Wind Driven Flow through Openings- A Review of Discharge Coefficients

This paper reviews the current literature on discharge coefficients (CD) of openings and compares different studies for wind-driven cross-ventilation. Considerable variation of discharge coefficients with opening porosity, configuration (shape and location in the faade), wind angle and Reynolds number is shown. Consequently, the use of a constant CD value such as that given in textbooks or other sources might be an invalid simplification.

Wind Tunnel Study for Estimating Outdoor Ventilation in a Dense Low-Rise Building Area

To accurately estimate the natural ventilation of outdoor spaces surrounded by low-rise buildings using a wind tunnel requires correct representation of the natural wind regime combined with appropriately scaled building models and testing method. Existing outdoor ventilation studies are largely based on wind speed and estimated air change rates. Wind speeds mainly influence: peoples comfort, safety in pedestrian areas, the heat transfer between outdoor surfaces and airflow, and evaporation from wet surfaces.

Windcatchers in Modern UK Buildings: Experimental Study

Top down natural ventilation systems, usually referred to as ‘windcatchers’, have been used recently in modern non-domestic buildings in the UK. These systems combine inlet and outlet into a single roof mounted terminal, which is split into sections. Literature exists on theoretical, scale modelling and wind tunnel tests to evaluate the performance of the systems; however there is a scarcity of performance in-use tests. This paper presents the results of air exchange rate tests using the tracer gas decay method carried out in three operational buildings with windcatchers.

ZAER: A Zonal Model for Heat Transfer and Air Flow in Unconditioned Buildings - An Experimental Validation

This paper presents a three-dimensional zonal model, ZAER, for heat transfer and air flow calculations. It is based on an intermediate approach between single-air-node and CFD models. The indoor air volume is divided into macroscopic homogeneous zones. Heat and mass balance equations are written for each zone, while the mass flow rates across the interfaces are calculated by power pressure laws. The simulation tool ZAER allows the determination of temperature fields and air flow distributions inside unconditioned buildings, taking into account external boundary conditions.

Zonal models for indoor air flow - A critical review

A zonal model is an intermediate approach between computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and single-room models. It can give results faster than CFD and be more accurate than single-zone models. It has been used to provide some global information regarding thermal and flow parameters within a room. In this review, due emphasis is given to the commonly used pressurized zonal model - the power law. Qualitative validations show that the power law model reasonably predicts well for natural convection.

BUILDUP Overview Article: Ventilative Cooling Lowers Energy Consumption

Ventilative cooling refers to the use of natural or mechanical ventilation strategies to cool indoor spaces. The use of outside air reduces the energy consumption of cooling systems while maintaining thermal comfort. The most common technique is the use of increased ventilation airflow rates and night ventilation, but other technologies may be considered as well. Ventilative cooling is applicable in a wide range of buildings and may be critical to realise low energy targets for renovated or new Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEBs).

CR 15: Development and evaluation of a new test method for portable air cleaners

The objective of this study was the development of a new test method for portable indoor air cleaners.

CR 14: Methods and techniques for airtight buildings

There exists a significant body of literature on energy and indoor air quality impacts of envelope leakage. In fact, this topic has been studied since the 70s and has lead to many publications, in particular within the Air Infiltration Centre established in 1979 that has become the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Center (AIVC) since 1987.

CR 13: Reduction of tobacco smoke in the hospitality business

This study is about the effectiveness of the indicated ventilation measures in the day-to-day operations of three types of hospitality businesses:

CR 12: Indoor air quality in French dwellings

Our lack of understanding of the health risks related to air pollutants exposure in buildings is perceived as a major deficiency, even though 80% of our time is spent indoors. In this context the Observatory on Indoor Air Quality (OQAI) has been set up by the French authorities to collect data on population exposure to indoor pollutants in various indoor environments (dwellings, schools, offices, sports and leisure centers, etc.) to be used for public policies development. Accordingly, OQAI undertook a national survey on indoor air quality in dwellings with a four-fold objective: 

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