Large-eddy simulation of indoor air flow using an efficient finite-volume method

A numerical scheme for the large-eddy simulation of indoor air flows including heat transfer is presented. It is based on a finite-volume discretization of the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible fluids on Cartesian grids. The governing equations are solved with a projection approach in combination with a direct Poisson solver for the pressure employing Fourier transformations. Complex boundaries are implemented by a variant of the immersed boundary method based on geometrical blocking of the fluid cells. The Boussinesq approximation is used to account for thermal buoyancy effects. The recently developed σ-subgrid scale model is utilized for the modeling of unresolved turbulent scales. Extensive validation of the code is carried out employing numerical and experimental reference data for laminar and turbulent flows in complex geometries including heat transfer. The computational speed is investigated for the flow in a model room including a heat source. It is shown that with the proposed numerical scheme real-time simulations of this configuration can be carried out with high accuracy at moderate numerical effort.