Using trickle ventilators coupled to fan extractor to achieve a suitable airflow rate in an Australian apartment: A nodal network approach connected to a CFD approach

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dc.citation.volume304
dc.contributor.authorBoulic M
dc.contributor.authorBombardier P
dc.contributor.authorZaidi Z
dc.contributor.authorRussell A
dc.contributor.authorWaters D
dc.contributor.authorvan Heerden A
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-04T21:48:19Z
dc.date.available2024-08-04T21:48:19Z
dc.date.issued2023-12-26
dc.description.abstractThe level of airtightness is increasing in newly built Australian apartments. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions have forced many people to work from home. An appropriate ventilation rate is needed to decrease virus transmission and provide occupants with a healthy environment. As occupants tend not to open windows, they need to be informed about the potential benefit of using trickle ventilators, in connection with exhaust systems, to ventilate their apartments. In 2022, a provision for lower rates of continuous ventilation (10 L.s−1 for the bathroom exhaust system and 12 L.s−1 for the kitchen exhaust system) was considered for inclusion in the National Construction Code of Australia. This provision was not adopted; however, this is still a valid reference for good practice. Based on this provision for continuous ventilation, our study aims to investigate the airflow velocity and the ventilation efficiency to remove the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated across winter and summer seasons in a Melbourne apartment occupied by two adults and a child over four hours. The study's objectives are 1) to connect two modelling approaches (Computational Fluid Dynamics and nodal networks), and 2) to investigate the potential benefits of using trickle ventilators across winter and summer seasons. The results show that wind conditions have limited effects (4% decrease in the extracted air flow rate) if the extraction network output is protected from the wind. Comparing winter and summer conditions, we found that indoor airflows differed, highly influenced by the temperature difference between outside and inside. We observed that the airflow patterns were more inclined to create “CO2 pockets” during winter, which could increase virus transmission due to ineffective ventilation in this area. However, in winter, ventilation performed better in reducing the CO2 concentration in the kitchen/living room area and the whole apartment than it did during summer.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.identifier.citationBoulic M, Bombardier P, Zaidi Z, Russell A, Waters D, van Heerden A. (2024). Using trickle ventilators coupled to fan extractor to achieve a suitable airflow rate in an Australian apartment: A nodal network approach connected to a CFD approach. Energy and Buildings. 304.
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.enbuild.2023.113828
dc.identifier.eissn1872-6178
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn0378-7788
dc.identifier.number113828
dc.identifier.piiS0378778823010587
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/71180
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherElsevier B.V.
dc.publisher.urihttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778823010587
dc.relation.isPartOfEnergy and Buildings
dc.rights(c) 2023 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectCarbon dioxide
dc.subjectComputational Fluid Dynamic
dc.subjectNodal network
dc.subjectOccupied apartment
dc.subjectTrickle ventilator
dc.subjectVentilation
dc.titleUsing trickle ventilators coupled to fan extractor to achieve a suitable airflow rate in an Australian apartment: A nodal network approach connected to a CFD approach
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id485577
pubs.organisational-groupCollege of Health
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