Start of the measurements: Together, the students calibrate the robot to position the measuring point in the lecture hall model correctly. Manual dexterity is demonstrated here as a team. © MCI/Berger
On the left-hand screen, the model is displayed as a 3D construction on a scale of 1:100. On the right screen, student Andreas Fischerleitner is working on the flow calculation (simulation) on a horizontal sectional plane at one of the lecture hall windows - the inlet and outlet velocity can each be displayed here as a vectorial variable. This makes it clear how quickly the air exchange takes place at these opening points. Using this representation, the air exchange is visible in the complete plane between the two opening points. © MCI/Berger
In the laboratory environment, the students evaluate the turbulent flow - the fluid, the liquid in the air, is an unstable variable and is therefore subject to constant changes over time. The evaluation of the turbulent flow is partly automated by the non-invasive LDA software - the droplet velocity in the air is measured at individual points and used to derive how well the room is ventilated (velocity distribution of the droplets in the air). © MCI/Berger
Final simulation evaluation in the computer room: The Ansys Fluent software illustrates the different levels of the room - the students, shown here with Sebastian Spitzer, evaluate individual measuring points at different heights. Depending on the position on the z-axis (height of the room), a differentiated image of the flow rate in the room can be visualized. The velocity is used as an indicator of the volume flow at individual points in the measured room. © MCI/Berger
Last week, the third-semester students on our dual study program Smart Building Technologies were able to gain further application-oriented experience in sustainable building technology: as part of a laboratory exercise day as part of the "Fluid Dynamics" lecture, the SBT students were able to investigate the flow in lecture hall 4A-024 at the MCI Campus Technology & Life Sciences experimentally and simulatively and carry out simulations to improve ventilation.
Guided by lecturer Manuel Berger, the students were able to use LDA (Laser Doppler Anemometry) to non-invasively determine the velocity with stationary boundary conditions in a 1:100 scale model using laser optics. For local positioning, a robot and a RobotStudio plugin were used, which was developed by MCI alumni Johannes Sieberer (graduate of the MCI master's programs Medical & Sports Technologies and Industrial Engineering & Management) and MCI employee Thomas Hausberger (Department of Mechatronics) and made this investigation possible in the first place.
The results of the laboratory exercise show that flow simulations based on the finite volume method fit very well with the LDA measurements. In addition, the room was simulated in its original size. The Reynolds similarity theory could be confirmed with the simulation, so that investigations on a scale of 1:100 are permissible. In the laboratory environment, the students were able to measure the real conditions and simulate suggestions for improvement using the model, without being hindered by their application.
The study program would like to thank Manuel Berger for his diverse teaching methods with practical approaches for our students.
Improving ventilation using a laser beam: Student Julian Reisacher uses the laser-equipped robot to measure flows using LDA (Laser Doppler Anemometry), a non-invasive flow measurement technique. In this context, non-invasive means that the measurement in the laboratory environment does not falsify the real room conditions in the measured lecture hall (here as a 1:100 model). © MCI/Berger
Exploring the fluid dynamic worlds of Innsbruck - MCI Innsbruck
