Experimental Evaluation of Airflow Guiding Components for Wind-Driven Single-Sided Natural Ventilation: A Comparative Study in a Test Chamber

Authors

Nima Najafi Ziarani, MaREI, The SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, Ireland; School of Mechanical, Electrical, and Process Engineering, Munster Technological University, Bishopstown, Cork, Ireland
Malcolm J. Cook, School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
Paul D. O’Sullivan, MaREI, The SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, Ireland; School of Mechanical, Electrical, and Process Engineering, Munster Technological University, Bishopstown, Cork, IrelandFollow

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7772-083X

Document Type

Article

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Details

Energy and Buildings, vol. 300, December 2023.

Abstract

Single-sided ventilation is a frequently employed ventilation strategy in contemporary structures, yet its effectiveness is often mediocre, underscoring the need for solutions to enhance its performance. To evaluate the effect of louvres and guide vanes on the effective ventilation rate, 21 different louvre configurations and four guide vane designs were compared with a plain opening for single-sided ventilation in a full-scale experimental test chamber under three different magnitudes of local wind velocity. Ventilation rates were measured using the tracer gas decay method with 12 NDIR CO2 sensors. The findings, obtained under specific test conditions, indicate that deeper openings result in a decline in ventilation rate performance. It was observed that wider guide vanes lead to higher ventilation rates, suggesting their potential to enhance SSV performance. The results reveal that, in most cases, louvres contribute to a decline in the system's performance. However, the ventilation rate is influenced by the angle and number of louvres, with optimal performance observed at specific angles and fewer louvres. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing the design of airflow-guiding components in wind-driven single-sided ventilation systems, enabling the development of more efficient and customized solutions for natural ventilation in buildings.

Recommended Citation

Nima Najafi Ziarani, Malcolm J. Cook, Paul D. O'Sullivan,, Experimental evaluation of airflow guiding components for wind-driven single-sided natural ventilation: A comparative study in a test chamber, Energy and Buildings, Volume 300, 2023, 113627, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2023.113627.