Development and application of an updated whole-building coupled thermal,airflow and contaminant transport simulation program (TRNSYS/CONTAM)

The TRNSYS energy analysis tool has been capable of simulating whole-building coupled heat transfer and building airflow for about 10 years. The most recent implementation was based on two TRNSYS modules, Type 56 and Type 97. Type 97 is based on a subset of the airflow calculation capabilities of the CONTAM multizone airflow and contaminant transport program developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This paper describes the development of new CONTAM capabilities in support of an updated combined, multizone building heat transfer, airflow and contaminant transport simulation approach using TRNSYS. It presents an illustrative case that highlights the new coupling capability and also presents the application of this coupled simulation approach to a practical design problem of the energy use related to airflow through entry doors in non-residential buildings.