Studies on the effects of air curtain on heat and mass transfer in an enclosure

Abstract

This project is on studying the heat and mass transfer in an enclosure due to an air curtain. There are three stages of study: Firstly, the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, FLUENT Version 4.3 code was verified by numerical simulation on the airflow exiting from a nozzle and subsequently impinging on a flat plate in a pneumatic dimensional control system. Secondly, an experimental study on the effectiveness of air curtain in an air conditioned truck (1.64 m x 1.54 m x 2.84 m) with inside air temperature -11°C and outside ambient temperature 29°C was carried out. Lastly, an intensive computational study was carried out on hot and cold air interaction across the door for cases with and without air curtain in air-conditioned bus and truck, where there are significant temperature gradients existing between the inside environment of vehicles and the ambient environment.