ASHRAE Journal - October 2014 - 93

RESEARCH REPORT

tenable conditions within pressurized stairwells when the door from the fire floor to the
stairwell is closed and one or more other doors in the stairwell are open. Experiments will
consist of fires representative of shielded fires and unsprinklered fires. If experimental
results indicate that tenable conditions are maintained with both pressure compensating systems and non-pressure compensating systems, then a quantifiable comparison of
tenability vs. time for the two approaches shall be developed.

1450-RP Transport of Contaminants from Garages Attached or Integral to LowRise Residential Buildings
December 2013 - May 2015; University of Illinois; Principal Investigator, Paul Francisco; SSPC 62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor
Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings; Co-sponsor: TC 4.3, Ventilation Requirements and Infiltration

The results from this project will help ASHRAE members (including HVAC designers,
IAQ consultants, researchers and other professionals) to better design low-rise residential
buildings to improve occupant comfort, health and safety. The results will be particularly
useful to SSPC62.2 and Guideline 24 consideration of ventilation requirements for attached
garages. Possible new requirements for garage exhaust ventilation and air tightening are
being considered and should be justified by field measurements. Standard 62-89 included
a ventilation requirement for residential garages of 100 cfm per car, assumed to be met by
leakage. However, the field and modeling studies that have been done to date make it clear
that there are times when air leakage is inadequate to control contaminants originating in
garages. At times natural leakage is not only inadequate but contributes to contaminant
transport into houses-sometimes resulting in serious injury or death.

1455-RP Advanced Control Sequences for H VAC Systems - Phase I A ir
Distribution and Terminal Systems
April 2009 - January 2015 (P); Taylor Engineering, LLC; Principal Investigator, Mark Hydeman; TC 1.4, Control Theory and Application

This research project is intended to be the first of two phases: Phase I: Air Distribution
and Terminal Systems and Phase II: Central Plants and Hydronic Systems. This first phase
will include developing comprehensive optimized control sequences for the following
common air distribution and terminal subsystems: Generic thermal zones, Single zone
systems, Variable air volume terminal units, and Variable air volume systems.
Logic diagrams will be developed for the sequences so that the logic is not vague, as is
inherent in any written sequence. Sequences will be tested and debugged using simulation. Future research projects will be implemented to test the sequences in real buildings.
Once the research project is complete, the sequences and flow diagrams will be proposed as appendices to Guideline 13 via the addenda process. This will allow them to be
publicly reviewed. Including the sequences in Guideline 13 will also allow them to be
maintained over time, such as fixing bugs and incorporating new energy saving or diagnostic sequences via addenda, and also provides a good way for them to be disseminated
− control sequences and control specifications go hand in hand.
Production from
1457-RP By-productCleaning DevicesPhotocatalytic Oxidation Associated with
Indoor Air
September 2007 - January 2015 (P); University of Wisconsin; Principal Investigator, Dean Tompkins & Marc Ramsey; TC 2.3,
Gaseous Air Contaminants and Gas Contaminant Removal Equipment

Over the past 3-5 years, there is increasing commercial interest and available products
that treat indoor air contaminants with technology that employs photocatalytic oxidation.
Photocatalysis is becoming a widely used method for the purification and deodorization of
indoor air and industrial exhaust. The process is being incorporated into room air cleaners, in-duct cleaning devices, and in-vehicle ventilation cleaning devices. Photocatalysis
typically uses titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) and an ultraviolet (UV) light source to drive the
photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) reaction. Research has shown that photocatalysis oxidizes
the pollutants introduced into a variety of breakdown products.
Research has shown that simple volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) like ethylene are
oxidized to carbon dioxide and water, but the fates of the more complex larger VOCs
typically found in an indoor air environment are unknown. It is important to determine
whether they are also reduced to non-threatening carbon dioxide and water, or whether
they react to form irritating products like aldehydes which could deteriorate the indoor
air rather than improve it. This research is precompetitive because it will expand the
understanding of PCO technology and ensure that air cleaners based on this technology
improve indoor air quality.
The overall objective of the project is to establish a method for the analysis of byproducts from photocatalytic oxidation indoor air cleaning devices. In so doing, the
investigators will characterize (measure and report) the by-product production from the
photocatalytic oxidation associated with indoor air cleaning devices.

1462-RP Active Mechanisms for Enhancing Heat and Mass Transfer in
Sorption Fluids
December 2012 - November 2014; University of Nebraska Lincoln, Principal Investigator, Josephine Lau; TC 8.3, Absorption and Heat
Operated Machines

The objective of the proposed effort is to develop active enhancement techniques for
coupled heat and mass transfer processes that will serve as the basis for new absorption
technology, and provide design tools for these enhanced transport processes through
experiments and modeling. Active enhancement implies the enhancement of the
process through movement (agitation, rotation, vibration, etc.) of the tube surfaces,
using electrical power input as necessary, which provides an additional crucial mixing

mechanism and also may "thin out" the liquid layers to reduce the governing resistances.
The PI will propose one promising implementation of an enhancement technique that
involves agitation, rotation or vibration of the transfer surfaces for an absorber at typical
heat pump/chiller operating conditions. Controlled heat and mass transfer experiments with and without enhancement will be conducted at representative conditions,
together with data analysis and model and design tool development. The results will fill
a critical gap in the absorption industry, where up to now, enhancement of absorption
has only been considered using passive surface enhancement or through additives.
There is almost no understanding of the substantial enhancement in absorption that
could be achieved through the use of electrically driven moving parts. (The required
electrical energy is expected to be miniscule compared to compression energy required
in vapor-compression systems.)
Balancing
1467-RP Cooling Latent Heat Load between Display Cases and Store Comfort
September 2009 - January 2015 (P); University of Colorado; Principal Investigator, Michael Brandemuehl; TC 10.7, Commercial
Food and Beverage Cooling Display and Storage; AHRTI $84,000 co-funder

Supermarket energy costs for heating, cooling, dehumidification, and refrigeration are a major store operating cost and often exceed store profits. While most of
this cost is associated with maintaining refrigerated conditions for products, much
is also spent to maintain suitable environmental conditions in the supermarket
sales area. Each of these requirements is inexorably linked to the other. Failure to
control store temperature and humidity can cause excessive energy consumption
by refrigeration equipment and hamper product marketing due to frost build-up on
frozen products and fogging of display cases. Conversely, most of the energy used
to operate the refrigeration equipment serves to reduce the building cooling and
dehumidification requirements.
The overall objective of this project is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the
potential for energy savings in supermarkets by optimized design and operation of the
combined HVAC and refrigeration systems. The assessment will include the effects of
climate, space temperature and humidity set-point controls, HVAC system type and
characteristics, and the design and operation of the refrigerated cases. Furthermore,
the project will address the overall layout of HVAC and refrigeration system components
in supermarkets, including HVAC zoning, the location of supply and return air, and the
overall air distribution patterns in the supermarket.
Measuring
1478-RP Buildings Air-tightness of Mid- and High-Rise Non-Residential
September 2009 - September 2014 (P); Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.; Principal Investigator, Wagdy Anis; TC 4.3, Ventilation
Requirements and Infiltration

The results from this project will be able to help ASHRAE members (including HVAC
designers, IAQ consultants, researchers and other professionals) to better design healthy
and energy-efficient mid- and high-rise non-residential buildings by better understanding the as-built performance of building envelope materials and designs eventually
helping to take the guess work out of the effects of envelope infiltration on system sizing
and building design.
In addition, the ASHRAE Presidential Ad Hoc Homeland Security Committee specifically recommended research on test methods for determining building tightness
and collection of data on building tightness in its May 2006 memo on CBR Strategies
and Information/Methods Gaps. That memo further recommends research on design
methods based on building tightness and expected pressures and methods for monitoring
and controlling building pressurization, which are expected to be pursued as a separate
follow-up project.
Literature and Product Review Cost Benefit Analysis
1491-RP Available Ozone Air Cleaning for HVAC Systems of Commercially
September 2012 - September 2014 (P); University of Texas-Austin; Principal Investigator, Richard Corsi; EHC, Environmental Health
Committee

The overall aim of the project is to develop an economic assessment of the costs
(including risks) and potential benefits of the use of ozone air-cleaning devices in
HVAC systems. This will be achieved through the following two specific objectives: 1)
Conduct a comprehensive and exhaustive literature and product review to assess the
capabilities and readiness of the air cleaning industry to provide adequate technological
solutions for HVAC entrained ozone air cleaning. The review should evaluate not only
the removal efficiencies of various air cleaning technologies and approaches but also
the impact of these technologies on the documented outcomes of exposure to ozone
as well as its secondary products. A parallel task being proposed is the development
of an ozone air cleaning equipment testing program being initiated through another
research proposal through ASHRAE Technical Committee 2.3. Develop a cost-benefit
analysis method, procedure and model for ozone air cleaning in buildings. Use the
model developed to determine what type and level of ozone air cleaning per existing
technologies is appropriate and cost-effective for reducing the health risk associated
with the exposure to indoor ozone and ozone-initiated pollutants (e.g., as required in
standard 62.1, 189, or others).

O CT O B E R 2 0 1 4

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