Boundaries

Definitions related to the boundary conditions of the ground domain.

Example:

Boundaries:
  Far-Field Width: 40.0  # [m]
  Deep-Ground Depth: 40.0  # [m]
  Deep-Ground Boundary Condition: ZERO-FLUX  # AUTO | CONSTANT-TEMP | ZERO-FLUX
  Indoor Air Temperature: 295.0  # [K]

Indoor Air Temperature Method

Allows the user to choose between having a constant indoor temperature for the duration of the simulaiton or to reference temperatures from a file.

Required: No
Type: Enumeration
Values: FILE or CONSTANT
Default: CONSTANT

Indoor Air Temperature File

If Indoor Air Temperature Method is FILE the indoor dry-bulb temperature (in Kelvin) will be set using hourly values defined in a comma separted value (CSV) file.

Example:

Indoor Air Temperature File:
  Name: ../path/to/file.csv
  Index: [1,1]
Required: No
Type: Compound object

Name

Path (relative or absolute) file.

Required: Yes
Type: File Path

Index

A list of two values corresponding to the row and column where the hourly data begins in the file. A value of [0, 0] starts at the first row and first column. A value of [0,1] starts at the first row and second column.

Required: Yes
Type: List [2] of integers

Indoor Air Temperature

If Indoor Air Temperature Method is CONSTANT the indoor dry-bulb temperature will be set using this value. If Indoor Air Temperature Method is FILE, then this is not required.

Required: Depends
Type: Numeric
Units: K

Outdoor Air Temperature Method

Allows the user to choose between having a constant outdoor temperature for the duration of the simulaiton or to reference temperatures from the weather file.

Required: No
Type: Enumeration
Values: WEATHER-FILE or CONSTANT
Default: WEATHER-FILE

Outdoor Air Temperature

If Outdoor Air Temperature Method is CONSTANT the outdoor dry-bulb temperature will be set using this value. If Outdoor Air Temperature Method is WEATHER-FILE, then this is not required.

Required: Depends
Type: Numeric
Units: K

Local Boundary Layer Thickness

Local boundary layer thickness used for calculating local wind speeds from weather file wind speeds.

Required: No
Type: Numeric
Units: m
Default: 370

Local Terrain Exponent

Local terrain exponent used for calculating local wind speeds from weather file wind speeds.

Required: No
Type: Numeric
Units: dimensionless
Default: 0.22

Far-Field Width

Distance from the interior wall surface to the edge of the domain.

Required: No
Type: Numeric
Units: m
Default: 40

Deep-Ground Depth

Distance from the grade level to the bottom of the domain.

Required: No
Type: Numeric
Units: m
Default: 40

Deep-Ground Boundary Condition

Specifies the type of boundary condition to apply at the deep-ground boundary. Options are:

  • ZERO-FLUX, which applies a zero heat flux boundary,
  • AUTO, which applies a constant temperature equal to the average outdoor dry-bulb temperature from the weather file, and
  • CONSTANT-TEMP, which applies a user-specified constant temperature (see Deep-Ground Temperature).
Required: No
Type: Enumeration
Values: ZERO-FLUX, AUTO, or CONSTANT-TEMP
Default: ZERO-FLUX

Deep-Ground Temperature

If Deep-Ground Boundary Condition is CONSTANT-TEMP, then this value specifies the temperature applied to the deep-ground boundary.

Required: Depends
Type: Numeric
Units: K

Convection Calculation Method

Specifies how convection coefficients are calculated. Options are:

  • AUTO, which calculates dynamic convection coefficients based on temperature difference, wind speed, and wind direction.
  • CONSTANT, which applies a user-specified convection coefficients to interior and exterior surfaces (see Interior Convection Coefficient and Exterior Convection Coefficient). This is used primariliy for IEA BESTEST calculations.
Required: No
Type: Enumeration
Values: AUTO or CONSTANT
Default: AUTO

Interior Convection Coefficient

If Convection Calculation Method is CONSTANT, then this value specifies the convection coefficient applied to interior surface boundaries (slab floor, interior foundation wall, and interior insulation).

Required: Depends
Type: Numeric
Units: W/m2-K

Exterior Convection Coefficient

If Convection Calculation Method is CONSTANT, then this value specifies the convection coefficient applied to exterior surface boundaries (grade, exterior foundation wall, and exterior insulation).

Required: Depends
Type: Numeric
Units: W/m2-K

Wall Top Boundary Condition

Specifies how the boundary condition along the wall top is calculated. Options are:

  • ZERO-FLUX, which applies a zero heat flux boundary condition along the wall top. This implies that heat flux above the wall top is one dimensional and does not flow through the wall top boundary.
  • LINEAR-DT, which applies a linear change in temperature across the wall top (see `Wall Top Temperature Difference`_). This is used only to represent the constraints of the IEA BESTEST analytical solution in case GC10a.
Required: No
Type: Enumeration
Values: ZERO-FLUX or LINEAR-DT
Default: ZERO-FLUX

Wall Top Interior Temperature

If Wall Top Boundary Condition is LINEAR-DT, then this value specifies the interior temperature at the wall top. This is used only to represent the constraints of the IEA BESTEST analytical solution in case GC10a.

Required: Depends
Type: Numeric
Units: K

Wall Top Exterior Temperature

If Wall Top Boundary Condition is LINEAR-DT, then this value specifies the exterior temperature at the wall top. This is used only to represent the constraints of the IEA BESTEST analytical solution in case GC10a.

Required: Depends
Type: Numeric
Units: K