Reduces annoying strong air currents while making the temperature more even throughout the room

Mitsubishi Electric Corporationhas developed a new airflow control technology that visualizes and analyzes airflow and temperature distribution in air conditioning systems for optimal wall-to-wall comfort. This technology can predict airflows and temperatures that vary depending on the shape of the room and the layout of the air conditioning system to minimize disturbances and unstable temperatures caused by very strong airflows. The new technology contributes to both the satisfaction of the space users and the value of the building. Mitsubishi Electric also plans to use this new solution by building owners and designers when developing interior layouts for greater comfort. In recent years, under the influence of COVID-19 and other factors, the element of comfort and health compliance has come to the fore with the increase in ventilation. However, until now, it has been difficult to use the built-in sensors of air conditioner indoor units to collect airflow data due to the large differences in room layout and air conditioning systems. With this new system it is now possible to produce and analyze solutions.

Highlights

1) Predicts airflow and temperature distribution to determine optimal conditions

– Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is used to predict airflow and temperature distribution under desks, behind partition walls in offices or in hard-to-reach places due to other air conditioning units nearby.

– Using air and temperature distribution data from comfort indexes, ideal airflow angles and air volumes are automatically determined and controlled for optimal wall-to-wall comfort.

Traditionally, indoor airflow was controlled individually using data from sensors in each indoor unit of the air conditioner. However, depending on the room layout and/or the location of the indoor unit, airflows may not reach areas such as corners. In addition, units close to each other can also block the desired airflows. Mitsubishi Electric’s new technology can predict airflow and temperature distribution using CFD analysis to test various conditions, including airflow angles, volumes and heat levels, while creating three-dimensional models using information about room layout and air conditioning. . Using the results of CFD analysis, the technology selects the most ideal conditions and controls the real-time operation of the air conditioning system. (Figure 1)

This technology allows airflow to be optimized even in environments where multiple air conditioning units are in operation. Airflow analysis, which predicts complex airflow and temperature distribution, also makes it possible to determine the ideal airflow volume and direction needed to maximize comfort throughout the room, including around floors and behind obstacles. As shown in Figure 1 (above), cross-flow collisions are avoided, allowing conditioned air to reach almost homogeneously every corner of the room. In areas near the window where the floor takes a long time to warm up due to the cold air coming from the windows, the 163 minutes spent on conventional systems is to reduce the temperature difference between 0.1 m and 1.7 m above the floor. be reduced by at least 3. °C is less than the Mitsubishi Electric Net Zero Energy Building (ZEB). Technology test facility SUSTIE® showed a major improvement in the tests performed between 08:00-17:00 and decreased to 3 minutes.

2) Generate models to visualize airflow, temperature distribution and ventilation effects

– Data necessary for airflow analysis, such as walls, floors, pillars and locations of air conditioning equipment; Three-dimensional models are produced based on BIM (Building Information Modeling) data.

– Airflow analysis; Models consisting of different furniture, indoor units and ventilation system layouts are tested in a virtual environment to visualize the airflow, temperature distribution and ventilation effects.

Creating interior models for CFD application requires a lot of time and effort, and very few experts can analyze the information obtained. Mitsubishi Electric eases this workload with this technology it has developed, simplifies the process of determining ideal settings and provides intuitive visualization and display of results. Using BIM data (a method of centrally managing and using building life cycle information), the solution generates three-dimensional room models for airflow analysis after collecting information about the layout of rooms, indoor units and ventilation system. Room layouts, indoor units and ventilation systems can be easily changed from the screen, while model numbers of Mitsubishi Electric air conditioning systems can be entered from the relevant database. The results of different layouts can be compared using airflow animations, color-coded temperature diagrams*, CO2 condensation levels and the time it takes for air to reach certain points of the grid. As can be seen in the solution in the example in Figure 2 below; The air is distributed more homogeneously in Layout 2, where the outlet grilles are placed in the center of the room and the intake grilles on the windowsill. This highly effective layout was also achieved without the input of airflow analysis specialists.

*Spatial distribution of pressure and temperature variables is shown with colors representing different scalar values.

Source: (BYZHA) – Beyaz News Agency