A new hybrid CFD approach to study the impact of forced convection on radiant cooled wall with baseboard diffuser including various vane angles

Abstract

The current work examines the effect of forced convection on thermal comfort in a space, including radiant wall cooling and an innovative floor-level diffuser system. It examines the impact of various vane angles on thermal comfort in room air conditioning at 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°, and employs experimental data to confirm a hybrid 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. A new floor-level diffuser system delivers air at temperatures between 18 °C and 22 °C, with supply air velocities of 5 m/s and 10 m/s measured at the exit side of diffuser while the supply water temperature is kept constant at 14 °C. In the hybrid 3D solution, experimentally derived convective heat transfer coefficients (CHTCs) for forced airflow are utilized. This is accomplished by merging a k-ω model with a hydronic radiant panel system that incorporates forced convection. The analysis examines temperature and velocity distributions, CHTCs on the radiant-cooled wall, and the PMV-PPD components. Results indicate that at a supply air velocity of 5 m/s, thermal comfort parameters do not satisfy PMV and PPD indices, except in proximity to the diffuser. Nevertheless, elevating the supply air velocity to 10 m/s ensures thermal comfort across the space, with the exception of regions next to the cooled wall surfaces. The examination of several vane angles indicated that a 45° angle yields the most advantageous thermal comfort conditions, irrespective of air velocity. The CHTC adjacent to the radiant wall is roughly 6 W/m2K at a velocity of 5 m/s and rises to 8 W/m2K at 10 m/s. The temperature disparity between the head and ankle regions at 5 m/s adheres to the 3 °C tolerance established by international standards. The study determines that a 45° vane angle ensures best thermal comfort, and the devised numerical method yields significant insights for the construction of analogous indoor settings.