March 11, 2009

CFD Simulation

Building and System Simulation has become an important tool for integrated building design. While many architects and engineers are familiar with energy modeling and dynamic simulation, numeric airflow modeling is not used very widely. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), as the most sophisticated airflow modeling tool, can simultaneously predict airflow, heat transfer and contaminant transportation in and around buildings. The presentation introduces the roles of CFD in building design, demonstrating its typical application in designing a thermally comfortable, healthy and energy-efficient building. The primary challenges of using CFD in the building mod-eling and design practice are discussed and explained through examples from various projects.

Speaker: Oliver Baumann, President of Ebert & Baumann Consulting Engineers in Washington D.C.

Since the start of his career in 1996 with the Ebert-Group, Oliver was always eager to enhance services, processes, and tools to improve the energy performance of buildings. For example, he took the lead in expanding his firm's core services by developing holistic engineering methodologies such as integrated design, and services including simulation, commissioning and energy auditing. Oliver soon became head of the Simulation Group in Munich and then the International Projects Group of Ebert-Engineers.

In 2006, Oliver moved to Washington D.C. and started his own firm. The business that he started as a one-man-show is today a growing firm with 8 employees and involves working on green buildings worldwide. Besides his project work, Oliver also conducted several R&D projects and developed "Operation Diagnostics" and "Operation Prognostics", advanced and simulation based methodologies for the design, verification and operation of innovative low-energy buildings. Within the International Energy Agency's (IEA) "Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems" (ECBCS) Program, he is leading the subtask for "Initial Commissioning of Advanced and Low Energy Buildings". He is an internationally acknowledged expert in energy efficient buildings and shares his experience through his professional associations with ASHRAE, USGBC, and VDI. Recently, Oliver was invited to be a member of the Board of the Institute for the Sustainable Per-formance of Buildings (SU*PER*B).

Oliver is voting member of ASHRAE TC7.1 "Integrated Building Design" and TC 9.12 "Tall Buildings". He is also a liaison to the ASHRAE Research Advisory Panel (RAP) for developing the Goal for "Progress toward advanced energy design and cost-effective net-zero energy buildings".