The effect of louver blinds on the wind-driven cross ventilation of multi-storey buildings

Abstract

Louver blinds is widely used to control indoor solar heat gain at buildings' openings. However, natural ventilation can also be affected by these devices. This study has conducted a CFD investigation on the cross ventilation in a multi-storey building with louver blinds. Taking DFR and air age as the evaluation indicators, the ventilation performance of rooms with different louver angles and wind directions are surveyed. It is found that fully-opened slats may improve the indoor air quality due to its flow fairing, while the larger louver angle can result in greater blocking effect for cross ventilation. Meanwhile, it is shown that windward louvers have a greater impact on ventilation potential than leeward louvers. To provide references for ventilation analysis in louvered rooms, correlations are proposed to describe the promoting or restraining effect of louvers on indoor cross-flow. This research contributes to the integrated design of building's louver blinds.