Problem Statement

A lecture may be informative, but if the lecture hall’s ventilation is poorly designed and maintained, the Numerical results
productivity of students can be affected. A ventilated building is good for the health of occupants , The lecture hall model was cut into quarter, and the experimental results were used as initial boundary
furthermore thermal comfort has an influence in the productivity of the occupants. Several factors can conditions for the numerical model
contribute to thermal discomfort including inadequate air supply, air being supplied to the wrong zones,
irregular air distributions, improper maintenance and incorrect installation of the ventilation system. To focus
on the thermal comfort of the occupants, a knowledge about the air and temperature distribution is
required. For this research project, the air flow and temperature distribution at the Bles 101 is going to be
investigated and further improvements will be suggested.

Aim
The aim of the project is to:
• Experimentally investigate the ventilation of the University of Johannesburg’s lecture hall (Bles 101)
• Numerically investigate the ventilation by studying the air flow and temperature distribution of the
lecture hall
• And recommend possible improvements on the ventilation.

Methodology
The objectives of this research project are:

• To measure the air flow velocity and temperature at the vent inlets.
• To measure the temperature around the occupants and the lecture hall.
• Use the experimental results as boundary conditions for the numerical model.
• Analyse the air and temperature distribution of the lecture hall model.
• Compare the experimental and numerical results.
• Investigate possible improvements numerically using the CFD program.

Experimental results summary

The table below shows one of the results obtained experimentally. 20 equally spaced different positions were
use to measure the temperature, A represent the ankle level, B represents the seated level and H represents
the head level. The air velocity and air temperature measurements were taken at the vent inlets.
Position Temperature (℃) Air Air temperature (℃)
velocity
(m/s)
A W H
1 22.6 22.2 21 0.56 20.3
2 21.3 22.5 21.7 0.46 20.8
3 20.7 22.1 21.9 0.56 21.1
4 21 21.8 22 0.58 21.1
5 20.6 21.2 21.8 0.54 20.6
6 21.3 21.4 20.6 0.54 20.4
7 21.7 22.2 21.9 0.34 21.5 Point Position above Temperature results (℃) Point Position above Air velocity (m/s)
8 21.9 22 21.3 0.55 20.9 ground ground
9 21.6 22 21.5 0.37 19.8 Numerical Experiment Numerical Experiment
10 21.3 21.3 21 0.57 21.1 al al
11 21 21.1 20.8 0.31 21 Point 1 21.32 20.7 Point 1 0.18 0.56
level

level

12 22 22.1 22.1 0.47 22

1st

1st

Point 2 22.71 22.1 Point 2 0.16

13 21.9 22 22.1 0.48 22
Point 4 21.35 20.6 Point 4 0.20 0.54
level

level

14 21.9 22 22.1 0.47 22.1

2nd

2nd

Point 5 23.45 21.2 Point 5 0.11

15 22.1 22.1 22.1 0.34 22
Point 7 24.59 22.1 Point 7 0.78 0.37
level

level

16 22 22.1 22.1 0.67 22

3rd

3rd

Point 8 26.00 22.1 Point 8 0.21

17 22 22 22.1 0.34 22
18 21.9 21.9 22 0.47 21.8 Point 10 24.26 22 Point 10 1.31 0.47
level

level
4th

4th

19 21.8 21.9 22 0.64 21.8 Point 11 26.77 22.1 Point 11 1.92

20 21.6 21.5 21.8 0.56 21.3
Outside Wall temperature (℃) Floor Roof Conclusion and Further recommendations
temperature (℃) temperature temperature There is a large distinction between the outdoor and indoor temperatures. The air velocity flows are within
(℃) (℃) the recommended range of 0,8 m/s. The numerical results indicate a good flow pattern for the air velocity.
Front Right Left Back The temperature results show an uneven distribution between the back and front of the lecture hall. This is
27 17.7 18.5 19.3 19.8 20.1 19 because there are no vent inlets at the back wall, so vents need to be added and rerun the full model under
different turbulence models.