Validation of computational fluid dynamics simulations for atria geometries

Atria are becoming an increasingly common feature of new buildings. They are often included for their aesthetic appeal; however, their effect on building indoor environment can be significant. Building simulation tools have the potential to assist designers in enhancing energy efficiency by providing information on the temperature and velocity fields inside the atrium for specified geometries and ambient conditions. The unique nature of the physical phenomena that govern the complex flows in atria, however, are not usually considered in traditional building energy simulation programs. These physical phenomena include turbulent natural convection, radiative heat transfer and conjugate heat transfer. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has the potential for modeling fluid flow and heat transfer resulting from the phenomena; however, careful validation is required in order to establish the accuracy of predictions. This paper provides a systematic validation of a commercial CFD code against experimental measurements of the underlying physical phenomena. The validation culminates in the simulation of an existing atrium. This work indicates that CFD can be used to successfully simulate the heat transfer and fluid flow in atria geometries and provides recommendations regarding turbulence and radiative heat transfer modeling.