Numerical Simulation Of Thermal Pressure Ventilation In Building Atrial: A Case Study

School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 710049 Xi’an, China

^* Corresponding author: xlluo@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

Abstract

Over one-third of China’s total energy usage can be attributed to buildings, of which 50% is consumed by HVAC systems. Natural ventilation is an effective approach to increase the quality of indoor air and maintain a comfortable temperature. In order to provide a higher ventilation rate, a stack ventilation system with an auxiliary heat source of solar energy was proposed in this research. Taking the main building of the School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, as an example, the ventilation efficiency of the system was evaluated by using the software of Fluent. The results show that using a stack ventilation system with an auxiliary heat source of solar energy in the lower part of the chimney increases the ventilation capacity by 738% over the unheated case and reduces the average room temperature by 1.7°C compared to the unheated. The proposed system could be orientated to improve natural ventilation for public buildings.