HVAC: Storage Container Room Ventilation

Description

This project investigates steady airflow (ventilation) within a storage container room containing two internal walls, simulated using ANSYS Fluent and studied through CFD analysis. Proper ventilation of this kind is a core HVAC concern, since maintaining a consistent airflow is essential for effective cooling and air distribution in storage environments.

The three-dimensional geometry was created in Design Modeler, and meshing was performed in ANSYS Meshing. A structured mesh was used, comprising 115,635 elements.

Methodology

Here, ANSYS Fluent is used to examine steady airflow through a storage container room fitted with two walls. Such container rooms are commonly used to store perishable industrial goods, which must be kept under continuous, steady airflow to ensure adequate cooling and ventilation.

In this study, the airflow is simulated within a 0.5 × 0.5 × 1 m chamber containing two walls positioned across the flow path, representing the storage enclosure. Air enters the domain at a velocity of 5 m/s and accelerates to a maximum of roughly 20 m/s after passing over the second wall, as a result of the constricting geometry.

The standard k-epsilon turbulence model, together with the energy equation, was enabled to resolve the turbulent flow field and compute the temperature distribution throughout the domain.

Conclusion

Once the solution converged, two-dimensional contours of pressure, velocity, and streamlines were obtained. As shown, the inlet air velocity of 5 m/s rises to a peak of about 20 m/s owing to the geometry of the enclosure.

The normal force exerted on the domain walls is 15.8526 N. Intense turbulence is observed in the region between the two walls, where the turbulent kinetic energy reaches values as high as 2 J/kg.