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Glass Factory

layout of factory with vectors and air temperature slice

The heat generated by the equipment in this 194m by 158m glass factory is immense. Cooling is to be achieved by the careful placement of louvres in the side walls and ridge-vents in the roof.

The heat generated by the equipment causes the air to rise upwards and out through the vents in the roof (about 30m high), which is replaced by cool external air through the side-wall louvres.

Flow Analysis Ltd were commissioned to assess the working conditions within the factory for worst-case summer and winter design conditions. The assessment was carried out mainly using CFD, with dynamic thermal simulation used to provide surface temperature boundary conditions.
The simulations predicted that the air temperature above the furnaces would exceed 40 degrees centigrade. A clear air temperature stratification was predicted, with high volumes of air being drawn in through the louvres. A higher air volume is drawn in at the 'hot' end (where the furnaces are situated), and consequently this end of the factory is predicted to be cooler than the opposite 'cold' end ! 

Both the summer and winter simulations predicted that the temperature at occupied level in the factory would be between 1 and 5 degrees above ambient. Thus, in winter the conditions are likely to be unacceptable. Work is on-going to revise the functioning and layout of the louvres for winter.

air temperature in the occupied zone - summer/winter

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