Surface Temperature Distribution of Chinese Kangs

Abstract

This study is attempted to improve local thermal comfort of Chinese kang through improving the uniformity of the faceplate temperature distribution using computational fluid dynamics simulations. The faceplate temperature of kangs is determined by the heat input to the kangs, the smoke flows, and the kang body materials. The smoke flow rate and the kang body temperature are coupled. The distribution of the faceplate temperature is determined by the interior structure and smoke flow path design. In addition to a recent experimental study using infrared thermal imaging, this study uses computational fluid dynamics simulations to analyze in detail the heat transfer and smoke flow processes in a typical Chinese kang. Different design methods for improving temperature distribution of the kang faceplate are compared. Our results show that the temperature distribution on the faceplate of kang can be made to be more even using simple variations in its design.

Keywords:

• Chinese kang
• Home heating
• Building energy
• Temperature distribution
• Computational fluid dynamics

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The work described in this paper is supported by the 11th Five Years Support Programs for Science and Technology 2008BAJ12B02 and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 2007 Young Researcher Award (NSFC project number: 50729803).