ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 91

RESEARCH REPORT

This study would help the industry to understand the physics of thin ﬁlm evaporation
phenomenon for pure low GWP refrigerants and refrigerant/miscible oil mixtures on
structured 3-D enhanced tubes and help optimize such exchangers for air-conditioning
and refrigeration applications. The basic objective of this project will be to perform
spray evaporation heat transfer and pressure drop tests on a tube bundle with low GWP
refrigerants and refrigerant/miscible oil mixtures at various temperature and pressure
conditions of interest to air-conditioning and refrigeration industry. The universal correlations and/or charts would be developed for the general beneﬁt of the stakeholders.
The investigator s) is/are expected to present the results of the study in a manner
that clearly and quantitatively shows the enhancement factors achieved compared to
conventional ﬂooded evaporators and its impact on the overall COP of a chiller.

1801-RP

Standardizing and Utilizing ASHRAE Online BIM
Data Exchange Protocols

September 2018 - February 2020; Hitchcock Consulting; Principal Investigator, Robert Hitchcock; TC 1.5, Computer Applications; Co-sponsor, MTG-BIM, MTG, Building Information Modeling &
TC 7.1, Integrated Building Design

The objective of this research project is to bring data exchange protocols based
on ASHRAE publications, to useable completion and availability by aligning ASHRAE
exchange protocols with relevant existing BIM standards, creating neutral format
data content downloadable from the new ASHRAE data repository data.ashrae.org)
documenting end-user guidance to support ASHRAE members in implementing these
data exchange protocols in the adoption of BIM in their professional practice. A longterm objective is to use this example to encourage ASHRAE committees to develop
additional data exchange protocols based on their publications.

1806-RP

Flammable Refrigerants Post-Ignition Simulation
and Risk Assessment Update

January 2017 - January 2018 (P); Gexcon, US; Principal Investigator: Scott Davis; MTG.
LowGWP

The objective of this project is to understand the Severity of events where ﬂammable
refrigerants are ignited under different scenarios for various HVAC&R products. Such
understanding will allow for the assessment of the overall risks of using ﬂammable
refrigerants in HVAC&R products, considering both event Probability and Severity.

1810-RP

Development of Reference Building Information
Model (BIM) Test Cases for Improving Usage of
Software Interoperability Schemas

May 2019 - November 2020; BuildSimHub, Inc.; Principal Investigator, Weili Xu; TC 1.5,
Computer Applications

The overall objectives of this research project are: 1) to develop 20+ gbXML test
case documents that software vendors can follow to develop their own gbXML ﬁles
that will then be uploaded to a web-based validator that will provide feedback on the
validity of the ﬁles.; 2) Develop 20+ corresponding gbXML ﬁles, 1 for each test case,
that provide templates for software vendors to base their outputs upon; 3) Further
develop an existing web-based validator software tool that will validate the 20+ test
cases; 4) Upload all deliverables including software vendor output ﬁles to data.ashrae.
org. This is all in the name of improving the interoperability experience between BIM
authoring tools and building analysis software tools.

1814-RP

Actual Energy Performance of Secondary Schools
and Medium Offices Designed to Comply with
ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010

September 2018 - November 2020; Seventhwave; Principal Investigator, Xiaohui Zhou; TC 2.8,
Building Environmental Impacts & Sustainability; Co-sponsor, TC 7.6, Building Energy Performance

The project will help ASHRAE maintain its leadership position by developing energy standards and other publications targeted to commercial buildings
that will help engineers, designers, contractors and owners build and operate
progressively more energy-efﬁcient facilities that deliver acceptable indoor
environmental quality

1819-RP

CO2 Demand Controlled Ventilation in Multiple Zone
VAV Systems with Multiple Recirculation Paths

September 2018 - February 2020; University of Alabama; Principal Investigator, Zheng O'Neill;
TC 4.3, Ventilation Requirements and Inﬁltration

This research project is intended to address the second shortcoming: expanding
DCV to include multiple zone VAV systems with multiple recirculation paths, such as
systems with fan-powered terminals and dual duct systems.

1821-RP

Design Guide for Low-to-Mid-Rise Multifamily
Residential Buildings

January 2018 - November 2018; New Building Institute; Principal Investigator: Sean Denniston; Residential Buildings Committee (RBC)

Develop a "Best Practices" Design Guide for stakeholders in the low-to-mid-rise
multifamily building sector to improve energy efﬁciency and indoor environmental
quality. This guide is not to be a "minimum" guide as is common with many standards
but should instead direct users toward high performance buildings. Final materials
beyond a formal "book" are welcome, e.g. online content, videos, etc. are welcome
and encouraged, e.g. online.

1823-RP

Improved Exhaust-to-Intake Dilution Concentration)
Calculations

September 2018 - April 2019; Ohio State University; Principal Investigator, Jordan Clark;
Residential Buildings Committee (RBC)

The objective of the proposed study is to determine whether the htop criterion
in Chapter 45 of the 2015 HVAC Applications volume of the ASHRAE Handbook is
needed or can be improved upon and to simplify the methodology so that one surface
roughness calculation can be utilized. If the htop criterion can be eliminated, dilution
estimates will be much less conservative for many real-world exhaust/intake design
applications. If only one surface roughness calculation is needed, the method will be
much simpler to apply. The method currently used for calculating σy and σz will
also need to be improved.

1833-RP

Literature Review for Evidence of the Basis for
Specified Air Change Rates (ACR) for Cleanrooms,
Laboratories, Laboratory Animal Facilities, and
Health Care Facilities With Medium to High ACR

September 2019 - October 2020; Afﬁliated Engineers; Principal Investigator: Roger Lautz;
MTG.ACR (Air Change Rates)

This project will foster and engage ASHRAE relationships with other organization
memberships and in turn strengthen member value proposition. This project creates
a learning endeavor that could be emulated to additional standards or activities
O C T O B E R 2 0 19

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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019

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