CFD investigation on thermal comfort in open spaces library in tropical climate

Abstract

Libraries consist of large indoor open spaces with comfortable environments for studying activities. Hence, library occupants are exposed to microclimatic conditions in the indoor environment of the library. This problem can lead to a series of thermal condition symptoms (cold or hot) and general discomfort. Therefore, this study aimed to develop computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model and validated the model with the field measurement data of the indoor open space located at the second floor of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) library. Parameters validated inside the indoor open space library were air temperature, relative humidity, and mean radiant temperature measured at eight sampling points located 0.5 m height from the floor for first and second days (morning and afternoon session). Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) values and Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) values were also validated. Then, the developed model was used to get the average comfort temperature that satisfied the PMV and TSV value between +0.5 and-0.5. The results showed that the relative errors between simulation and field measurement were less than 5.5% for air temperature, relative humidity, and mean radiant temperature. The relative error for PMV and TSV value between simulation and field measurement were less than 12.2% and 2.7% respectively. The experiment and the simulation value for all parameters investigated were in good agreement with acceptable relative error value. The study concluded that the average value of comfort temperature and relative humidity for thermal comfort value of PMV and TSV in the investigated open spaces in the library were 24°C and 57% respectively.