ABSTRACT
The commercial CFD code FLOVENT is used to simulate a case of two-dimensional natural ventilation in a room in preparation for the simulation of a three-dimensional room attached to an atrium having a single vent in its ceiling. A good match with theory is obtained for the 2D case. In addition, the CFD simulation also reveals instances where dependencies among physical parameters are not captured by theory. While the simulations for the 3D room-atrium case do not match theoretical models, they have a good similarity with results obtained from past experimental studies: it is shown that the atrium results in a higher interface height, and not complete extraction of the buoyant air. In sum, the CFD tool is benchmarked for the study of more complex scenarios of buoyancy-driven ventilation in and across multiply connected spaces.
