is therefore:
cexp = 0,3 ce = 0,3 194 ppm = 58 ppm

With an outdoor CO2 concentration of 350 ppm, the CO2 concentration in the breathing zone becomes:
cexp = 350 ppm + 58 ppm = 410 ppm

The light bulb can be regarded as a point source. A 60W light bulb emits about 20W as radiated heat and 40W as convected heat. Thus, the strength of the heat source, used in the formula, is 40 W with the following result:
54

Compared with a typical limit of 1000 ppm, this air quality is very good. If this is applied to perfect mixing ventilation, the concentration in the breathing zone would be the same as in the extract, i.e. 350 ppm + 194 ppm = 544 ppm. This is also very good.

8.2.5 Design for thermal comfort The heat balance of the room is similar to that in Table 8.10. For simplicity, heat loss or gain to the surroundings is ignored, but the heat accumulation into the building fabric and the solar heat gains during the day are taken into account by using typical net values.
Table 8.10 Heat balance of the office. Lighting People Solar load Sum: 100W 85W 200W 385W

Design temperatures Using the 50% rule with a 9C temperature increase from supply to extract air, and a supply air temperature of 16C, the resultant temperature distribution in the room is:
Table 8.12 Design temperatures. Air temperature at floor level: qf 20,5 Supply air temperature: qs 16,0 Extract air temperature: qe 25,0 Average vertical temp. gradient s = Dq/Dz 1,8 Temperature 1,1 m above floor qoz = q1,1= 22,5 Temperature 1,8 m above floor q1,8 23,7 C C C C/m C C

The maximum temperature difference allowed in practice is 8 - 10 (provided the air diffuser is capable of handling this under-temperature without an excessive adjacent zone). If a 9C temperature increase from supply to extract is taken, then the resulting airflow rate is:
qv = 385 W = 1 004 J/kgC 9 C c p ( e - s ) 1,20kg/m

The resulting temperature distribution is shown in the figure below:

Room air, Height above floor [m] 50% 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0 16 18 20 appr. 6 C 22 24 26 Extract air, e 50%

= 0,032 m /s = 32 l/s

8.2.6

Resulting ventilation data

Temperature [ C]

Ventilation airflow rate The ventilation rate required for the removal of surplus heat is much greater than that required for good air quality, so selecting the greater of the two:
qs = 32 l/s (= 115 m/h)

Supply air, p

Floor air, f

Figure 8.16

Temperature diagram for the single cell office.

Design air quality Using the same calculations as in paragraph 8.4.2, the following results are achieved:
Table 8.11 Design CO2-concentrations. Supply air Number of persons Increase due to persons Occupied zone Extract 350 1 188 406 538 ppm 2 375 ppm 463 ppm 725 ppm

55

Warning! This case study is an example where the air is supplied at a very low temperature. It is therefore essential that the designer selects an air diffuser that can handle this under-temperature without causing draughts along the floor.

8.2.7

Arrangements

Low induction cold draught along the floor

Location of air diffuser and extract opening A frequently used arrangement supplies the air from the inner wall behind the door. Consequently, the draught zone is far away from peoples ankles. Furthermore, in this position, the diffuser will not be covered by furniture. The extract unit is also located on the inner wall. Moreover, the amount of ductwork is minimised. See Figure 8.19.
Figure 8.19 Supply air diffuser, extract unit and

Height above floor [m]

2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0 Extract air, e Supply air, p Floor air, f Room air,

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Temperature [ C]

Figure 8.17

Low induction diffusers may give cold draught along the floor.

To avoid this problem, a diffuser that mixes room air into the supply air discharged into the room is required.
High induction evens out temperatures

Height above floor [m]

2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0 Extract air, e Supply air, p Room air,

ducts

Floor air, f 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Temperature [ C]

A suitable air diffuser is shown in Figure 8.20. The unit fits into the wall, and the front sheet is 600 mm wide and 500 mm high. Warning! The documentation is valid for a temperature difference of 5C between the occupied zone and the supply air. Figure 8.16 demonstrates that the expected temperature difference between the supply air and the occupied zone is slightly above 6C. Thus, a larger adjacent zone is necessary than that specified in the manufacturers diagram (Figure 8.20).

Figure 8.18

High induction diffusers may level out temperatures.

56

Moreover, the adjacent zone is larger when the unit is located on a plane wall rather than in a corner. However, it is not a problem if the adjacent zone is one metre or slightly more. See Figure 8.21. Therefore, the selected diffuser is suitable..

Adjacent zone ln < 1 metre

Figure 8.21

The adjacent zone in front of the diffuser.

Caution: Before finally selecting an air diffuser, the height measurement and the air temperature increase at the edge of the adjacent zone should be checked. If it is not stated in the documentation, then it should be obtained from the manufacturer! 8.2.8
Table 8.13
Pa 200

Key numbers
Key numbers for the cell office.

LA 30 25

35

100

Gross heat surplus 38,2 W/m Heat surplus removed by ventilation 38,2 W/m Ventilation rate 3,2 l/s m = 11,4 m/h m 32 l/s pers =115 m/h pers Air changes: 4,6 per hour
0

50 pmax = 54 Pa

20

10 50 20 100 150 200 50 0,8 q = 31 l/s 1 < 0,8 m 250 300 75 1,2 m3/h l/s l02

Figure 8.20

The air diffuser chosen for the cell office. 57

8.3

Case: Auditorium

This case study is an auditorium. This is an example of people being seated at different heights.

6 m 3,5 m

15 m

22 m

Figure 8.22 The auditorium.

8.3.2

Design criteria

8.3.1 Description The auditorium is shown in Figure 8.22. Smoking is not allowed. A maximum of 280 people can be seated in the room, but normally the auditorium is only partly full. A typical pattern of usage is that the room is occupied for 45 minutes followed by a 15 minutes brake. This goes on from 08:15 in the morning to about 15:00 in the afternoon.
Table 8.14 Data for the auditorium. Room dimensions Height 6,0 m Average width 15,5 m Length 22,0 m Floor area 341,0 m Room volume 1600 m Max. no. of people in the room 280 persons Floor area per person 1,14 m/person

Table 8.15 Thermal comfort requirements. Temperatures in the occupied space Max. temp. 26 C Min. temp. 20 C Target temperature 23 C Max. vertical temp. gradient 2,0 C/m

The air quality demand is that the CO2-concentration in the breathing zone shall not exceed 1000 ppm.

58

8.3.3 Ventilation strategy This is a case where the room is tall, and the emission from the persons (not the heat surplus) is the main problem. Thus, displacement ventilation is a natural choice.

Both of the arrangements shown in Figure 8.23 has been used with success. In Figure 8.23a), the air is supplied in front of the audience, and in Figure 8.23b) the air is supplied beneath the seats. In both cases the air is extracted at ceiling level. When people are seated at different heights, the feed air to the convection currents come from different levels. This is illustrated in Figure 8.24. This means that the air quality for the persons seated in the upper part of the room will not be as good as for those seated lower down.

a)

b)

Figure 8.23

Ventilation principles for the auditorium.

Figure 8.24

Convection currents around the people get feed-air from different heights.

59

a) Supply air is contained between the rows.

b) Supply air is foating down the stairways.

Figure 8.25

Supply air under the seats.

Locating the air supply under the seats may be a better solution if one can trap the fresh air between the rows, as shown in Figure 8.25 a). However, when there are openings between the rows, as in the stairways, the fresh air will float like water down the stairs, and not be captured by the convection currents around the people. For this case, we choose air supply under the seats and extract at the ceiling, as shown in Figure 8.23 b). 8.3.4 Design for thermal comfort The heat gain of the room is given in Table 8.16. Most of the heat surplus comes from the audience. The maximum load in the auditorium lasts 45 minutes, and then the auditorium is empty for 15 minutes before the next lecture. The effective heat gain is subject to computation of usage and heat accumulation in the building elements. For this purpose we assume that calculations has given that the ventilating air must remove 70% of the maximum heat load.
Table 8.16

Before we calculate the ventilation airflow rate, we take a look at the temperature distribution in the room. First, if we assume that 1/3 of the total temperature increase in the room is from the supply air to the floor air temperature, the temperature distribution will be approximately as in Figure 8.26, when the temperature requirements shall be satisfied. This is a case where the temperatures are just within the design limits. One should aim at having a more even temperature distribution, so that the temperature in the upper part of the room is lower, and the floor level temperature is higher. To achieve this, we can utilise a supply unit with a certain degree of room air entrainment, or locate the supply units under the seats. In this case, the 50% rule is a more probable result with respect to the temperature distribution. See Figure 8.27.

Heat gain in the auditorium at maximum audience. 280 persons 341 m 85 W/person = 10 W/m = 23 800 W 3 410 W 27 210 W 69,8 W/m 10,0 W/m 79,8 W/m

People in the room: Lighting Sum:

Heat to be removed by ventilating air 19 047 W 55,9 W/m (according to calculations of heat accumulation in the building materials and non-stationary effects) 60

Extract air temperature e =27 C 33% 6 Height above floor [m] 5 4 3 2 1 0 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Temperature [ C] appr. 4,5 C 66%

Supply air temperature s =17 C

Air temperature at floor level, f = 20 C

Figure 8.26

Thumb-rule temperature distribution, 1/3 temperature increase to floor temp.

Extract air temperature e =26 C 50% 50%

6 Height above floor [m] 5 4 3 2 1 0 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Temperature [ C] appr. 6 C

Supply air temperature s =16 C

Air temperature at floor level, f = 21 C

Figure 8.27

Temperature distribution according to 50% rule.

61

The temperature increase from supply to extract air is 10C. When 19 000 W shall be removed with this temperature difference, the ventilation air flow rate becomes: qs = 1 517 l/s (= 5 464 m/h) 8.3.5 Design for air quality In this case we aim at obtaining the airflow pattern shown in Figure 8.25 a). However, we know that at the end of the seat-rows, the airflow pattern will be more like in Figure 8.25 b). This means that when determining the ventilation airflow rate, we must be realistic and dont expect the full benefit of displacement ventilation. Mixing ventilation the reference case The required ventilation rate for complete mixing ventilation can be found as follows: Maximum increase in CO2-concentration per person:

Extract air qe = 9,2 l/s pers ce = 1000 ppm

cexp = 1000 ppm

Supply air qs = 9,2 l/s pers cs = 350 ppm

a) Mixing ventilation

cCO2 = (1000 350) ppm = 650 ppm

(when the CO2-concentration in the supply air is 350 ppm). The minimum ventilation rate per person is qs/n = n qCO2 / cCO2 = 0,006 l/s / 650 10-6 = 9,2 l/s per pers With 300 persons in the room, the minimum ventilation rate for good mixing ventilation in stationary conditions becomes: qs = 280 9,2 l/s = 2 576 l/s Displacement ventilation how can we improve beyond mixing ventilation? When supplying 9,2 l/s per person below the seats, we may benefit from the effect described in chapter 3, Figures 3.25 and 3.27. The air quality in the breathing zone will be significantly better than for mixing ventilation. This is illustrated in Figure 8.28.
cexp < 1000 ppm Extract air qe = 9,2 l/s pers ce = 1000 ppm

Supply air qs = 9,2 l/s pers cs = 350 ppm

b) Displacement ventilation

Figure 8.28

Personal contaminant exposure. Mixing versus displacement ventilation.

62

8.3.6 Recirculation From the discussion above, we see that the required airflow rates both with respect to air quality and thermal comfort are lower than the airflow rates to achieve maximum benefit from displacement ventilation (i.e. between 10 l/s and 20 l/s). In this case, recirculation may be interesting where climatic conditions makes recirculation more economical than utilising outside air. A recirculation system may be as shown in Figure 8.29. As an example, let us assume that the supply airflow rate (qs ) is 10 l/s, and that 40% of the supply air is recirculated. The CO2-concentration in the exhaust air is given by:

The CO2-concentration in the breathing zone, cexp, is given by:

coz =

( ce - c s ) + c s

where: c personal exposure index (see paragraph 3.8.1) From figure 3.27 we can estimate a personal exposure index of between 3 and 4 for a supply air flow of 10 ls. This means that with c = 3, we may expect a CO2concentration in the breathing zone of cexp = 1/3 (1350ppm 750 ppm) + 750 ppm = 950 ppm With c = 4 we get: cexp = 1/4 (1350ppm 750 ppm) + 750 ppm = 900 ppm
Outdoor air qp = 6 l/s per pers cp = 350 ppm Recirculation air qr = 4 l/s per pers cr = 1350 ppm System border for the book

ce - c p =

qCO2 qp

where: ce CO2-concentration in the extract [ppm] cp CO2-concentration in the outside air (primary air) = 350 ppm qCO2 CO2 volume flow in one persons breathing = 0,006 l/s qs supply air volume flow per person = 6 l/s These numbers give: ce = 350 ppm + 0,006/6 = 1350 ppm The CO2-concentration in the supply air is given by:

cs =

q r ce + q p c p qs

Extract air qe = 10 l/s per pers ce = 1350 ppm qCO2 = 0,006 l/s per pers.

where: qr recirculation air volume flow = 4 l/s per person qs supply air volume flow air volume flow = 10 l/s per person These numbers give: cs = (4 l/s 1350 ppm + 6 l/s 350 ppm)/ 10 l/s = 750 ppm

Supply air qs = 10 l/s per pers cs = 750 ppm

Figure 8.29

Recirculation system for the auditorium.

63

Extract air qe = 10 l/s pers ce = 1350 ppm

Convection flow qv = 10 - 20 l/s cexp = 900 - 950 ppm

It is interesting to notice, that with recirculation and a suitable air supply arrangement, one can reduce the amount of fresh air with some 40% compared to mixing ventilation. Caution: The theoretical calculations presented here, and also subjective observations from practice indicate this benefit for displacement ventilation. However, this has not been verified by measurements. 8.3.8 Arrangements

Location of air diffusers The diffusers are located below the seats. There is a variety of diffusers available. Check that the adjacent zones and temperatures do not create draught problems for the ankles of the audience in the room.
Supply air flow qs = qv = 10 l/s per pers cs = 750 ppm
Figure 8.30 Resulting airflow data fir the recirculation example..

Locations of extract units The extract units should be located at the highest point in the room. (To be continued.)

8.3.7 Discussion From the calculations above, we see that we can handle the air quality and the thermal requirements with less than the 20 l/s per person that has previously been assumed necessary for displacement ventilation.

8.3.9
Table 8.17

Resulting ventilation data / Key numbers

Ventilation rates for maximum number of people in the room. total qs 1 680 1 120 2 800 6,3 per person qs/n 6 4 10 per floor area qs/Af 4,9 3,3 8,2 (17,7) (11,8) (29,5)

Ventilation rates Fresh air flow rate Recirculation flow rate Total ventilation rate Air change rate (total):

64

8.4

Case: Meeting room

This case study is a typical meeting room.

Diffuser along the end wall

Figure 8.x The meeting room

8.4.1

Description

Table 8.x Data

To

be

d e t e pl m o c

8.4.2 Design criteria The design criteria for thermal comfort are as follows:
Table 8.y Thermal comfort criteria.

8.4.3 8.4.4

Ventilation strategy Design for air quality

Ventilation air flow rate

65

66

8.5

This case study is an example wherea very high ventilation rate is utilised for removing a verlarge heat surplus. Also, the task has been solved in a very elegant way.

Case: Casino

Figure 8.x

The casino. (Picture courtesy: Lindab, France)

8.5.1

Description

The design criteria for thermal comfort are as follows:

Table 8.y Thermal comfort criteria.

Table 8.x Data

8.5.2

d 8.5.3 Ventilation strategy e Design criteria t e 8.5.4 Design for air quality pl Ventilation air flow rate m o c be To

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Figure 8.x

Diffusers (Picture courtesy: Lindab, France)

Figure 8.x 68

Floor plan (Picture courtesy: CETIAT, France)

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