Wind tunnel and CFD analysis of wind-induced natural ventilation in sheds roof building: impact of alignment and distance between sheds

Abstract

Sheds roof is a natural ventilation strategy that presents roof openings working as air collectors or extractors. A detailed review of the literature indicates a lack of research analyzing the impact of different sheds roof shapes and roof configurations on natural ventilation potential. his paper aims to evaluate the impact of changes in distance and alignment between wind catcher and leeward sheds roof. The methodology was Computational Fluid Dynamics (FCD) simulation. tests were performed in a atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel on a 1:15 scale model to evaluate the accuracy of CFD simulations in different design configurations of sheds roof. The analysis showed that CFD simulations are generaly in good agreement with the wind tunnel tests. The difference between the most o the monitored points in the two tools used had errors below 10%. besides this, the results show that changes in alignment of the sheds and increasing distance between them decrease and increase the internal airflow to the leeward and windward sheds of the roof, respectively. In the first case it is due to the reduction in the sheds openings area. In the second these changes turn the sheds more effective in the air capture.