The effect of location of a convective heat source on displacement ventilation: CFD study

Two-dimensional computational simulations are performed to examine the effect of vertical location of a convective heat source on thermal displacement ventilation systems. In this study, a heat source is modeled with seven different heights from the floor (0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2.0 m) in a displacement ventilation environment. The flow and temperature fields in thermal displacement ventilation systems vary depending on the location of the heat source. As the heat source rises, the convective heat gain from the heat source to an occupied zone becomes less significant. This effect changes the temperature field and results in the reduction of the cooling load in the occupied zone. The stratification level is also affected by the heat source location at a given flow rate.