Parametric Enhancement of a Window-Windcatcher for Enhanced Thermal Comfort and Natural Ventilation

Abstract

Window-windcatchers, a passive ventilation method, have been shown to improve ventilation and enhance thermal comfort. Preliminary characterization of a novel window-windcatcher has been undertaken in a previous work, but no relationship had been identified between the actual ventilation rate (Qact), the wind velocity (VTw) and crucial design parameters such as the fins angle (ϴ)). In this paper, the relationship that quantifies how the window-windcatcher’s performance depends on VTw and ϴ was determined. Additionally, for the first time, the ventilation performance of the window-windcatcher was optimized by studying the effects of ϴ and the fins-wall distance (DW−f) through a Computational Fluid Dynamics parametric study (ANSYS)|. In this optimization approach, the angle ϴ and the distance DW−f corresponding to the maximum actual-to-required ventilation rate were found to be 80° and 45 cm, respectively. The actual ventilation rate increased by approximately 13.2% compared with the baseline design of the windcatcher (ϴ and DW−f equal to 40° and 45 cm, respectively); this corresponds to an increase of approximately 8.6% in the actual-to-required ventilation rate, according to the ASHRAE standards.