The McCormick Project Raven Warehouse is a 1.8 million sf distribution center located in Baltimore, Maryland. Baumann Consulting performed a CFD study to analyze, verify, and optimize the operation of the Air Rotation Units (ARUs), High Volume Low Speed (HVLS) Fans, and Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs) in the western third of the warehouse. The space is relatively uniform but includes several areas such as mezzanines and areas with “pick tunnel” racking.
For the initial study, only the left portion of the distribution center was modeled and studied. The study area is about 840 ft by 670 ft and includes picking tunnels and a mezzanine. The CFD study was used to predict the airflow and temperature profile throughout the distribution center space to confirm the satisfactory operation of the HVAC design under summer and winter outdoor design conditions.
For the existing model of the western third of the building, Baumann performed the following services:
- Coordinate HVLS fan locations with client
- Update geometry of existing CFD model to remove HVLS fans eliminated from design as part of budget VE exercises
- Generate a new CFD simulation mesh
- Run and debug CFD simulation of the updated western third of the building model
