Effects of Semi-Open Space on Micro-Environmental Control

Syracuse, NY

Semi-open space (SOS) is defined as a space semi-confined by partitions in an open space environment. Most of the previous indoor environmental researches were focused on the open space environment, while only a few of them looked into the performance of the SOS. The existence of the SOS is for providing a certain level of privacy to the occupant, but it has been reported that it significantly affects the room air distribution, hence the thermal environment and indoor air quality. The micro-environment control system is defined as a system which provides heating, cooling or ventilation to the occupant locally. In this study, we evaluated the performance of a cubicle, as an SOS in the office, with different configurations, including opening size and orientation, and the combination of the micro-environmental control system and SOS in providing improved indoor air quality. The work included the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation representing a typical office space with one cubicle. The results showed that the cubicle “protects” the occupants from background air flow but this protection may not always be favored, and the location of the pollutant source significantly influenced the performance of the cubicle. The combination of the micro-environmental control system helped create an independent micro-environment as well as offset the effect of the cubicle.

https://surface.syr.edu/ibpc/2018/IE4/3