Previous studies have shown that thermal comfort of occupants in a building can vary with ventilation system (mixing/displacement). However, few studies have focused on diffuser arrangements to ensure indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort in multiple partitioned spaces.

In this study, six different scnearios that involve three supply diffuser arragements under mixing and displacement ventilation were simulated for two partitioned spaces. A CFD simulation tool was used to investigate the temperature distribution and indoor air quality in the breathing zones of the two spaces for the six simulation scnearios.

Simulation results indicated that the temperature distributions of the two partitioned spaces were a strong function of the ventilation type with a marginal effect of the diffuser arrangement. However, indoor air quality of the partitioned spaces was significantly affected by both the ventilation type and the diffuser arrangement. The results suggest that careful consideration is required for HVAC designers and engineers in selecting air conditioning systems to serve multiple partitioned spaces and achieve desirable IAQ and thermal comfort.