NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION IN A SCALED-DOWN TEST HUT WITH COIR FIBER REINFORCED NATURAL RUBBER COMPOSITE INSULATING MATERIALS USING COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS
W. S. A. Sudarshana1*, L. K. T. Srimal2, R. Gallage3 and P.D.C. Kumara4
1,4Institute of Technology University of Moratuwa, Homagama, Sri Lanka, 2,3University of Ruhuna, Galle, Sri Lanka
Session: Technical Session A
Abstract
Numerical simulation studies were carried out to improve energy efficiency in a scaled-down test hut with coir fiber reinforced natural rubber composite roofing insulation material. This research paper investigates the temperature distribution of materials which are used for roofing insulation, such as expanded polystyrene (EPS), fiber glass (FG), polyurethane foam (PUF) and coir-fiber reinforced natural rubber composites. A pitch type scaleddown test hut measuring 1 m × 1 m × 1 m was created to analyze the performance of these insulation materials using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. Insulation thicknesses of 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 m were applied to the roof of the test hut. The analysis was conducted by varying mesh sensitivities to coarse, medium, and fine meshes to improve the accuracy of the results. This fine mesh analysis was chosen for further studies to compare the thermal behavior inside the scaled-down test hut under insulated and non-insulated conditions. The results demonstrate that considering the thermal conductivity of the insulated roof is critical for a detailed thermal analysis of the scaled-down test hut. The studies utilized the commercial CFD tool, Flow Simulation, available in SolidWorks software. A comparison of results suggests that the necessary thermal comfort requirements can be maintained in the scaled-down test hut while simultaneously reducing total energy consumption by correctly using roofing insulation materials.
Keywords: roofing materials, solar radiation, solid works flow simulation, coir fiber, natural rubber
DOI: 10.64752/WLZP5995