This study uses experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods to investigate convective heat transfer

heat convection caused by airflow

and heat conduction caused by temperature differences in large-space buildings with floor-level side wall air-supply systems. Three thermal environment experiments with different roof exhaust ratios were conducted in a reduced-scale laboratory to investigate the indoor thermal environment and load characteristics. The CFD simulation results were verified based on the experimentally obtained vertical temperature distribution of the central line and air-conditioning cooling load. Based on similarity theory

reduced-scale numerical models are extended to full-scale configurations. The results show that the heat conduction due to the temperature difference dominates the inter-zonal heat transfer in the floor-level side wall air-supply system. By dividing the entire indoor space into two zones in the vertical direction

the values of inter-zonal heat transfer coefficient Cb for the prototype building are 7.92

6.14

and 3.81 W/(m2?°C) at 0

10%

and 20% roof exhaust air ratios respectively. Cb is mainly influenced by the airflow characteristics

zonal division

and airflow pattern

whereas it is less affected by the roof exhaust method.