Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Stratification of an Underfloor Air Distribution System (UFAD) with Various Vent Layouts

The underfloor air distribution (UFAD) system has not been able to penetrate the residential and commercial air conditioning industry significantly until now. To date, the most notable applications are found in datacenters because of their more demanding thermal stratification and cooling requirements. In addition to highlighting the advantages of the UFAD system over the traditional overhead (OH) system, this study compares various ventilation layouts for a UFAD system. Four different UFAD ventilation layouts are compared and one OH layout. The results show that using multiple swirl-type diffusers creates a more uniform floor-to-knee temperature and less air recirculation than the rectangular grille-type diffusers. Placing the return vents on the sides of the room creates a cooler environment by isolating recirculating air to a smaller space. At the end of the study, a design guide matrix is presented to summarize how the supply and return vent layout affects air conditioning performance.

Automated summary

The UFAD system has not been widely adopted in the residential and commercial air conditioning industry, with datacenters being the primary application due to their specific cooling requirements. Comparing different UFAD ventilation layouts, it was found that using multiple swirl-type diffusers can create a more uniform temperature distribution and reduce air recirculation. Placing return vents on the sides of the room helps isolate recirculating air and creates a cooler environment.