The use of displacement and zoning ventilation in a multipurpose arena

Abstract

This study investigated the performance of ventilation and indoor climate in a multipurpose arena located in Malmö, Sweden with a seating capacity of 13 000 individuals, and in which a combination of displacement and zoning ventilation was applied. The main objective was to explore thermal conditions, indoor air quality, airflow patterns and air distribution. The measured operating conditions were ice hockey game and training situation. The measurements were conducted to observe the indoor climate and CFD-simulations were performed to get a generic view of the air distribution and the flow field over the whole arena indoor environment. The results show that air movement was highly case-dependent. However, the experiments indicated an upward flow along the lower-seating area and a downward flow along the upper-seating area. During the game, the average rise of temperature was around 2°C in arena with low stratification while using displacement ventilation. The temperature range was 12-17°C at the lower-seating area and 15-17°C at the upper-seating area. The corresponding air speed level was 0.06-0.36 m/s. The relative humidity was about 30-40% where a part of the humidity was transferring into the ice sheet. The carbon dioxide concentration increased locally to near 900 ppm indicating reasonable operation of ventilation. The CFD-simulations predicted well-mixed conditions in arena, thus supporting the measured low temperature stratification. Overall, the air movement was significantly affected by supply air temperature, variable air flow rates and retractable stand position (on-off) in the arena enclosure. The results support the use of displacement and zoning ventilation in multipurpose arenas.

Experimental investigation of air distribution and ventilation efficiency in an ice rink arena

“…All measurements agree that the gradient is most severe near the ice, at heights below 1 m. Older measurements by Pennanen et al (1997) show similar strong stratification near the ice but indicate that after the initial rise the air temperature is rather uniform which is in agreement with measurements by Yang et al (2001) (not presented in the graph). On the other hand more recent measurements by Ouzzane et al (2006) and Lestinen et al(2016) show that in their cases the stratification was strong also after the initial rise which agrees with the results of this study.…”

“…This study was recently extended by Omri et al (2016) by calculating and analysing the flow and temperature fields in the same ice rink over a 24hour period for time dependent outdoor conditions with variable temperatures and flow rates of the ventilation air. Lestinen et al (2016) showed that CFD can also be used to explore thermal conditions, indoor air quality, airflow patterns and air distribution in larger multipurpose arenas.…”

Air Distribution and Air Handling Unit Configuration Effects on Energy Performance in an Air-Heated Ice Rink Arena

“…The vertical temperature profiles in various ice rinks in Finland were measured in previous studies [10][11][12][13][14], and its outcomes as temperature gradient curves are used in the current paper, as energy consumption of the same ice rinks has been measured to describe case arenas. The set air stratification intensity for the simulation is based on experimental measurements conducted in three ice rink arenas in Finland.…”

“…Several past studies have focused on reducing the heat load towards the ice pad, and thereby reducing the refrigeration unit's electricity consumption [7][8][9]. Simultaneously, numerous efforts have gone into modeling the air distribution inside the hall space in experimental, zonal model, or Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) form [10][11][12][13][14]. As a result, we have a fairly comprehensive understanding of the temperature and moisture profiles inside the hall, as well as the factors affecting the heat load.…”

“…The vertical distribution of temperature in various ice rinks has been measured in current and previous studies [12,[14][15][16][17] and their outcome as temperature gradient curves is used in this paper, while similar ice rinks as case study arenas have been measured.…”