Comparison between experiments and CFD predictions of mixed convection flows in an atrium

This paper compares results from a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of airflow and pollutant dispersion under mixed-convection conditions with experimental data obtained in our 7m x 9m x 11m high experimental facility. A tracer gas was continuously released from a 1 m² horizontal source 0.5 m above the floor. Path-integrated concentrations were measured along multiple short and long sampling paths in three horizontal planes. A steady state CFD analysis was used to model these experiments. The Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations were solved for the flow and temperature field using the commercial CFD software, StarCD. CFD results were compared with the measured path-integrated concentrations. Accuracy of CFD predictions was found to improve with inclusion of thermal effects, and further by using a low-Re turbulence model.