Assessing natural cooling strategies in apartment buildings using de-coupled internal-external airflow simulations

Computational fluid dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the performance of enhanced natural ventilation strategies in an existing multi-storey apartment building in Athens, a typical urban Greek domestic building type. De-coupled airflow modelling was employed to predict the airflow patterns around the case study building at the neighbourhood scale, along with the prediction of the internal airflow patterns and indoor air temperatures at the scale of a single apartment. Implementation of a wind-catcher and a second façade layer have been investigated to enhance the natural ventilation of the building and improve the original single-sided ventilation strategy