Predicting the vertical buoyant spill-plume temperature along building facade with an external sloping facing wall

Abstract

This study focuses on the vertical buoyant spill-plume temperature along building facades under the effect of external sloping walls having different angles. Experiments were conducted using a reduced-scale room model [0.4 m (height) × 0.4 m (width) × 0.4 m (length)] under various heat-release rates (HRRs) with different opening dimensions and angles of the sloping facing wall. K-type thermocouples were installed in a vertical position along the facade wall. We observed that for a given HRR, the vertical buoyant spill-plume temperature along the building facade decreased with increasing height, and the external flow velocity of the ejected plume along the facade wall became more intense with the increase in the inclination angle of the sloping facing wall. A new dimensionless correlation was proposed to characterize the vertical temperature along the facade wall; this correlation considers the various opening sizes and angles of the sloping facing wall. Thus, this study provides both basic data and new information on the correlations of the vertical buoyant spill-plume temperature along the building facade with an external sloping facing wall.