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Cross-ventilation and room partitions: Wind tunnel experiments on indoor airflow distribution

Conference ·
OSTI ID:33247
 [1];  [2]
  1. QC Architectural Consulting, Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  2. Measurex Corp., Inc., Cupertino, CA (United States)

Environmental concerns and escalating energy costs are creating a demand for proper use of natural ventilation to provide thermal comfort. This paper presents the results of wind tunnel experiments studying the effect of interior partitions on natural cross-ventilation by directly measuring air velocity and turbulence distributions inside a building model. The results demonstrate that manipulating the configuration of internal partitions, as a less expensive alternative to many other architectural configurations, can significantly modify the effect of cross-ventilation and thermal comfort conditions. Particularly compared to traditional solid-wall configurations, open-plan configurations with low partitions improve internal airflow distribution and occupants` thermal comfort inside a naturally ventilated building in a hot climate.

OSTI ID:
33247
Report Number(s):
CONF-9406105--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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