A Fast Coupled Simulation of 3D Indoor Airflow Motion and HVAC System for Ventilation Control of Complex Environment

Major CFD computational penalty is caused by high requirement on spatial mesh resolution and this presentation shows the theory and practical feasibility of using coarse-grid CFD. It utilizes numerical viscosity induced by coarse CFD grid, coupled with simplest turbulence model. Case studies show that a uniform coarse grid can be applied, along with a constant turbulence viscosity model, to reasonably predict general airflow patterns. Such predictions is not as precise as fine-grid CFDs, but the accuracy is acceptable for indoor environment study at an early stage of a project. The computing speed is about 100 times faster than  fine-grid CFD.