| Various modeling approaches have been developed and applied for the temperature distribution and airflow movement within buildings. In consideration of the complexity of the phenomena observed, the results expected, the parameters investigated, and the degree of accuracy required, these modeling approaches can be categorized into the following three groups: Single zone (Multi-room) models, Zonal models, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models.;In this thesis, several applications of the zonal model POMA – Pressurized zOnal Model with the Air diffuser – are developed for steady state situations. The applications concerned include the study of the influences of several factors on the air conditioning effectiveness in a residential attic, the study of heat loss and residential thermal comfort in house basements under several heating system configurations, the study of temperature distributions within an atrium, and the study of thermal behaviors of a vertical mantle solar tank. The results of these applications not only demonstrate the benefits of the zonal model predictions compared to single zone predictions, but also show the capabilities of the zonal model POMA to predict fluid (both air and water) temperature distribution and flow behavior. |
