Computational analysis of wind driven natural ventilation in buildings

The design of natural ventilation in buildings is often performed by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques, whose application is gaining popularity. In the present study, Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equation (RANS) approach is applied to wind driven natural ventilation in a cubic building. Two different models are considered, namely the two-equation k–ɛ model and the Renormalization Group (RNG) theory. The velocity and pressure distribution inside and around the building are determined, as well as the ventilation rate, for three different configurations: cross ventilation, single-sided ventilation with an opening on the windward wall and single-sided ventilation with an opening on the leeward wall. The numerical results are compared with experimental data, showing a good agreement, particularly when using RNG. The discrepancy in the determination of the ventilation rate is reasonable and the flow distribution inside the building is properly described when RNG model is used. However, the k–ɛ model fails to determine the correct velocity components near the horizontal surfaces. According to these results, the RNG model can be considered a useful tool for the study of wind driven natural ventilation, especially for the assessment of the ventilation rate and of the air distribution inside a room.     

Wind-induced natural ventilation of re-entrant bays in a high-rise building

This paper reports a systematic computational study of wind-induced natural ventilation and pollutant transport of re-entrant bays on a total of 30 generic building models of different building heights and with bays of different dimensions. Mean wind flow around each building model and wind-induced flow inside re-entrant bays are computed. To determine the ventilation efficiency of the bay, the computed flow field is used to disperse a scalar pollutant initially occupying the entire bay at a uniform concentration. The subsequent time decay of pollutant concentration inside the bay is studied and the ventilation efficiency is quantified by the retention time. The results show that wind-induced flow inside the bay, especially on the building side face, is complex and highly three-dimensional. Air exchange rates through the roof opening and vertical side opening are analyzed for each bay and their relationship to the ventilation efficiency is discussed. The bays on the building side faces are much worse ventilated than those on the windward or leeward building face. The deeper the side bay, the worse is the air exchange and ventilation. The building height is found to have a governing effect on the ventilation of the windward and leeward re-entrant bays.     

Numerical simulation of rooftop ventilator flow

Rotating rooftop turbine ventilators are cost effective environmental friendly natural ventilation devices, which are used to extract airflow from a building to improve air quality and comfort. A CFD study using the standard k-? turbulence model with multiple reference frame (MRF) meshing technique was employed to explore the suitability of numerical approach in modelling various features of a ventilator flow. The initial CFD results were validated against wind tunnel data obtained for a commercial ventilator on a simulated inclined rooftop configuration conducted at the aerodynamic laboratory of University of New South Wales. The numerical studies were then extended to examine both the internal and the external flows associated with the ventilator at different wind speeds and to quantify the performance of a rotating ventilator in terms of air extraction rate. The trend observed appeared to be in good agreement with published data suggesting that application of numerical simulation is feasible as a cost effective tool in the future design, development and performance analysis of rotating wind driven ventilation device.     

Numerical model of the three-dimensional isothermal flow patterns and mass fluxes in a pitched-roof greenhouse

The three-dimensional isothermal flow patterns and mass fluxes in a full-scale, pitched-roof, single-span greenhouse were numerically resolved, and data from tests on a full scale were used to validate the code, the inlet boundary conditions and the greenhouse design grid method. For numerical solution of turbulent flow, a high-Reynolds-number k-ε model is suitable. Computational domain sizes were selected so as to fulfil the requirements of free-stream conditions whilst ensuring that grid geometrical characteristics satisfy the physical limitations of the standard k-ε model. A special feature of a case of a wind blowing parallel to a ridge (0°) is that the flow in the leeward half of the greenhouse comprises two vortexes with opposite senses of rotation, which bring in air mass through the vents and deliver it to the windward half. A spiral type of flow was found for winds blowing at 15-75° to the ridge direction: part of the air enters via the windward wall vent near the leeward gable-wall and emerges through the leeward roof vent near the windward gable-wall.Mass fluxes and flow patterns on wind direction, and on the opening angles of the windward and leeward vents. Thus, the ventilation rate induced by a wind directed perpendicularly to the greenhouse ridge is 4-4.9 times as great as that induced by a wind parallel to the ridge. A ventilation rate of a simulated greenhouse type was found to be significantly less responsive to a change in wind direction from 45° to 90° than to one from 0° to 45°. Present numerical results are in good agreement with those of other experiments and observations.     

Ventilation strategy and air change rates in idealized high-rise compact urban areas

We regarded high-rise compact urban areas as obstacles and pathways to the approaching wind. Flow rates across street openings, open street roofs and along street networks contribute to air exchange between urban airspaces and their external surroundings. We numerically studied the ventilation and air change rates in some aligned square building arrays (the building width B = 30 mm, building heights H = 2B or 2.67B) with building area densities of λ_p = 0.25 or 0.4 (i.e. the ratio between the plan area of buildings viewed from above and the total underlying surface area). The main and secondary streets are parallel and perpendicular to the approaching wind respectively. Urban parameters are found important to the ventilation. The taller buildings (H = 2.67B) may capture larger inflow rates across windward street openings than the lower (H = 2B). Wider streets and smaller building area density provide more wind pathways and obtain larger flow rates along street networks. Meanwhile, the flow rates along the street may quickly decrease due to strong resistances produced by high-rise buildings, so the total street length should be limited, otherwise the ventilation in downstream regions is not good. The secondary streets always experience worse ventilation than the main streets. A building height variation benefits ventilation in the secondary streets by enhancing vertical mean flow rates across street roofs in contrast to those with uniform heights. If the base of all buildings is open from z = 0 to 0.33B, the ventilation in both the main and secondary streets becomes better.     

Enhancement of stack ventilation in hot and humid climate using a combination of roof solar collector and vertical stack

In the hot and humid climate, stack ventilation is inefficient due to small temperature difference between the inside and outside of naturally ventilated buildings. Hence, solar induced ventilation is a feasible alternative in enhancing the stack ventilation. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of a proposed solar induced ventilation strategy, which combines a roof solar collector and a vertical stack, in enhancing the stack ventilation performance in the hot and humid climate. The methodology selected for the investigation is physical experimental modelling which was carried out in the actual environment. The results are presented and discussed in terms of two performance variables: air temperature and air velocity. The findings indicate that the proposed strategy is able to enhance the stack ventilation, both in semi-clear sky and overcast sky conditions. The highest air temperature difference between the air inside the stack and the ambient air (T_i−T_o) is achieved in the semi-clear sky condition, which is about 9.9 °C (45.8 °C–35.9 °C). Meanwhile, in the overcast sky condition, the highest air temperature difference (T_i−T_o) is 6.2 °C (39.3 °C–33.1 °C). The experimental results also indicate good agreement with the theoretical results for the glass temperature, the air temperature in the roof solar collector’s channel and the absorber temperature. The findings also show that wind has significant effect to the induced air velocity by the proposed strategy.     

Experimental and numerical studies of flows through and within high-rise building arrays and their link to ventilation strategy

Urban ventilation implies that wind from rural areas may supply relatively clean air into urban canopies and distribute rural air within them to help air exchange and pollutant dilution. This paper experimentally and numerically studied such flows through high-rise square building arrays as the approaching rural wind is parallel to the main streets. The street aspect ratio (building height/street width, H/W) is from 2 to 5.3 and the building area (or packing) density (λ_p) is 0.25 or 0.4. Wind speed is found to decrease quickly through high-rise building arrays. For neighbourhood-scale building arrays (1-2 km at full scale), the velocity may stop decreasing near leeward street entries due to vertical downward mixing induced by the wake. Strong shear layer exists near canopy roof levels producing three-dimensional (3D) vortexes in the secondary streets and considerable air exchanges across the boundaries with their surroundings. Building height variations may destroy or deviate 3D canyon vortexes and induced downward mean flow in front of taller buildings and upward flow behind taller buildings. With a power-law approaching wind profile, taller building arrays capture more rural air and experience a stronger wind within the urban canopy if the total street length is effectively limited. Wider streets (or smaller λ_p), and suitable arrangements of building height variations may be good choices to improve the ventilation in high-rise urban areas.     

Assessment of pollutant dispersion from rooftop stacks: ASHRAE,ADMS and wind tunnel simulation

The prediction of downwind concentration of effluents from stack located on top of buildings is important. Most current dispersion models assess the pollutant concentration at distances away from the building. It is important to study pollutant dispersion within the recirculation zone of the building, since studies have shown that effluents released from rooftop stacks have a tendency to re-enter the building through intakes located on the roof. These effects get more pronounced with the influence of RoofTop Structures (RTS). This paper presents a comparative study of the Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling System (ADMS), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE 2003 and 2007 versions) and wind tunnel results. Four different cases involving a low-rise and high-rise building for stack heights (h_s) ranging from 1 m to 7 m, exhaust momentum ratios (M) ranging from 1 to 5 and wind direction (θ) of 0° and 45°, have been studied for neutral atmospheric stability conditions. In this regard the effect of RTS has also been examined by using wind tunnel, ADMS and ASHRAE models. ADMS yields higher dilutions near the stack at θ = 0° and cannot model the effect of RTS. Wind tunnel data compare well with ASHRAE 2003 at M = 5 for the low-rise building, but generally predict higher dilutions for the high-rise building. ASHRAE 2003 predicts lower dilutions than ADMS for the high-rise building, while ASHRAE 2007 yields very low dilutions for all cases, suggesting a need to reassess its suitability for practical design.     

Effects of building aspect ratio and wind speed on air temperatures in urban-like street canyons

The objective of this study is to simulate the characteristic role of building aspect ratio (AR) and wind speed on air temperatures during different street canyon heating situations. A two-dimensional Renormalization Group (RNG) k–? turbulence model is employed to solve the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) and energy transport equations. A comparison of the results from the adopted model with those reported by similar experimental and numerical works demonstrated that the model is quite reliable when simulating temperature and wind profiles. The model is employed to predict air temperatures in idealized street canyons of aspect ratios (building-height-to-street-width ratio) of 0.5–8 with ambient wind speeds of 0.5–4 m/s. Three situations were identified for simulating diurnal heating of street canyon. It is noted that air temperatures are positively correlated with the bulk Richardson number (R_b) in most of the cases. The results show that the air temperature difference between high and low AR street canyon (Δθ_AR) was the highest during the nighttime (i.e., around 7.5 K between AR8 and AR0.5), but low or even negative during the daytime. It is also found that air temperatures rose as high as 1.3 K when ambient wind speed decreased from 4 m/s to 0.5 m/s. It is also revealed that the Δθ_AR during different diurnal situations and the nighttime and daytime air temperature difference between urban and rural areas (Urban Heat Island, UHI) closely resemble one another. Conclusively, the results of this study have highlighted the importance of street canyon AR and wind speed on urban heating.     

Numerical simulation of the wind field around different building arrangements

A numerical model with the RNG κ−ε turbulence closure model and a pressure correction algorithm of SIMPLEC is used to examine three different building configuration effects on wind flow. Comparisons of computational results with experimental data have been carried out for the vertical velocity profiles at some measurement points. For the experimental study, the building arrangements were presented by 1:150 scale models and tested in a low-speed wind tunnel. It was found that the wind environment for two improved arrangements with lower interval-to-height ratio is better than that for the reference layout with higher aspect ratio in terms of the natural ventilation. The interference effect is more obvious for two improved arrangements than the reference one. The numerical results also show that changing wind direction from perpendicular to the building facades to a 45°-incidence angle has significant effect on the flow field for different configurations.     

Flow patterns and vortex shedding behavior behind a square cylinder

The flow structures, wake-flow characteristics and drag coefficients of a square cylinder at various Reynolds numbers (Re) and incidence angles (θ) were experimentally studied in an open-loop wind tunnel. The cross section of square cylinder is characterized by the aspect ratio (AR) and blockage ratio (BR) of 25% and 4%, respectively. The Reynolds number is changed from 4000 to 36,000 and the incidence angle is adjusted from 0° to 45°. The flow patterns near/behind the square cylinder were determined using the smoke-wire scheme. The global velocity fields and streamline patterns were analyzed using the particle image velocimetry (PIV). Additionally, the flow-topology method was applied to analyze the flow patterns by calculating the separatrices, alleyways and critical points. Experimental results showed that the flow structures around the square cylinder exhibit three modes—leading-edge separation, separation bubble and attached flow. The surface-pressure profile, drag coefficient (C_D), lift coefficient (C_L) and vortex shedding frequency were detected/calculated using a pressure transducer and hot-wire anemometer. The lift coefficient did not significantly vary with Re. The minimum C_D occurs at θ=12°, whereas the minimum C_L occurs at θ=13°. The minimum projected-Strouhal-number (St_d) occurs at θ=0° while the maximum St_d occurs at θ=15°.     

Effect of inclined roof on the airflow associated with a wind driven turbine ventilator

Rotating wind driven turbine ventilator has been used as cost-effective environmental friendly natural ventilation device. Rotating wind driven turbine ventilator type of device is usually installed on the rooftop to extract air extract air flow from a building to improve air quality and comfort. Performance investigations carried thus far on turbine ventilator have ignored the effect of the inclination on rooftop. An experimental program was, therefore, formulated at the aerodynamic laboratory of the University of New South Wales to study such effect on a simulated rooftop. The results obtained from the measured forces and rotational speeds on different configurations indicate that the effect is minimal in extracting air from a building at low wind speed. The static pressure and skin friction distributions on the simulated roof further supports this finding. Two important conclusions can be drawn from the present investigation: firstly, the presence of the inclined roof may extend the safety margin in the operation of a turbine ventilator at high wind speed by reducing the magnitude of the total force that acts on the ventilator; secondly the dependency of the total fore on low Reynolds number suggests that the efficiency and reliability of operation of such ventilator should be boosted through the provision of other power source such as solar power at low wind speed.     

严寒地区住宅建筑冬季通风研究

针对严寒地区节能住宅建筑冬季卫生通风不足的问题，本文应用Fluent软件对安装通风装置的示范住宅建筑的室外风场、室内气流组织及温度分布进行模拟研究并实测室内空气温度场。在严寒地区，为保证适当的卫生通风和气流组织，应加强热压的作用，而尽量避免风压的不利影响。对严寒地区典型的建筑住区不同尺度的外部风环境模拟分析结果表明：除建筑住区的迎风面建筑外，整个建筑住区及建筑子区内风场分布较为均匀，符合严寒地区冬季避免冷风侵入耗热量的建筑节能设计。为避免迎风面建筑较高层住宅的背风向房间出现进风口变为排风口的现象，需加强屋顶排风风口处的引风作用；示范性通风建筑室内的进风角度及安装位置、建筑构件、家具的材料以及家具摆放位置等是影响室内热舒适性和室内气流组织的主要原因。     

A study on terraced apartments and their natural ventilation performance in hot and humid regions

Terraced apartments as a typology of the buildings are new approaches to meet energy conservation targets. This principle in the form of interactive spaces contributes to an incorporation of interior and exterior, daylight addition and exploitation of natural ventilation. This study mainly investigates the natural ventilation exploitation of a terraced apartment in the hot and humid region. One solid block and 4 porous apartments with different terrace depths (TD) are evaluated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. The k-ε turbulence model was adapted to simulate airflow in and around a mid-rise building with 42 residential blocks. CFD analysis compares the effect of permeability in the form of terraces on wind behaviour and natural ventilation efficiency in a mid-rise building. Ventilation assessment parameters such as mean air velocity and mean age of air are measured to compare the natural ventilation performance. The simulation results clearly indicate that the implementation of permeability in the form of terraces can enhance building natural ventilation performance significantly. However, it is proved that some physical configurations such as terrace depth can influence this performance greatly. According to the results, increasing the terrace depth up to 1.2 meters will enhance the mean wind velocity 40%–88% inside the room, 10.61%–12.29% near the window and 63.44% on the openings. Velocity diagram follows a descending process after TD 1.2. The mean wind speed decreases to 25.53% inside the room, 15.09% inside terraces and 1.09% near the window. The average wind velocity on the openings is revealed to be 1.54 to 1.64 times larger in the porous models than the solid one. On the other hand, porous cases indicate lower values for the mean age of air compared to the solid model. This study provides proper guidelines to predict ventilation performance and to improve the design of naturally ventilated mid-rise buildings in hot and humid regions.     

Full scale experimental study of single-sided ventilation: Analysis of stack and wind effects

Natural ventilation can contribute to the reduction of the air conditioning demand and to the improvement of thermal comfort in buildings. In this paper, the flow field and the air change rate generated by a simple configuration of natural ventilation, namely single-sided ventilation, are examined experimentally. The experiments are realized in a full scale building exposed to outdoor conditions, using several measurement techniques. The main features of the flow generated by stack and wind effect are examined for different outdoor conditions (temperature difference, wind speed and direction). Finally, measured air change rates are compared to those calculated by existing correlations in order to analyze their applicability to the experimental configuration. Results show that the wind generates turbulence diffusion at the opening, counteracting the stack effect. Moreover, in the case of windward opening, there is an additional effect, namely the effect of mixing layer, which tends to increase the airflow rate. Existing correlations give reasonably good results in the case of windward opening, while in the case of leeward opening they overestimate the airflow rate.     

Natural ventilation induced by combined wind and thermal forces

Analytical solutions are derived for calculating natural ventilation flow rates and air temperatures in a single-zone building with two openings when no thermal mass is present. In these solutions, the independent variables are the heat source strength and wind speed, rather than given indoor air temperatures. Three air change rate parameters α, β and γ are introduced to characterise, respectively, the effects of the thermal buoyancy force, the envelope heat loss and the wind force. Non-dimensional graphs are presented for calculating ventilation flow rates and air temperatures, and for sizing ventilation openings. The wind can either assist the buoyancy force or oppose the airflow. For assisting winds, the flow is always upwards and the solutions are straightforward. For opposing winds, the flow can be either upwards or downwards depending on the relative strengths of the two forces. In this case, the solution for the flow rate as a function of the heat source strength presents some complex features. A simple dynamical analysis is carried out to identify the stable solutions.     

A laboratory experiment of shear-induced natural ventilation

When the wind direction is parallel to the opening façade, the wind shear near the building opening generates turbulence and entrains air across the opening. This kind of shear-induced ventilation cannot be predicted by the orifice equation because the time-averaged pressure difference across the opening is close to zero. This study uses wind tunnel experiments and the tracer gas decay method to investigate the ventilation rate of shear-induced ventilation. The influences of opening area A, external wind speed U and wind direction on the ventilation rates Q, of single-sided and two-sided openings are systemically examined. The experimental results indicate that the dimensionless ventilation rate, Q^* = Q/UA, of shear-induced ventilation is independent of the wind speed and opening area, and the value of Q^* of two-sided openings is larger than that of a single-sided opening. In addition, a cosine law was used to predict the ventilation rate of building with two-sided openings under various wind directions, and the results are compared with the prediction of the multizone ventilation model COMIS.     

Wind pressure distribution influence on natural ventilation for different incidences and environment densities

Natural ventilation is of increasing interest in building industry because of recent focus on environmental concern, considered with both comfort and economical criteria. The aim of this study is to investigate how wind may induce natural ventilation, with focus on wind incidence and large scale environment density influences. These parameters modify flows inside and outside buildings. Numerical dynamic simulations are achieved for a standard office building using pressure coefficients obtained from a parametrical model. Simulations allow to describe inside building air flow for three incidences: 0°, 45°, 90° and three theoretical environments: open, suburban and urban. Originality of this study is to work with both vertical and horizontal pressure coefficient gradients. Results show how important horizontal gradients are in air flow comprehension. Urban wind driven ventilation potential is also discussed. Some words are said on existing tools limitations. The need for further studies is illustrated in order to obtain handy pressure coefficients prediction tools and to optimize openings mechanical regulation. The all study falls under the step of sustainable architecture.     

Evaluation of RANS turbulence models for simulating wind-induced mean pressures and dispersions around a complex-shaped high-rise building

Re-ingestion of the contaminated exhaust air from the same building is a concern in high-rise residential buildings, and can be serious depending on wind conditions and contaminant source locations. In this paper, we aim to assess the prediction accuracy of three k-? turbulence models, in numerically simulating the wind-induced pressure and indoor-originated air pollutant dispersion around a complex-shaped high-rise building, by comparing with our earlier wind tunnel test results. The building modeled is a typical, 33-story tower-like building consisting of 8-household units on each floor, and 4 semi-open, vertical re-entrant spaces are formed, with opposite household units facing each other in very close proximity. It was found that the predicted surface pressure distributions by the two revised k-? models, namely the renormalized and realizable k-? models agree reasonably with experimental data. However, with regard to the vertical pollutant concentration distribution in the windward re-entrance space, obvious differences were found between the three turbulence models, and the simulation result using the realizable k-? model agreed the best with the experiment. On the other hand, with regard to the vertical pollutant concentration distribution in the re-entrant space oblique to the wind, all the three models gave acceptable predictions at the concentration level above the source location, but severely underestimated the downward dispersion. The effects of modifying the value of the turbulent Schmidt number in the realizable k-? model were also examined for oblique-wind case. It was confirmed that the numerical results, especially the downward dispersion, are quite sensitive to the value of turbulent Schmidt number.     

A study of natural ventilation in a refuge floor

Under the Building Codes of Hong Kong Special Administration Region, the provision of refuge floors has been an indispensable element in high-rise building design since 1996. Wind-induced cross natural ventilation is an important design criterion of a refuge floor since it helps to prevent any smoke entering to become persistent state remained (logging) on the refuge floor. This paper reports a study of refuge floor natural ventilation induced by wind flow around a high-rise building with a refuge floor arriving from different wind incidence angles. The study is based on CFD simulations which are validated by wind tunnel measurements. The refuge floor under investigation has a main services core at the centre and support walls flush with the building walls along two opposite sides. The results reveal that at all wind angles, wind is able to enter the refuge space from the windward side and escape from the leeward side. At some wind angles, wind is found to re-enter the refuge space from the leeward opening and accumulate behind the main services core. Based on the results, we suggest that stairs connecting to the refuge space should be located inside the side corridors formed by the internal and external side walls.