NIST Multizone Modeling Website
The SketchPad
The SketchPad is the region of the CONTAM screen where you draw the schematic representation of a building you wish to analyze. This representation consists of a set of simplified floor plans that represent the levels of a building. The SketchPad is used to establish the geometric relationships of the relevant building components and is not intended to produce a scale drawing of a building. It should be used to create a simplified model where the walls, zones, and airflow paths are topologically similar to the actual building.
It is important to realize that ContamW is not meant to provide drawing capabilities similar to that of a Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) program. The SketchPad drawing functions were designed to provide a strict environment for creating the input to the underlying multizone model upon which the CONTAM simulation engine is based.
SketchPad Modes
There are three modes of the SketchPad: normal, results and wind pressure. The SketchPad mode basically refers to the type of information that is displayed upon the SketchPad.
In the normal mode CONTAM displays the building components including walls, airflow paths, sources and sinks, and the building controls network. In this mode you can add, delete, copy and paste and edit building components.
In the results mode, CONTAM displays simulation results upon the SketchPad consisting of airflow rates and pressure differences across airflow paths.
The wind pressure mode provides a graphical display of wind pressures at each of the flow paths that are connected to the ambient zone, so you can verify input of wind speed and direction data with respect to the orientation of the building envelope to the wind.
