ASHRAE Journal - October 2010 - 63

improvements can be maximized. This project will supply data to help in the proper and safe use of UV in an HVAC system. This information will also allow users of Upper Room UV irradiation, Overhead UVGI, or food process disinfection systems to anticipate photo discoloration or photo degradation of materials, and substitute materials that are resistant to UV.

1512-RP	

CFD Resource Decisions in Particle Transport Modeling

August	2010	–	July	2012; University of Texas Austin; Principal	Investigator, Atila Novoselac; TC	4.10, Indoor Environmental Modeling

project will develop a design guide for determining the supply airflow rate and key temperatures in the system. The information resulting from this research project would be used to assist the designer in accurately estimating supply airflow requirements and predicting resultant space vertical temperature gradients. This is a natural sequence to the information and design guidance provided by the aforementioned UFAD design guide. The information would be available to all designers of UFAD systems and would standardize the supply airflow calculation procedure according to the degree of mixing maintained in the lower portion of the space. Benchmark 1544-RP	 Establishing Water Use Levels and Patterns of Commercial Building Hot
April	1,	2010	–	November 2011; Applied Energy Technology Company; Principal	Investigator, Carl Hiller; TC	6.6, Service Water Heating Systems

Prediction of particle dynamics in a built environment is very important for designing and maintaining a healthy indoor environment. Processes that include dispersion around the sources, their transport through the space, as well as the distribution in the vicinity of an occupant, define the human exposure to the particles. Apart from dilution which assumes perfect mixing, relatively little research has been carried out on the transport of disease carying particles from sources to the occupant. Therefore, there is a need for reliable and affordable modeling methods that can simulate particle dynamics in indoor environments. The objective of the proposed work is to provide the engineering and research community with critical CFD parameters suitable for particle transport modeling in a built environment where disease bearing particles can cause human exposure and health risks. in Buildings that Reduce 1515-RP	 Thermal and Air Quality Acceptability from Overhead Diffusers Energy by Reducing Minimum Airflow
September	2010	–	July	2012; University of California – Berkeley; Principal	Investigator, Edward Arens; TC	2.1, Physiology and Human Environment

The information available with which designers size and lay-out hot water systems in the commercial sector is antiquated and sadly in need of updating. We also need a better understanding of how people use water in commercial and institutional buildings. The objective of this project is to obtain measured hot water use in a sampling of significant building types that will enable Table 7 of the Service Water Heating chapter of the ASHRAE Handbook to be revised and updated. High time resolution monitoring of hot water use will enhance the understanding of the diversity (how many uses occur at the same time) of hot water uses by providing data on number, timing and duration of draws, rather than just aggregate water use over long (e.g., day, week, month) periods.

Simulations show that reducing zone minimums in a typical office building from 30% to 20% can save $100/k·ft2·yr in fan, cooling, and reheat energy (approximately a 10% reduction in total energy use). Multiplied across the millions of square feet of commercial space served by VAV boxes, the potential economic and environmental benefits are substantial. Savings can be achieved in new construction and in existing buildings through low cost control system re-programming. The opportunity for savings in existing buildings with minimal financial investments is a particularly exciting application for this work. Because this study will involve observations across a range of supply air volumes and temperatures, the study will have an additional benefit of providing ASHRAE with detailed information about local thermal discomfort in actual occupied buildings. This can be used to validate some of the local discomfort provisions in Standard 55, which are at present based solely on laboratory studies. The research could also have far reaching implications in terms of getting changes made to the ASHRAE Handbook, to manufacturers’ literature and to the way engineers calculate minimum flow rates. It will also support proposed changes in Standards 90.1, 62.1 and 55. Low-Order Acoustic 1517-RP	 Validation of aDiagnosing CombustionModel of Boilers and its Application for Driven Oscillations
September	2010	–	March	2012; Secat, Inc.; Principal	Investigator, David Herrin; TC	6.10, Fuels and Combustion

1547-RP	 CO -Based Demand Controlled Ventilation for Multiple Zone HVAC Systems
2

September	2010	–	March	2012; University of Nebraska – Lincoln; Principal	Investigator, Josephine Lau; TC	4.3, Ventilation Requirements and Infiltration

ASHRAE Standard 90.1 defines demand controlled ventilation (DCV) as a system that provides “automatic reduction of outdoor air intake below design rates when the actual occupancy of spaces served by the system is less than design occupancy.” Standard 90.1 has required DCV, with some exceptions, for densely occupied spaces since the 1999 version, which also required that the DCV system be in compliance with ASHRAE Standard 62.1. The Standard 62.1 User’s Manual includes an appendix showing the underlying theory and a control scheme for using carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration for DCV in accordance with the Ventilation Rate Procedure (VRP) of ASHRAE Standard 62.1. The 2007 version of the Manual only addresses CO2 DCV for single zone systems. The 2004 version of the Manual also included an approach for multiple zone recirculation HVAC systems (MZS) but errors were found in the approach so it was removed. The authors of the Manual and the SSPC 62.1 subcommittee monitoring the Manual’s development felt that before any MZS DCV control logic could be included in the manual, research had to be done to ensure that the many complexities of the subject were properly addressed. Until questions are answered concerning MZS DCV, CO2 DCV cannot be properly implemented in MZS with any assurance that it will be Standard 62.1 compliant and provide significantly improved energy performance. This research will ensure that it is possible to fully comply with both Standard 90.1 and Standard 62.1 with respect to multiple zone DCV systems.

During the development of higher efficiency, lower emission boilers, tonal noise can be an unacceptable problem. This is caused by oscillations of the flame which result in pressure oscillations in the combustion chamber that are radiated as noise. This occurs whenever the pressure oscillations feed back on the flame, via the mixture supply system, in such a manner that the flame oscillations increase. The interaction of the boiler, burner, and flame is so complex that breaking the circle is best accomplished with the help of a computer model. The objective of this research is to develop a procedure for quickly and efficiently modeling the acoustic behavior of gas fired heating boilers as a tool for diagnosing the cause of combustion oscillations. ASHRAE members who would benefit immediately from the proposed research are engineers engaged in the development of high efficiency, low NOx gas fired boilers for residential and small commercial applications. It is expected that the results will also benefit engineers involved in the development of gas fired furnaces and liquid fueled boilers as the demand for lower NOx emissions from those products spreads in the near future. Together, gas and oil burning boilers and furnaces are used to heat the vast majority of homes and small commercial buildings. The ultimate beneficiaries are the owners of buildings in which better heating appliances are to be installed and sustainable low emission solutions are to be provided. of Design Airflow 1522-RP	 Establishmentin Partially Procedures to Predict Room Systems Requirements Mixed Room Air Distribution
September	2009	–	August	2011; Building Energy & Environmental Engineering, LLP.; Principal	Investigator, Zheng Jiang & Qingyan Chen; TC	5.3, Room Air Distribution

1583-RP	

Assessment of Burning Velocity Test Methods

September	2010	–	March	2012; National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science Technology (AIST); Principal	Investigator, Kenji Takizawa; TC	3.1, Refrigerants and Secondary Coolants; AHRTI $30,000 co-funder

Regulations for the phase-out of R-134a in the automotive industry from 2011-2017 in the EU are already in place and anticipated to spread to other regions and applications (e.g., Waxman-Markey bill in the US Congress). By obtaining accurate values for burning velocity of mildly flammable low GWP refrigerants, the likelihood of adoption of these refrigerants will significantly increase and the long term environmental impact on climate change will be very significant. Substantial quantities of these new refrigerants could be in use in the 2012-2020 timeframe. Also, rules for refrigerant toxicity and safety classification under ISO 817 will probably be adopted by ASHRAE in the future in order to harmonize both systems and prevent confusion in the marketplace. Therefore, this is an important program for ASHRAE as well as ISO. The objective of this project is to critically evaluate two different burning velocity test methods (vertical tube and spherical/cylindrical) to determine their precision and accuracy and potential for test method simplification and cost reduction without sacrificing quality. This should allow more widespread use of burning velocity measurement to support the new refrigerant flammability classification standard ISO 817 and ASHRAE Standard 34. The plan is to have one ASHRAE project, but potentially two separate budgets and contracts if two contractors with expertise with one specific method are chosen. Frost and Defrost Thermal Performances 1589-RP	 Effects of Fin Design on Exchangers of Micro-Channel Heat
September	2009	–	February	2011; Oklahoma State University; Principal	Investigator, Lorenzo Cremaschi; TC	8.4, Air-to-Refrigerant Heat Transfer Equipment

Under Floor Air Distribution (UFAD) systems have been proved to provide higher ventilation effectiveness if they are properly designed and they also have the potential to conserve energy. Several methods have been developed for estimating the supply airflow requirements of UFAD systems, but all involve arbitrary assignment of certain convective heat gains to the upper region of the space and estimated return air temperatures. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct research to develop a scientific guide for designers of UFAD systems. This project will quantify the convective heat transfer into a stratified occupied space by conducting measurements and simulations for an interior zone and a perimeter zone with the UFAD system. By combining the ASHRAE 1373-RP database, this

Microchannel-type heat exchangers have been recently adopted by the heat pump industry because of their compactness and efficiency for heating and cooling in residential and commercial applications. If these heat exchangers are used in outdoor coils, they are subjected to significant frost growth and frequent defrost cycles, which ultimately limit their heating performance during winter. This project aims to study the effect of fin design modifications on frost and defrost thermal performance of microchannel and fins heat exchangers. Transients cases of

October 2010

ASHRAE Journal

63
ASHRAE Journal - October 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - October 2010
