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Computational Fluid Dynamic-Based Investigation of Temperature Distribution in Office Air Conditioning Systems
1Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia
2Energy Commission, No. 12, Jalan Tun Hussein Precinct 2, 62100, Putrajaya, Malaysia
3Pusat Pengajian Citra Universiti, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
*Email Address : zulizzi.f@umk.edu.my
Abstract : The present research investigates the temperature distribution in an office room using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to better understand cooling effectiveness and airflow behaviour under typical air-conditioning operation. A comprehensive three-dimensional CFD model of a standard office room was developed by ANSYS Fluent software to predict thermal performance in the office domain. The important factors that affect the effectiveness of cooling, such as air velocity and vent location, were systematically investigated. Temperature Distribution Validation (TDV) was used to validate the simulation results by comparing them with experimental measurements. Values for mean absolute error (MAE) varied between 0.26 and 1.24, and the root mean square error (RMSE) was mostly below 0.3 in most regions, expressing a good concordance of simulated and observed data. The temporal variation of the cooling effect in the initial 200s of the AC operation resulted in the average temperature decrease being approximately 2.6 °C, with the fastest cooling rate observed near the air outlet. Spatial non-uniformities were also recognized by the simulation, especially in the corner and window sections, caused by restricted airflow. The present analysis confirms the predictability of CFD for the prediction of temperature gradients and the identification of thermally critical sites that need to be improved. In summary, the investigation proves that CFD is a reliable tool for thermal comfort optimization and energy economy in office building design.
Keywords : air flow distribution, energy performance, indoor environmental quality, numerical simulation, thermal analysis