I work in the Environmental Group and mainly work on CFD computer simulations. Today I’m going to introduce the 3D PDF tool which can be used to demonstrate the results of CDF calculations.
CFD is the use of computers for fluid analysis, and we use it for prediction and evaluation of indoor air current distribution and the wind environment of the city. Specialised visualization software is used as a way of confirming the results of CFD calculations and to draw up distribution maps for temperature and wind velocity, however, to present the results to a third party a jpeg image is printed out and attached to a report. However, even though the CFD calculation is carried out in 3 dimensions, this information is finally presented to the client in the form of a 2 dimensional representation.
The 3D PDF resolves this issue. PDF is an electronic document format developed by Adobe Systems and there is a 3D version of this software. A example can be downloaded from the location below.
A visualisation of CFD calculation results using 3D PDF: the thermal environment of the human body:
Wind speed distribution: http://www.ptmtokyo.co.jp/blog/humanEnvironment_U2.pdf
Temperature distribution: http://www.ptmtokyo.co.jp/blog/humanEnvironment_T.pdf
The files should open in Adobe Reader to display images representing the air flows and temperature distribution around the human body.
3D PDF is different form usual electronic documents; as with CAD documents as the image can be rotated and we can zoom in an out using the mouse. A lot can be displayed in 3D PDF with the commonly used Adobe Reader. The advantage is that this format can be used to present the results of CFD calculations to a third party as a three-dimensional form without the need for specialised visualization software. This is extremely useful when explaining the results of CFD calculations to clients.
Shinya Ogata, Environmental Group
http://www.ptmtokyo.co.jp/
A blog by Engineers at P.T. Morimura and Associates Ltd., an MEP consultancy based in Tokyo, Japan.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The ideal air conditioned environment
Today I’m writing about ‘the ideal air conditioned environment’.
This theme was inspired by my travel experiences in Spain, when I travelled around staying in Madrid, Toledo, Granada and Barcelona, and visited cathedrals in each city.
Entering cathedrals I usually noticed how cold it was. Outside short sleeves were enough, but in the cathedral it felt cold even with a coat on. Of course an air conditioner would not be effective. That’s down to the large heat capacity. The heat capacity of 500kcal/m3 K is based on the stone from which cathedrals a mainly constructed of, about twice that of timber or plaster board. In other words, stone is 2 times more difficult to heat up. Additionally, I think the walls are about 1m thick so the heat capacity is really beyond comparison to typical Japanese buildings.
I wondered whether these cathedrals were the “ideal air conditioned space”. It seems a little strange to talk of an air conditioned space with no air conditioners but what I really mean is a temperature controlled space without air-conditioning. Of course the climate of Spain and the small number of openings or windows has an impact, however, the “coldness” which gives the Cathedral its air of solemnity is dependent on this heat capacity.
I also visited the Sagrada Família which is also in Spain, but inside I didn’t experience the same atmosphere as within the other cathedrals. I didn’t feel the same kind of “coldness”. The reason, I think, being the number of openings in the building and the number of people inside. Without the cold atmosphere, there is still an overwhelming feeling of solemnity, which is perhaps one of the reasons why the Sagrada Família attracts attention from all over the world.Without the usual coldness found in other cathedrals, perhaps the Sagrada Família was, for Gaudi, an ideal air conditioned space in which he was aiming at harmonisation with nature.
This theme was inspired by my travel experiences in Spain, when I travelled around staying in Madrid, Toledo, Granada and Barcelona, and visited cathedrals in each city.
Entering cathedrals I usually noticed how cold it was. Outside short sleeves were enough, but in the cathedral it felt cold even with a coat on. Of course an air conditioner would not be effective. That’s down to the large heat capacity. The heat capacity of 500kcal/m3 K is based on the stone from which cathedrals a mainly constructed of, about twice that of timber or plaster board. In other words, stone is 2 times more difficult to heat up. Additionally, I think the walls are about 1m thick so the heat capacity is really beyond comparison to typical Japanese buildings.
I wondered whether these cathedrals were the “ideal air conditioned space”. It seems a little strange to talk of an air conditioned space with no air conditioners but what I really mean is a temperature controlled space without air-conditioning. Of course the climate of Spain and the small number of openings or windows has an impact, however, the “coldness” which gives the Cathedral its air of solemnity is dependent on this heat capacity.
I also visited the Sagrada Família which is also in Spain, but inside I didn’t experience the same atmosphere as within the other cathedrals. I didn’t feel the same kind of “coldness”. The reason, I think, being the number of openings in the building and the number of people inside. Without the cold atmosphere, there is still an overwhelming feeling of solemnity, which is perhaps one of the reasons why the Sagrada Família attracts attention from all over the world.Without the usual coldness found in other cathedrals, perhaps the Sagrada Família was, for Gaudi, an ideal air conditioned space in which he was aiming at harmonisation with nature.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Energy saving project in Oman
In February I spent 2 weeks in Oman, working on plans for energy saving.With the recent rapid economic growth and increased development, there has been a big growth in power demand and the goal of this project, awarded to JICA (the Japan International Cooperation Agency) was to draft energy saving policy, and promote energy saving including improvements in efficiency on the power demand side and by limiting energy consumption.
Oman is situated on the south-east of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle-East, with the United Arab Emirates to the north-west, Saudi-Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the south-west. The Straits of Hormuz which has been the scene of international tensions is within Oman’s territorial waters. The country has an area of 310,000km2, of which 80% is desert. The total population is about 3,000,000 of which about 1/3 are foreign residents. Incidentally, Japan with an area of 378,000km2 has a total population of 128,000,000. Oman has a desert climate with summer temperatures reaching 40 degrees in summer. The religion is Islam and Thursdays and Fridays are holidays – Friday is the Islamic day of rest, equivalent to the Christian Sabbath.
Main industries are oil and natural gas, from which most of the government revenue comes from. Nevertheless, as with other Arabian countries, petroleum output is declining and it is said that crude oil and natural gas reserves shall be exhausted in 20 and 40 years respectively. The stated goal is to eliminate the states dependency on oil.
I stayed in Oman for 2 weeks, gathering information from government and power companies, investigating buildings and building services equipment, as well as the electrical appliances available there. Oman is an economically prosperous country with high levels of safety and civic order, and looking at the electrical appliances there showed they were not so different from what is available in Japan.
There is still the feeling that the diffusion and implementation of energy saving has yet to be realised, but this can partly be blamed on the availability of cheap electricity. For example, household energy charges range from 2 to 6JPY per kWh which is very cheap (in Japan the charges range from 17 to 24JPY per kWh). What made a big impression on me was that this is a country where the air-conditioners never stop running during the 6 month summer period. In fact, looking at the power consumption for a single household, 3000kWh ~ 5000kWhiwas consumed during a single summer month. That’s 10 times that of the average household in Japan which uses about 500kWh in one month.
I will be visiting Oman again in May and August, to accurately measure power consumption and get a good grasp of the conditions there to put together appropriate energy saving policy. I look forward to being able to put together successful proposals using the superior equipment and systems and to help Oman’s energy saving efforts.
Akira Katayanagi
Oman is situated on the south-east of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle-East, with the United Arab Emirates to the north-west, Saudi-Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the south-west. The Straits of Hormuz which has been the scene of international tensions is within Oman’s territorial waters. The country has an area of 310,000km2, of which 80% is desert. The total population is about 3,000,000 of which about 1/3 are foreign residents. Incidentally, Japan with an area of 378,000km2 has a total population of 128,000,000. Oman has a desert climate with summer temperatures reaching 40 degrees in summer. The religion is Islam and Thursdays and Fridays are holidays – Friday is the Islamic day of rest, equivalent to the Christian Sabbath.
Main industries are oil and natural gas, from which most of the government revenue comes from. Nevertheless, as with other Arabian countries, petroleum output is declining and it is said that crude oil and natural gas reserves shall be exhausted in 20 and 40 years respectively. The stated goal is to eliminate the states dependency on oil.
I stayed in Oman for 2 weeks, gathering information from government and power companies, investigating buildings and building services equipment, as well as the electrical appliances available there. Oman is an economically prosperous country with high levels of safety and civic order, and looking at the electrical appliances there showed they were not so different from what is available in Japan.
There is still the feeling that the diffusion and implementation of energy saving has yet to be realised, but this can partly be blamed on the availability of cheap electricity. For example, household energy charges range from 2 to 6JPY per kWh which is very cheap (in Japan the charges range from 17 to 24JPY per kWh). What made a big impression on me was that this is a country where the air-conditioners never stop running during the 6 month summer period. In fact, looking at the power consumption for a single household, 3000kWh ~ 5000kWhiwas consumed during a single summer month. That’s 10 times that of the average household in Japan which uses about 500kWh in one month.
On an office rooftop
Office building substation
The substation is the property of the power company
The substation is the property of the power company
I will be visiting Oman again in May and August, to accurately measure power consumption and get a good grasp of the conditions there to put together appropriate energy saving policy. I look forward to being able to put together successful proposals using the superior equipment and systems and to help Oman’s energy saving efforts.
Akira Katayanagi
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