Exposed Ductwork/Lighting Heat Gain

[jonathan.sullivan]

Hi,

I have a large atrium space where I am trying to validate design conditions for thermal comfort. I am unsure how to model face mounted diffusers on exposed ductwork for heating/cooling and ventilation.

My initial thought is to do this:

Assume the flow at each duct mounted diffuser is well developed (check well developed when setting volume flow rate BC at my design condition.

Secondly - for light heat gain in this scenario is it necessary to detail the model with things such as gas conductivity in the tubes, radiation, etc. Or will general geometry and heat flux generated from the surface suffice?

Any input would be appreciated, feel free to add any other suggestions that you believe would be helpful. The forum has been resourceful so far. Thanks!

[Jon.Wilde]

Just to note, we have opened a case for this issue.

The ducting can work fine as Jonathan asked, provided the actual solids are suppressed and the Boundary Conditions are attached to them - avoiding internal Boundary Conditions. We are using an H shape, rotated 90 degrees with the BC's applied to what will then be the central vertical shape - this ensures we have a nice boundary layer mesh around the corners of the exit.

Regarding the lights, applying a volumetric heat load to the part is an ideal approach.