Proceedings of 2010 IEEE Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD 2010),
13 - 14 Dec 2010, Putrajaya, Malaysia
Modeling of Heat and Moisture Transfer in Building Using RLF Method
Raad Z. Hamad, Khairul Salleh Mohamed Sahari,
Farrukh Nagi
University of Tenaga Nasional
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Km7 Jalan Kajang-Puchong, 43009 Kajang, Malaysia
Email: raadahmood@yahoo.com
Abstract-This study is concerned with effectiveness of building
internal temperature and relative humidity by ventilation and
iniltration low rate. Building model is inevitable to study the
feasibility of building ventilation, and how to affect on indoor air
quality. The empirical method which used in building model is a
residential load factor (RLF). RLF formed to calculate
cooling/heating load depend upon indoor/outdoor temperature.
The transparency, functionality of indoor/outdoor temperatures
and simplicity of RLF make it suitable for use in this model.
Furthermore the parameters of model can be calculated room by
room and that's proper for variable air volume (VAV). Today a
VAV system is universally accepted as means of achieving energy
eicient and comfortable building environment. The model what
we get veriied with different method, by manual or sotware
program calculation.
Kywords-Building model; HV A C; RLF; Enery control;
Nonlinear control
1. INTRODUCTION
The pioneerng simulation work of Stephenson and Mitalas
[1] on the response factor method signiicantly advanced the
modeling of transient heat transfer through the opaque fabric
and the heat transfer between intenal surfaces and the room
air. The heat balance approaches were introduced in the 1970s
[2] to enable a more rigorous treatment of building loads.
Rather than utilizing weighting factors to characterize the
thermal response of the room air to solar insolation, intenal
gains, and heat transfer through the fabric, this methodology
solves heat balances for the room air and at the surfaces of
fabric components. The building model simulation system has
been in a constant state of evolution and renewal since its irst
prototype was developed over two decades ago [3).
Numerical discretization and simultaneous solution
techniques were developed as a higher-resolution altenative to
the response factor methods [3]. Essentially, this approach
extends the concept of the heat balance methodology to all
relevant building and plant components. More complex and
rigorous methods for modeling HVAC systems were
introduced in the 1980s. Transient models and more
undamental approaches were developed [4] as altenatives to
the traditional approach which perfomed mass and energy
balances on pre-conigured templates of common HVAC
systems. he delivery of training and the production of
leaning materials [5] are also receiving increasing attention.
Additionally, many validation exercises have been conducted
[6] and test procedures developed [7] to assess, improve, and
demonstrate the integrity of simulation tools.
978-1-4244-8648-9/10/$26.00 ©201 0 IEEE 287
Haider A. F. Mohamed
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan,
Malaysia
E-mail: haider.abbas@nottingham.edu.my
In addition to these undamental methodological
developments, more rigorous, accurate, and highly resolved
methods have been continue to be developed for many of the
signiicant heat transfer paths. The empirical of themal
building simulation techniques were developed as a higher
resolution altenative to the response heat balance methods [8).
The empirical methods like RLF method was derived rom
residential heat balance (RHB), [9, 10] they build RLF method
by applying several thousand residential heat balnce (B)
cooling load results, and using these result to create RLF by
Statistical regression technique to fmd values for the load
factors.
The procedure method of (RLF) is presented by ASRAE
[II). There are many reasons to adopt this method to build
model like more itness to applied on computer process,
calculate cooling and heating load depending on inside and
outside temperatre and cooling and heating load can be
calculated room by room and that's proper for variable air
volume (VAV) system. Where there re two types of scheme
for multiple zone system are available, a constant air volume
(CAV) and variable air volume (VAV) which is recently
become vey popular. This is because of the signiicant energy
savings as compred to the other (CAV) multiple zone central
system. Furthermore the (VAV) can condition part of building
which is occupied only.
II. MODELING ApPROACH
The proposed model was structured in four groups which
represented four building domain: conditioned space, opaque
surfaces structure, transparent fenestration surfaces and slab
loors as shown in igure (1).
The irst group, conditioned space sub-model, is related to
the thermal capacitance of indoor air space and building
uniture, where air space and uniture are considered at same
temperature. The second group, opaque surfaces structure
sub-model, is related to the radiation exchanges between
envelope and its neighborhood and to the heat and mass
transfers through the opaque surfaces structure material.
Where the opaque surfaces structure are comprise of walls,
doors, roofs and ceilings. The thrd group, transparent
fenestration surfaces sub-model, is related to the direct and
indirect radiation exchanges between transparent envelope and
its neighborhood and to the heat transfers trough the
transparent fenestration surfaces material. Where the
transparent fenestration surfaces are comprise of windows,
skylights and glazed doors. The fourth group, slab loors sub
model, is related to the heat transfers through the slab loor
layers due to heat release and store in it.