HI-02-21-5

Study on Cross-Ventilation with Radiational

Panel Cooling for Hot and Humid Regions

Doosam Song, Dr.Eng. Shinsuke Kato, Dr.Eng.

Member ASHRAE
Taeyeon Kim, Dr.Eng. Shuzo Murakami, Dr.Eng.
Fellow ASHRAE

ABSTRACT
A hybrid cooling system using radiational panel cooling
with wind-induced cross-ventilation in an office setting is
investigated. The characteristics of the indoor environment are
examined using CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simula-
tion, which is coupled with radiation heat transfer simulation
and with HVAC control.
The system is devised on an energy-saving strategy that
utilizes stratified room air with a vertical temperature gradi-
ent. The air cooled by the radiational panel settles down within
the lower part of the room, while the hot and humid outdoor
air passes through the upper region of the room and sweeps out
the heat and contaminants generated in the room.
INTRODUCTION
In order to reduce the energy use of HVAC systems in
buildings, the use of wind-driven cross-ventilation seems to be
promising. However, in hot and humid regions such as in
Japan, utilization of natural ventilation is only inadequate to
exhaust the heat generated in rooms, particularly in the mid-
summer season. Some additional auxiliary cooling systems
are required. Here, a radiational cooling system with wind-
driven cross-ventilation is examined.
The hybrid cooling system, based on the concept of utiliz-
ing both natural ventilation and a radiational cooling panel,
aims at introducing outdoor air indoors by cross-ventilation
and achieving comfortable indoor thermal conditions by the
power of nature as far as possible. Even though it is impossible
for higher-temperature outdoor air to cool the room by cross-
ventilation, outdoor air can still be introduced and pass
through the upper part of the room, sweeping out the heat and
contaminants generated indoors. In the meantime, with the aid
of the vertical thermal gradient, the lower part of the room can
be well cooled by a radiational cooling panel. This strategy is
expected to be energy-efficient and to provide people with
adequate thermal comfort in the room. The concept of the
hybrid cooling system is illustrated in Figure 1.
Many studies for radiational cooling systems have been
done (Kulpmann 1993; Simmonds 1996); however, no studies
have been done on these types of hybrid panel cooling
systems. The effectiveness of the hybrid systems depends on
the characteristics of thermal stratification in the room. They
can be well analyzed by experiments or by a CFD (computa-
tional fluid dynamics) simulation in which the radiant heat
transfer and HVAC control are coupled.
In the case of mild climates, such as in spring or in
autumn, the hybrid cooling system was found to be quite
energy-efficient by a previous study (Kato et al. 1999) in
which CFD simulation was used. In this study, the system is
further investigated under the severe outdoor conditions of
summer, also using CFD.
Figure 1 Concept of hybrid cooling system.

Doosam Song is a research associate and Shinsuke Kato is a professor at the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Taeyeon Kim is a lecturer in the School of Architecture, Youngsan University, Korea. Shuzo Murakami is a professor, Keio University, Yoka-
hama, Japan.

1276 ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia

Figure 2 Office model for analysis (by CFD, half-space of
the symmetric office module, example of Case 1).
ROOM MODEL ANALYZED
The hybrid cooling system may be used in both residential
and office buildings. Here, the case of an office building is
examined. The office setting is shown in Figure 2. The depth
of the room is 10.8 m. The width of the analyzed area is set at
half of the 3.6 m office module (1.8 m), in consideration of the
symmetrical configuration. Hybrid cooling is modeled as the
outdoor air flows into the room from the upper opening of the
window (0.5 × 1.8 m; Figure 2, left), and is expelled through
the opening at the other side (0.5 × 1.8 m; Figure 2, right),
while the radiational panel cooling is still operating. The radi-
ational panels, operating below the dew-point temperature, are
set in front of desks in the room, serving as partitioning panels.
As a result, the panels can remove the humidity of the air in the
room with condensation, so drain-pans and plumbing are
needed to remove the condensing water.
METHOD
Indoor airflow, temperature, humidity, and age of air are
numerically analyzed based on a three-dimensional CFD
(computational fluid dynamics) simulation, using the standard
k-ε model. The CFD simulation is coupled with radiant heat
transfer simulation and with HVAC control (Murakami et al.
2001). In the radiation analysis, the view factor and the radiant
heat transfer between the walls were calculated by the Monte
Carlo method and Gebhart’s absorption factor method (Omori
et al. 1997), respectively. Humidity distribution is solved
based on the equation for humidity transport with the CFD
method (Murakami et al. 2000). The HVAC control system
modifies the radiational panel surface temperature based on
the target PMV value (0.5 corresponds to the PPD of 10%) for
the human model in the center of the room.
CONDITIONS OF CFD AND CASES ANALYZED
The boundary conditions of the cases analyzed are tabu-
lated in Tables 1 and 2. The total heat generation rate of sensi-
ble and latent heat is about 110 W/m2, a relatively higher
value. The relative humidity of the incoming outdoor air is set
at a constant value of 70% at 30°C. The air volume rate of the
outdoor air is set at a constant value of 150 m3/h (0.05m/s).
This air volume rate of natural ventilation is determined
considering the minimum OA (outdoor air) rate for people in
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia
Figure 3 PMV, PPD for various clothing conditions and
metabolic rate (with panel height at 2.4 m and
surface temperature constant at 18.4°C).
the office setting. In calculating the PMV of the human model,
the metabolic rate is set at 1.2 met and the clo. value at 0.5.
As a parametric study, the significance of the metabolic
rate and clothing values to the PMV and PPD are analyzed
under the exposure to the constant surface temperature of the
radiational panel of 18.4°C, panel height at 2.4 m, with the
results shown in Figure 3. It is obvious that with the adjustment
in clothing and metabolic rate, it is effective in alleviating ther-
mal discomfort.
A total of four cases (Cases 1, 2, 3, and 4) are analyzed in
this paper. The characteristics of thermal stratification of the
room air depend on many factors. They are height of ceiling,
positions of in- and outflow openings, positions of heat source,
height of cooling panel, intake air temperature, intake air
volume rate, and so on. In the study, only the effects of ceiling
height and cooling panel height are examined. In the four
cases, the ceiling height and the cooling panel height are
changed independently between two levels: 2.6 m and 6.0 m
for the ceiling height and 1.2 m and 2.4 m for the cooling panel
height. Case1 shown in Figure 2 is for a ceiling height of 2.6
m and a panel height of 1.2 m. It is assumed to be the basic case
used for comparison with the others. In Case 2, the ceiling
height is changed to 6.0 m. In Cases 3 and 4, the height of the
cooling panel is changed to double the height (2.4 m) of Cases
1 and 2.
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 TABLE 1
Boundary Conditions for CFD Simulation

Supply Inlet kin = 3/2(Uin×0.05)2, εin = Cµkin3/2/lin, lin = width of the opening, Tin = 30°C,
Uin: velocity of inflow [m/s], kin: kinetic energy of inflow [m2/s2],
εin: kinetic energy dissipation rate [m2/s3], lin: specific length scale [m]
Supply Outlet Vel.: Mass balanced
kout, εout, T, AH: Free slip
Wall, Radiational Panel, Velocity Generalized log-law, free slip at symmetric plane
and Human Model
Temperature Convective heat transfer coefficient is fixed at:
Radiational panel: 5.5, windows: 20.0, others: 4.0 [W/(m2°C)]
Humidity 1. Human model: Emission rate of sensible/latent heat is changed based on energy balance of
human.
2. Radiational panel: AH (absolute humidity) is given corresponding to the saturated vapor
pressure, when the surface temperature of the radiational panel is lower than the dew-point
temperature of the air and condensation occurs.
In other cases, gradient of AH = 0. Humidity transfer coefficient is calculated based on Lewis
Relation.
3. Other walls: Gradient of AH = 0
Emissivity of Wall, human model: 0.9
radiation Symmetrical plane: 0.0
Mesh System CFD: 71(X1) ×27 (X2) ×12 (X3), Radiation: 31 (X1) ×12 (X2) ×8 (X3) (In Case 1)

TABLE 2
Cases Analyzed and their Heat Load Conditions

Case Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4

Heat Sources (W) Human body (1 body) 120
Lighting (4 units) 400
PC (4 units) 800
Floor (4 human body) 480
Solar heat (window) 470
Natural Ventilation Temperature (°C) 30.0
Relative humidity (%) 70.0
3
Air flow rate (m /h) 150
Ceiling Height (m) 2.6 6.0 2.6 6.0
2
Radiational Panel Size (m ) 9.2 18.4
*Sensible and latent heat from humans is assumed to be provided from one human model and the floor.

1278 ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia

Figure 4 Flow fields (section through center of the half
[1.8 m] room).
RESULTS
The figures for some results (distributions of relative
humidity, age of air, and wall surface temperature) of Cases 1,
2, and 4 are not shown here because of the limited space.
Flow Fields
The flow fields for Cases 1 and 3 (ceiling height of 2.6) are
shown in Figure 4. In Case 1 (Figure 4a), since the temperature
difference between the indoor (30.9°C) and outdoor air
(30.0°C) is small, the negative buoyancy effect of the inflow-
ing air is not apparent. It does not fall to the floor and mix with
indoor air around the upper part of room. In Case 2, the same
tendency of the inflow air is observed. When the radiational
panel height is 1.2 m, even if the ceiling height is changed from
2.6 m to 6.0 m, the airflow pattern of the lower part of the room
is almost identical; however, in the upper part of the room,
complicated recirculating flows appear in Case 2, while in
Case 1, there is a single clear recirculating flow in the upper
part of the room.
With the taller cooling panel (Cases 3 and 4), thermal
plumes rising from the personal computers clearly appear
(Figure 4b). This is because the average temperature in the
task zone becomes lower. Between Cases 3 and 4 (ceiling
height of 2.6 m and 6.0 m with a cooling panel at 2.4 m), no
significant difference is observed in the flow fields at the lower
part of the room. But in Case 4, the thermal plumes do not
reach to the ceiling and turn downward at a height of 3.0 m
while rising streams reach the ceiling in Case 3.
Temperature Fields
The temperature fields for Cases 1 and 3 are shown in
Figure 5. In Cases 1 and 2 (radiational panel height:1.2 m), a
sharp temperature stratification is formed at the mid-height of
the cooling panel; the temperature difference between the
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia
Figure 5 Temperature fields (section through center of the
half-room).
Figure 6 Relative humidity distribution (Case 3, average
relative humidity: 6.0%) (section through center
of the half-room).
upper and the bottom part is about 10°C to 12°C. It can bring
out the local discomfort. But, the air temperature is almost
uniform above the sharp temperature gradient zone. The aver-
age room air temperature (about 31°C) is higher than that of
Cases 3 and 4 (about 29°C).
In Cases 3 and 4, the vertical temperature difference
becomes weak and about 2°C. The sharp temperature stratifi-
cations of Cases 1 and 2 disappear, and the temperature distri-
bution becomes comparatively uniform. However, there are
still weak vertical temperature gradients beneath the top of the
cooling panel, and the temperature of the task zone is kept
cooler than that of the upper zone.
Relative Humidity
Only the relative humidity distribution for Case 3 is
shown in Figure 6. In Case 1, the relative humidity of the room
air exceeds 60% over the whole space and is lower than for the
outdoor air. Because the humid outdoor air (70%) is dehumid-
ified by the radiational cooling panel surface (4.5°C) and the
average room air temperature is still high (about 31°C),
regions of relative humidity of 100% appear near the floor. In
Case 2, the relative humidity becomes lower than in Case 1.
This is because the intake outdoor air passes around the upper
part of the space and is mixing less with the cooled air near the
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Figure 7 Age of air (Case 3, nondimensionalized by the
nominal time constant: τn) (section through
center of the half-room).

floor. In Cases 3 and 4, the average relative humidity of the air

is about 60%. Figure 8 Wall surface temperature, OT and MRT of human
model (Case 3).
Age of Air
The age of the fresh outdoor air is calculated based on the
resulting flow fields. The calculation results are nondimen-
sionalized by the nominal time constant, τn (inverse of the air
change rate) (Kato and Murakami 1988); τn for Cases 1 and 3
(ceiling height is 2.6 m) is 1200 s; for Cases 2 and 4 it is 2600
s. The distribution of the age of the air is under the strong influ-
ence of flow fields. In Cases 1 and 2, young air is observed in
the upper part of the room because the fresh outdoor air passes
through the ambient zone of the upper part of the space. In
Cases 3 (Figure 7) and 4, the air becomes old and distributed
uniformly over the whole space, because the young outdoor air
mixes well with the indoor air by recirculating flows induced
by the thermal plumes rising from the personal computers.

Wall Surface Temperature and

OT and MRT of Human Model
The mean radiant temperature (MRT) of the modeled
human body in Cases 1 and 2 (radiational panel height of 1.2
m) is lower than in Cases 3 (Figure 8) and 4 (radiational panel
height of 2.4 m) with the same PMV value of 0.5. The lower
MRT for Cases 1 and 2 corresponds to the comparatively
higher average room temperature. The operative temperatures
(OT) in Cases 2 and 4 are slightly higher than in Cases 1 and
3. The higher OT for Cases 2 and 4 corresponds to the lower
relative humidity.
Characteristic of Cooling Load
The cooling loads removed by natural ventilation and the
cooling panel are shown in Figure 9. The sensible heat load of
the internal heat generation is partially removed by natural
ventilation, while it brings a large amount of latent-heat load
in all cases. When the radiation panel height is 1.2 m, with the
higher ceiling condition (6.0 m), the latent heat load of the
radiational panel is reduced to one-third of that with a lower
ceiling (2.6 m). When the panel height is 2.4 m (Cases 3 and
4), the latent heat load from introducing the outdoor air
decreases markedly. This is because increased condensation
on the panel is apparently decreased. There is little difference
in the cooling load between the different ceiling heights when
the panel height is the same at 2.4 m. But in the cases where
Figure 9 Cooling loads removed by natural ventilation and
panel cooling.
the panel height is 1.2 m (Cases 1 and 2), the latent heat load
from the outdoor air intake becomes considerably different
according to the ceiling height.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper investigates the performance of a hybrid cool-
ing system using radiational panel cooling with wind-induced
cross-ventilation under hot and humid regions. Especially the
effects of changing ceiling height and cooling panel height are
examined.The evaluation used a coupled simulation method to
analyze the cross-ventilation, radiant heat transfer, and HVAC
control.
When the radiational panel height is low (1.2 m) and the
ceiling is high (6.0 m), the outdoor air does not fall to the floor.
It mixes with indoor air around the upper part of the room and
the latent heat load of the radiational panel is reduced to one-
third of that for the lower ceiling condition (2.6 m). However,
no significant difference in the sharp thermal stratification at
the mid-height of the cooling panel (1.2 m) is observed for the
different ceiling heights. A low radiational panel (1.2 m) is

1280 ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia

insufficient for cooling the task zone in the room, so the partial
cooling of only the task zone is seldom achieved.
When the radiational panel height is 2.4 m, thermal
plumes rising from the personal computers clearly appear. It
mixes the upper air of the room with the cooled air near the
floor. However, regardless of the ceiling height, the latent
cooling load from introducing outdoor air become smaller
than that for the lower panel. This is because the radiational
panel surface temperature becomes apparently higher at about
18°C. As a result, the sharp vertical temperature gradient at the
mid-height of the cooling panel for the lower panel is dimin-
ished.
The hybrid-cooling system with the high ceiling and high
panel cooling system seems to be promising as a thermal-
comfort and an energy-efficient cooling system in hot and
humid climates.
REFERENCES
Kato, S., S. Murakami, H. Chang, et al. 1999. Hybrid air-
conditioning based on natural and mechanical ventila-
tion in office buildings. Indoor Air ’99.
Kato, S., and S. Murakami. 1988. New ventilation efficiency
scales based on spacial distribution of contaminant
aided by numerical simulation. ASHRAE Transactions
94(2): 309-330.
Kulpmann, R.W. 1993. Thermal comfort and air quality in
rooms with cooled ceilings —Results of scientific inves-
tigations. ASHRAE Transactions 99(2): 488-502.
Murakami, S., S. Kato, and J. Zeng. 2000. Combined simula-
tion of airflow, radiation and moisture transport for heat
release from a human body. Building and Environment
35: 489-500.
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia
Murakami, S., S. Kato, and T. Kim. 2001. Indoor cooling/
heating loads analysis based on coupled simulation of
convection, radiation and HVAC control. Building and
Environment 36: 901-908.
Omori, T., et al. 1997. Numerical simulation of solar heat
absorption within indoor space by means of composite
grid method. ASHRAE Transactions 103(1): 164-171.
Simmonds, P. 1996. Practical application of radiant heating
and cooling to maintain comfort conditions. ASHRAE
Transactions 102(1):659-666.
DISCUSSION
Dennis Loveday, Professor, Dept. of Civil and Building
Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough,
U.K.: Have you investigated the effects of these radiant panels
on contaminants transport in the air and air quality for the
occupants?
Doosam Song: Thank you very much for your comments. Of
course, we investigate the air quality of the room with the
index of age of air (S. Kato,1988) indirectly. It is defined by
the folowing equations.
the age of outdoor air = Cx'(X)/Cs
here
Cs = q/Q
3
Cx'(X) [kg/m ] = the contaminant concentration in case of
uniform contaminants generation
throughout a room. The contaminant
generation rate is q.
Q [m3/s] = airfolw rate
Cs [kg/m3] = The perfect mixing concetration (equal to
the average concentration a exhaust).
Figure 7 shows the result of age of air in the paper.
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