Evaluation of thermal comfort in Galatsi Arena of the Olympics “Athens 2004” using a CFD model

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was used to evaluate the thermal comfort conditions in the indoor stadium of the Galatsi Arena, which hosted the sports of rhythmic gymnastics and table tennis during the Olympic Games “Athens 2004”. The CFD code CFX was applied to calculate the 3D airflow and temperature fields in the Arena for various values of temperatures (Tin) of conditioned inlet air. Calculated mean velocities and temperatures were used to determine the thermal comfort indices predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) and to evaluate the thermal conditions in the various regions of the Arena. Calculated PMV and PPD values showed that thermal conditions in the Galatsi Arena were very satisfactory for Tin = 16 °C; only a small percentage (<7%) of the spectators was expected to be slightly uncomfortable.