The "Family Tree" of Air Distribution Systems

In this paper all total volume air distribution principles are addressed based on discussions of air flow pattern in a room with heat sources giving a cooling load. The supply and exhaust air openings are considered to have different locations and sizes in the room, and it is possible to show that all the known types of air distribution systems are interconnected in a “family tree”. The influence of supplied momentum flow versus buoyancy forces is discussed, and geometries for high ventilation effectiveness are indicated as well as geometries for fully mixed flow. The paper will also show conditions which are not used for air distribution in general. A number of experiments with different air distribution systems are addressed, and they illustrate the behaviour at the different conditions discussed in the paper.