Design and optimisation of a low-carbon ventilation technology for buildings in warm/hot climate

The aim of this work was to evaluate the performance of a wind catcher integrated with passive heat-transfer devices using numerical modeling and wind tunnel experiments. The main investigation parameters in determining the viability of the design were the wind characteristic, indoor air flow rate and distribution and air supply temperature. The wind catcher model was incorporated to a building, representing a small classroom of 15 occupants. Grid sensitivity analysis was used to verify the programming and computational operation of the computational model. An experimental scale model was created using rapid prototyping and was tested in a subsonic wind tunnel to validate the numerical data. Good agreement was observed between both methods of analysis. Furthermore, the effect of varying the spacing of theheat-transfer devices on the system’s ventilation and cooling performance were investigated. The study highlighted the potential of the proposed wind catcher in reducing the air temperature and supplying the required ventilation rates. The technology presented here is subject to a patent application (PCT/GB2014/052263).