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Wind
Tunnel and CFD Investigation of the Performance of
a Wind Driven Ventilation System
Abbas
Ali Elmualim & Hazim B Awbi
School of Construction Management &
Engineering
The University of Reading
United Kingdom
Abstract
Experimental
investigations and CFD simulations were carried out to evaluate the
performance of square and circular section wind - driven systems for
natural ventilation application in buildings. Wind tunnel and smoke
visualisation tests were conducted on a full-scale model based on a
commercial ‘wind catcher’ design. The experimental set-up consisted of
each system being connected to a model test room. The devices were divided
internally into four quadrants/segments for the purpose of air supply and
extract. Pressure coefficients distribution, internal air speed and
volumetric air flow rate were measured for various wind speeds and for
different wind directions. In addition, CFD simulations were carried out
to obtain the pressure distribution and air flow pattern around the square
section system. The results show that the performance of the devices
depends mainly on the speed and direction of the prevailing wind. Although
the ventilation rate increases with wind speed it was found to decrease
with the increase in the wind direction angles from 0°
to 45°,
measured from the normal to the face of the system.
Key words: wind driven ventilation, wind-catcher.
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