Dilution Ventilation versus Displacement Ventilation

Dilution Ventilation

Return
Supply (diffuser) Supply (diffuser)

Return

or
• Mixing is enhanced (typically assume well-mixed conditions)
• Typical in USA in all construction (office, home, and industry)
• Used for both heating and cooling
 Displacement Ventilation
Return

Natural
convection

Supply

• Mixing is suppressed (air is not well-mixed)

• More common in European countries
• Works best with cooling; less effective for heating
 Definition of Displacement Ventilation
• Definition: “Buoyancy-assisted forced ventilation.”
• Cool, fresh air introduced near the floor; warm, contaminated air
removed from the ceiling.
• The displacement effect acts like a “piston” pushing the air upward.
• Assumes stratified (horizontal) layers of air in the room (warm air near
ceiling, cool air near floor).
• Relies on natural convection (due to buoyancy) from people and/or
objects to remove contaminated air locally where needed.

(For a good general reference, see H. Skistad, Displacement Ventilation, 1994,

Research Studies Press, Ltd.)
 Usefulness of Displacement Ventilation
• Useful only for cooling rooms, not for heating rooms.
• Useful for removing air contaminants from concentrated sources
(contaminants must be warmer and/or lighter than the surrounding air).
• For the same amount of ventilating air, displacement ventilation
provides better air quality than does dilution ventilation.
• Dilution ventilation mixes contaminants throughout the room
• Displacement ventilation allows contaminants to naturally convect
upward only where required.
Example Application of Displacement Ventilation
Outlet

Cool
air
Supply
 Research – Cimbala, Garanich, Settles, & Miller (1998)

Cimbala, J. M., J. S. Garanich, G. S. Settles, and J. D. Miller. 1998. (abstract) Combined

Schlieren Imaging and Numerical Analysis of Displacement Ventilation. Bulletin of the
American Physical Society, Vol. 43, No. 9, p. 2016.
Example of Displacement Ventilation Research at PSU
Contaminant Dispersion Within and Around Poultry Houses
Using Computational Fluid Dynamics
Sourabh R. Pawar
John M. Cimbala
Eileen F. Wheeler
Darla V. Lindberg

Published in: Computational Fluid Dynamics, Ed. Aleksandar

Lazinica, IN-TECH, Vienna, Austria, (we contributed one chapter in
the book: Contaminant Dispersion Within and Around Poultry
Houses Using Computational Fluid Dynamics, Pawar, S., Cimbala, J.
M., Wheeler, E. F., and Lindberg, D. V.), 2010.
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Figure 1: Schlieren image of a hen in a cage showing the rising thermal
plume. Courtesy: Penn State Gas Dynamics Lab.
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 Conveyor belts for manure removal

Attic
Baffles Stacked cages

Intake Intake

Exhaust Exhaust

Figure 2: Cross-sectional slice through a manure-belt equipped hen

house with a traditional, downward flow ventilation scheme.

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 Figure 6: Fan Arrangement on lower story of hen house. Small
extension of building near background has a set of six fans protected to
reduce light entry into the building.
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 Exhaust
Conveyor belts for manure removal

Attic
Baffles Stacked cages

Intake Intake

Figure 8: Proposed ventilation scheme airflow from bottom to top of

house.

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 Results
(analysis using computational fluid dynamics –
CFD)

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Figure 15: Comparison of species diffusion contours inside the domain
for Case 1 (downward flow) in the top image and Case 2 (upward flow)
in the bottom image.
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 Figure 16 top: Comparison of species diffusion contours inside the
upstream poultry house for Case 1 (downward flow) in the top image
and Case 2 (upward flow) in the bottom image.
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 Figure 16 bottom: Comparison of species diffusion contours inside the
upstream poultry house for Case 1 (downward flow) in the top image and
Case 2 (upward flow) in the bottom image.
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 Figure 18: Comparison of temperature contours in the entire
computational domain for Case 1 (downward flow) in the top image and
Case 2 (upward flow) in the bottom image.
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