It is crucial to quantify the airflow field in and around a building, as this can provide information for creating a healthy and comfortable thermal environment for people. Over the last decade, particle image velocimetry (PIV) has gradually become the most popular measurement technique for measuring building environment airflow fields.
The objective of this thesis is to provide an overview of the typical two-dimensional PIV technique used in the building environment. The measurement principle and procedures are discussed based on the existing literature and previous research experiences. Four problems are investigated to show different applications of the PIV technique in measuring airflow fields, combined with other assessment models: the analytical model, the empirical model, the multizone model and the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The performance of buoyancy-driven natural ventilation in a single-zone sub-scale model is studied using different experimental technologies. The behavior of single jet flow interaction with wind is investigated through experimental and numerical methods. The hybrid ventilation flow field and temperature distribution is measured by PIV and thermocouple experiments. PIV, combined with empirical models, is used to predict localized mechanical ventilation system performance in a warehouse model. The results show that the quantitative and detailed flow information obtained by PIV can be used for flow pattern visualization, flow structure analysis, numerical model validation, and empirical model correlation. The limitations of the PIV technique in sub-scale model measurements is also discussed.