Coupling the multizone airflow and contaminant transport software CONTAM with EnergyPlus using co-simulation

Abstract

Building modelers need simulation tools capable of simultaneously considering building energy use, airflow and indoor air quality (IAQ) to design and evaluate the ability of buildings and their systems to meet today’s demanding energy efficiency and IAQ performance requirements. CONTAM is a widely-used multizone building airflow and contaminant transport simulation tool that requires indoor temperatures as input values. EnergyPlus is a prominent whole-building energy simulation program capable of performing heat transfer calculations that require interzone and infiltration airflows as input values. On their own, each tool is limited in its ability to account for thermal processes upon which building airflow may be significantly dependent and vice versa. This paper describes the initial phase of coupling of CONTAM with EnergyPlus to capture the interdependencies between airflow and heat transfer using co-simulation that allows for sharing of data between independently executing simulation tools. The coupling is accomplished based on the Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) for Co-simulation specification that provides for integration between independently developed tools. A three-zone combined heat transfer/airflow analytical BESTEST case was simulated to verify the co-simulation is functioning as expected, and an investigation of a two-zone, natural ventilation case designed to challenge the coupled thermal/airflow solution methods was performed.

Cross-platform, Public Domain Simulation Tools for Performing Parametric IAQ and Energy Analysis

“…The Mid-Rise Apartment building model is based on the EnergyPlus representation selected from the set of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Commercial Reference Building models developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NIST developed a corresponding CONTAM representation of this building (Lisa C Ng et al, 2012) to be compatible with the co-simulation approach outlined in Dols et al (2016). Both models were modified to include stair and elevator shafts that enable simulation of stack flows that can be particularly important to infiltration, energy use and contaminant transport in multistory buildings.…”

“…The EnergyPlus/CONTAM co-simulation capabilities were previously developed as described in Dols et al (2016). Coupling was implemented based on the Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) for Co-Simulation specification according to which EnergyPlus was modified to enable the control of coupled simulations (Nouidui et al, 2013).…”

“…The ability to evaluate the myriad building types; heating, ventilating, air-conditioning (HVAC) systems; and climate zones, can provide information to those making decisions related to community-level energy use and contaminant exposure (Levy et al, 2016). To this end, two widely-used, public domain software tools, CONTAM and EnergyPlus, have been coupled to enable more complete evaluations of building performance (Dols et al, 2016). On their own, each tool is limited in its ability to account for transport processes upon which building IAQ, airflow and energy may be dependent.…”

Simulation of Thermal Distribution and Airflow for Efficient Energy Consumption in a Small Data Centers

“…Axley et al [16] and Dols et al [17] evaluated the influence of demand-controlled ventilation systems on energy and indoor air quality by building airflow and thermal load models; subsequently, Dols and Emmerich developed coupled thermal/airflow solutions to simulate and verify a three-zone combined heat transfer/airflow analytical BESTEST case [18]. Alissa et al [19] provided a validated dynamic airflow prediction model and a testing methodology for server storage based on the RPM of fans and simple, facility-level pressure measurements, which are beneficial to the platform and facility-level control to assess the cooling needs of each storage unit.…”

A Quantitative Model-Based Fault Detection & Diagnostics (FDD) System for Zone-Level Inefficiencies

“…There are various parameters that influence thermal analysis in an office space at any However, the temperature in a space with no furniture fluctuates at a higher rate than if that space had a desk, chairs and book shelves in it. For this reason, it is common to consider the thermal capacitance of the furniture with the thermal capacitance of the air [55,56,57].…”