A simplified cooling load calculation method based on equivalent heat transfer coefficient for large space buildings with a stratified air-conditioning system

The traditional method for calculating the cooling load of stratified air-conditioning (STRAC) systems is complicated, particularly for interzonal heat transfer (IZHT). This study adopted experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods to analyze the IZHT at two model scales and proposed a novel cooling load calculation method for STRAC systems. This new method, which is based on the equivalent heat transfer coefficient Kc, is called the interzonal thermal resistance method. According to the CFD simulation results of the full-scale model, the equivalent heat transfer coefficient Kc of the occupied and unoccupied zones ranged from 42.66 to 44.36 W/(m2·℃) under the nozzle sidewall air supply (NSWAS) system. Based on the magnitude of the coefficient, the difference between the cooling load calculated by the newly developed and traditional methods was only 4.16%, which proves the reliability of the interzonal thermal resistance method. Moreover, compared to the traditional method, the new method is more convenient. This method provides an alternative for calculating the cooling load of STRAC systems in practical engineering applications with a solid theoretical foundation.