Mixed convection heat transfer in a passive solar building

Convective heat transfer through apertures such as doorways can be an important process by which thermal energy is transferred from one zone to another zone of a building. In this article, interzonal natural and forced convection in a two- and a three-zone, full-scale building are examined. Aperture velocity and temperature distributions are measured and the experimental interzonal mass flow rate and heat transfer are determined. A model based on zone temperature distributions is derived to predict the interzonal mass flow rate and heat transfer. The measured and predicted interzonal flow rate and heat transfer are compared and found to be in good agreement.