Measurement of interzonal heat and mass transfer by natural convection

Experiments to measure the interzonal heat and mass transfer were carried out in two full size adjoining rooms under two different conditions. Before starting the tests, one of the rooms was heated to an average temperature of 32°C, while the other room was cooled to an average temperature of 19°C. To start the first type of tests, the auxiliary heating and cooling were turned off and the door blocking the opening opened. For the second test, auxiliary cooling was turned off, while the auxiliary heat was left on in the heated room. Visual observations of the flow phenomenon were made. Velocity and temperature profiles of the air-flow through the opening, and air temperatures in the test rooms were measured. The experimental mass and heat flow rates were computed from the velocity and temperature data and compared with the values predicted by the existing algorithms based on the application of the Bernoulli's equation. The agreement between the measured and predicted values is better for a value of discharge coefficient C = 0.45 than it is for C = 0.611 (the theoretical value of C for a sharp edged orifice quoted in the literature).