Review on buoyancy-driven natural ventilation in an enclosure with various types of heat sources

Abstract

This paper reviews indoor heat convection and buoyancy-driven natural ventilation in enclosed space with heat sources in different forms such as point, line, plane, volume or combination of them. The indoor thermal flow is driven by these heat sources and accumulated in the enclosure. Thermal plume evolves based on its dynamic law above heat sources and is conversely affected by the thermal environment and geometric structure. Therefore, the dynamic of thermal-driven flows and the restriction by the thermal environment and geometric framework are both of interest in the field of indoor heat convection and buoyancy-driven natural ventilation. Based on this fact, the indoor thermal convection can be divided into two basic components which are buoyant plume above the heat source and indoor thermal stratification flow. Research and analysis on these laws and restriction are of significance in not only the advances in building thermal environment technology but also further cognition and effective solutions for current engineering practice.