Indoor climate & air quality
Sports & event locations
Advanced CFD analysis for optimal HVAC design in sports and event venues
Optimizing indoor airflow and thermal comfort
Indoor sports and event venues—such as athletics halls, velodromes, ice rinks, and multipurpose arenas—are often designed to accommodate both sporting activities and large-scale events. This dual use places high demands on ventilation performance, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality.
These buildings are typically very large spaces, often exceeding 250,000 m³, and must operate effectively under highly variable occupancy conditions—from small training sessions to fully occupied events.
Meeting heating or cooling capacity requirements alone is not sufficient. Air distribution, temperature stratification, and comfort levels can vary significantly throughout the venue.
Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Actiflow simulates real-world operating conditions to accurately predict airflow patterns, temperature distribution, and occupant comfort. This enables HVAC systems to be optimized before construction or renovation begins.
Our clients
Actiflow provides indoor airflow analysis and consultancy for organizations that require advanced simulation expertise but do not perform these analyses in-house.
Our services typically support:
- Engineering and consultancy firms involved in building and infrastructure design
- HVAC engineers responsible for ventilation and climate control systems
- Project teams working on sports venues, arenas, and large event halls
Our analyses are primarily used during the design of new sports facilities or the renovation of existing venues. The goal is to:
- Validate HVAC system performance
- Improve energy efficiency
- Ensure compliance with client requirements, building regulations, and safety standards
Our Services
We support our clients in optimizing and validating HVAC system performance under realistic operating conditions. Our services include:
- Identifying relevant regulations, standards and design guidelines
- Defining realistic and worst-case operating scenarios
- Setting up and performing validated CFD simulations
- Proposing design improvements and optimization measures
- Conducting on-site measurements to analyze existing indoor conditions
Starting from a base HVAC design provided by the project team, we define critical scenarios based on occupancy levels, internal heat loads, and ventilation requirements.
Using numerical simulations, we analyze system performance and provide targeted recommendations to improve airflow distribution, enhance comfort conditions, and reduce energy consumption.
How we work
HVAC systems in sports and event venues must perform reliably under a wide range of operating conditions. Even if a system is theoretically capable of delivering the required heating or cooling capacity, this does not automatically guarantee that:
- Fresh air reaches all occupants
- Temperature remains uniform throughout the space
- Thermal comfort criteria are met in spectator and athlete zones
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) enables detailed simulation of these complex indoor environments. It allows us to predict airflow patterns, temperature distribution, ventilation effectiveness and thermal comfort levels.
This approach allows HVAC systems to be validated and optimized before construction or refurbishment, reducing design risks and costly modifications later in the project.
Where relevant, we complement our simulations with on-site measurements to evaluate the performance of existing HVAC systems.
Our CFD Analysis Process
Our CFD workflow typically consists of three phases:
Problem definition:
We analyze the building geometry, HVAC system design, and applicable comfort requirements. During this phase we also define the critical operating scenarios, such as maximum occupancy or extreme outdoor conditions.
If comparison with an existing situation is required, we may perform on-site measurements to characterize current system performance.
CFD simulations and optimization:
Based on the design data, we create a detailed 3D simulation model of the venue.
Using CFD simulations, we analyze:
- Indoor airflow patterns
- Temperature distribution
- Ventilation performance
- Thermal comfort conditions
Based on the results, we identify opportunities for design optimization. After consultation with the client, improvements are implemented in the simulation model and additional simulations are performed until a solution is reached that satisfies all project requirements.
Reporting:
At the end of the analysis, we deliver a comprehensive technical report documenting the results and recommendations.
The report typically includes:
- Description of the simulation scenarios
- Visualization of airflow and temperature distributions
- Assessment of comfort conditions
- Recommended HVAC system configuration
The optimized HVAC design is documented in terms of:
- Supply and exhaust system types
- Locations and dimensions of air diffusers and exhausts
- Supply airflow rates
- Supply air temperatures
This provides the project team with clear, validated input for the final HVAC system design.
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