Thermal comfort inside a gable-roofed metallic shed in a higher educational institution: a case study and detailed analysis

Abstract

Central workshop is an integral part of any higher education institution, and it will be generally operated in a gable-roofed metallic shed. The users of the building are affected physiologically and psychologically due to the thermal discomfort conditions caused by improper ventilation. It is necessary to study the cause for discomfort and propose cost and effective methods to mitigate the problem. In this work, the thermal comfort inside a gable-roofed workshop was analyzed, and it was found that the discomfort was predominant from 2 PM to 5 PM. It was predicted that the conduction heat transfer could be reduced upto 55% with the help of passive cooling technique carried out using aluminium bubble wrap. During the life cycle cost study, the aluminium bubble wrap technique was found to be more economical over high-volume low-speed fan. The computer simulation aided in the prediction of overall heat transfer coefficient and conduction heat transfer through wall. The results from numerical study deviated by less than 0.1% when compared with that from the theoretical model.