D. J. Hartigan & Associates Ltd, a consulting engineers practice based in Jersey, UK, were recently involved in the refurbishment of a Methodist Chapel. They teamed up with consultants from Fluent Europe, who conducted airflow analyses to determine the best heating strategy for this unconventional church design.

The chapel design features a ground floor worship area and a much larger balcony area. The balcony area also houses the organ within a spherical section. D.J. Hartigan proposed an underfloor heating system for the building. They were sure that this type of system would provide comfort for the ground floor occupants, but were unsure about the airflow and temperature in the large balcony areas.

Velocity vectors illustrate the airflow pattern into the balcony area

D. J. Hartigan provided a basic three-dimensional model created from the building plans to Fluent Europe, who refined it for the simulation. Details of the design conditions were also specified to provide the basic boundary conditions within the space. Fluent ran the airflow analysis on the space. The results showed not only the surface temperatures that could be expected within the chapel, but also the direction and velocity of airflows throughout the complex building design.

The unusual design featured a small ground floor area and very large balconies

The insight into airflow throughout the space suggested the addition of perimeter heaters on the balcony. These would help counteract the cool-down drafts around the edge of the building, which were highlighted on the temperature distribution plots. Overall, the analysis provided by Fluent of the airflow pattern within the complex space was essential in validating the heating strategy eventually adopted.

Pathlines colored by static temperature indicate cooling around the edge of the building, which was corrected by changing the design to include perimeter heaters.

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