Natural ventilation and mixed-mode boundaries
A ventilation concept needs operating conditions and fallback behavior before it can support a performance claim.
How to use this idea
NIST CONTAM describes multizone flow driven by mechanical systems, wind and buoyancy, with contaminant transport. Our proposed design review asks when openings are permitted, when mechanical operation takes over and which safety decisions remain with qualified professionals.
Worked illustration
A synthetic controller closes an opening under an unfavorable outdoor condition. If the model assumes that opening remains available continuously, its result no longer describes the proposed control sequence.
All numerical examples here are synthetic, not measured building results.
Checks before relying on a result
- Document openings, zones and driving conditions.
- Compare intended controls with modeled controls.
- Keep fire and smoke design outside an unreviewed comfort-control example.
What this does not establish
This is not a smoke-control design, indoor-air safety finding or guaranteed passive-cooling fraction.
Sources and review
Automated editorial preparation, not independent expert review. Examples and proposed workflows are Maha-authored.
Locator: Description (a)–(c); Uses; Licensing Information
Supports: Multizone airflow analysis addresses mechanical, wind and buoyancy drivers and contaminant transport.
Limit: NIST describes an experimental system and does not warrant its reliability; no safety certification follows.
Inspection and reuse
Selected HTML sections inspected 2026-09-27. Linked official description; original summary, no software redistributed.