Validation of the Large Eddy Simulation model in building

Environmental concerns and growing computer resources have promoted the emergence of new simulation tools and especially Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Turbulence modelling is a key for a good simulation. Unfortunately, models are numerous: Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS), Detached Eddy Simulation (DES), Large Eddy Simulation (LES), etc. Moreover, there are lots of physical phenomena involved in building physics. Consequently, it is often difficult for a non-expert user to choose efficiently their models. This paper describes results obtained with LES for three different cases. These cases were retained to represent the most common situations encounter in building physics. Results are good and so the use of LES is validated for building physics simulations. RANS and DES results are also introduced to have a global view of the capacity of CFD simulations. RANS results are sufficient for the most current applications in building physics. But LES and DES can improve the results and give complementary data.