Buoyancy Driven Natural Ventilation through Horizontal Openings

An experimental study of the phenomenon of buoyancy driven natural ventilation through single-sided horizontal openings was performed in a full-scale laboratory test rig. The measurements were made for opening ratios L/D ranging from 0.027 to 4.455, where L and D are the length of the opening and the diameter of the opening, respectively. The basic nature of airflow through single-sided openings, including airflow rate, air velocity, temperature difference between the rooms and the dimensions of the horizontal openings, were measured. A bi-directional airflow rate was measured using the constant injection tracer gas technique. Smoke visualizations showed that the airflow patterns are highly transient and unstable, and that the airflow rate oscillates with time. Correlations between the Froude (Archimedes) number Fr (Ar) and the L/D ratio are presented. In some cases the measured airflow rates fit quite well with the Epstein's formula but in other cases the measured data show clear deviations from the Epstein's formula. Thus, revised formulas for natural ventilation are proposed.