Natural-ventilation flow in a 3-D room fitted with solar chimney

Natural-ventilation flow induced in a real-sized rectangular-box room fitted with a solar chimney on its roof is investigated numerically, using a commercial CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software package. The chimney in turn is in the form of a parallel channel with one plate being subjected to uniform solar heat flux. Ventilation rate and air-flow pattern through the room are considered in terms of the heat flux for two different locations of the room's inlet opening. Chien's turbulence model of low-Reynolds-number K- ε is used in a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) formulation. It is found that ventilation flow rate increases quickly with solar heat flux when this flux is low, but more gradually at higher flux. At low heat flux, ventilation rate is not significantly affected by location of the inlet opening to the room. On the other hand, at high heat flux, ventilation rate varies substantially with the opening's location. Location of the inlet opening to the room also affects strongly the air-flow pattern. In any case, ample ventilation rate is readily induced by the chimney. Copyright © 2012 by ASME