Building physics
Building physics
Our expertise
Wind comfort
Wind comfort in the built environment, pedestrian wind comfort, comfort on private outdoor spaces
Indoor climate
Thermal comfort, HVAC system assessment, climate control for offices, atria, classrooms, etc.
Fire safety
Smoke and heat removal (RWA), evacuation, fire propagation, smoke filling time, risk analysis
Data centers
Airflow assessment, hot-spot identification, cooling optimization, increase PUE, what-if scenario’s, short-circuiting of exhaust air, wind effects on air handling units
Cleanrooms
Climate control, air quality assessment, analysis of particle concentrations, ventilation and filter system design
Industrial facilities
Indoor climate control, ventilation, cooling, filtration of pollution or smoke for production halls, etc.
Building analysis and advice
We advice architects, developers, municipalities and engineers about airflow in and around buildings, to improve the comfort, safety and sustainability of a building and its environment.
Municipalities, owners, workers and users demand higher standards for their buildings, which result in the following challenges
Using our experience in fluid dynamics and thermodynamics, we advise and support our clients in complying with these building physics requirements as efficiently as possible.
Our projects can involve building components, specific rooms, large production halls, entire buildings up to urban areas and entire cities.
Overview Actiflow Wind studies
On the map below you find all our wind studies. By zooming in you go to the specification location and / or projects.
Areas with a strong development show a greater number of wind studies. Actiflow has a great deal of prior knowledge of the local wind climate and requirements set by municipalities in these regions. This allows us to provide detailed advice on a project without even having to perform an actual wind study.
Latest projects
Almere Duin
Dune Almere At the request of developer [...]
Sluishuis
Sluishuis - Amsterdam At the request of [...]
Approach
We like to be involved in the building design process as soon as possible to have a maximum impact. As input for our work, our customer provides us with a 3D CAD-model of a (new) building, room, parking, HVAC system, etc. When this is not available, Actiflow is able to build a 3D model from scratch, based on 2D drawings or other information.
Based on the initial simulation results, we indicate potential problems and we suggest solutions. Together with our customer, we then discuss which of those are practically feasible, and which follow-up simulations will be performed to validate these solutions. Step by step, we finally reach a solution that meets all requirements and norms, and that is acceptable to all stakeholders.
CFD and more
CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) is the tool we frequently use to visualize the airflow in and around buildings. However, if CFD is not the most (cost) efficient tool to answer the question of our customer, we choose alternative methods like wind tunnel measurements or other simulation techniques that suit the challenges at hand.
Standards & norms
Our simulations are performed according to all available standards and norms. In some cases, Actiflow even participated in the development of the norms. We have more than 10 years of experience, so our simulation approach is based on hundreds of projects and continuous validation efforts.