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Procedia Engineering 196 (2017) 972 – 979

Creative Construction Conference 2017, CCC 2017, 19-22 June 2017, Primosten, Croatia

Windows Size and the Performance of Natural Ventilation

Helenice Sachtª *, Marieli Azoia Lukiantchukib
ª Federal University of Latin American Integration-UNILA, Foz do Iguaçu, 85867-970, Paraná, Brazil.
b
State University of Maringá, Maringá, 87020-900, Paraná, Brazil.

Abstract

Natural ventilation is efficient for passive cooling of buildings, to improve indoor air quality, occupant comfort and,
consequently, the reduction of the use of electric energy. Characteristics such as the type of windows, if fixed or mobile; effective
ventilation area; operation; if present elements that offer greater resistance to the passage of the air, it influences directly on the
conditions of natural ventilation. Therefore, the present work aimed to compare the natural ventilation conditions that different
window areas provide to an environment, by means of computational simulations using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) -
– Ansys CFX. To develop the study were changed dimensions of the inlet openings of a model, specifically the windows, to
evaluate the influence of this parameter in the amount of airflow in the change rates, the pressure coefficients in the openings
(windows and doors) and in the qualitative distribution of internal airflow. Two different dimensions were analysed: window area
corresponding to 10% and 25% of the floor area, whose dimensions were determined based on codes and construction legislation.
The conditions of natural ventilation were influenced by the modifications in the size of the openings and variation of the angle
of incidence of the winds, presenting significant changes in the values of the pressure average coefficients and the air change
rates. In addition, variations in the pattern of air flow distribution were also recorded.

©©2017
2017TheTheAuthors. Published
Authors. by Elsevier
Published Ltd. This
by Elsevier Ltd. is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2017.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2017

Keywords: Natural ventilation; Computer simulation; CFD; Windows.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 045 99800-2482.

E-mail address: helenice.sacht@unila.edu.br; nicesacht@yahoo.com.br

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2017
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.08.038
 Helenice Sacht and Marieli Azoia Lukiantchuki / Procedia Engineering 196 (2017) 972 – 979 973

1. Introduction

Natural ventilation is one of the most important strategies for the passive cooling of buildings, as it provides
thermal comfort and improves the health of users, through internal air renewal. It also reduces the energy
consumption, and avoids the use of mechanical ventilation and air conditioning systems. The energy cost of a
naturally ventilated building is typically 40% lower than that of air-conditioned building [1].
Brazil is a tropical country and most of its territory has warm and humid climate. Therefore, the use of natural
ventilation can be an efficient strategy for the achievement of thermal comfort with no use of mechanical cooling
[2]. Natural ventilation performance of a building is affected by a combination of external and internal factors.
External factors are often related to external wind velocities, direction of the external winds, presence of external
barriers like vegetation, external walls, among other factors. Several internal factors can be used to increase natural
ventilation in indoor environments, such as: openings configuration; ventilated window-sill and cobogós. In this
case, the architects are free to design the way they deem proper. However, little information is available in this
regard [3]. Gao and Lee studied openings configuration. It was found that better natural ventilation performance
could be achieved when the two openings groups were positioned in opposite directions or perpendicular to each
other. Several previous studies have shown that natural ventilation and dispersion of contaminant concentrations
strongly depends on air inlet types [4].
In cross ventilation, the openings are arranged on façades in the different orientations, and the inlet openings must
be located in the high pressure zones and outlet in the low pressure zones. In addition to the location, the type of
opening affects directly the performance of cross ventilation, and interferes both in the resistance offered to the air
flow and in direction and intensity; the dimension yet interferes on the amount and pattern of distribution of the
airflow.
There are computational tools to analyze the natural ventilation conditions, one of the most indicated options
being the use of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) programs. The CFD "Computational Fluid Dynamics",
consists of the numerical simulation of physical and / or physicochemical processes that have flow. Through these
types of tools, temperatures, velocities, pressure, pressure coefficients and other fluid characteristics can be
calculated by means of models based on the principles of mass conservation, energy and momentum in the space and
time domain, being adequate to the studies of the natural ventilation in the building and in the urban environment.
Based on this, the influence of different areas of the air inlet windows on the performance of the natural
ventilation of the internal environments was evaluated in this research by means of computational simulations using
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software.

2. Methodology

2.1. Determination of the Reference Model (RM) Characteristics

The idea for the simulations was the establishment of a cell equivalent to an environment that would meet the
recommendations of the Construction Code of the Brazilian cities Foz do Iguaçu-PR, São Carlos-SP and Maringá-
PR, simultaneously. As Brazilian performance standard NBR 15575 [5] recommends long-permanence
environments should be considered for measurements/simulations, the dimensions for bedrooms and living rooms
were surveyed according to the above-mentioned code of the cities studied.
In this case, the study of a cell is aimed at the analysis of the influence of natural ventilation solutions
incorporated in the behavior of the wind on the indoor cell. Such a situation can be considered if a certain profile of
velocities impacts on the façade under different angles. The performance of a solution in only one environment,
rather than the interference of external elements with both ventilation and disposition of environments, is the focus
of the results to be achieved, as the selection of a specific housing typology would imply specific results for the
typology analyzed.
According to the previous research, it was defined for the reference case: width of 3m; length of 3m and height of
2,70m, totaling an internal area and volume of 9m2 and 24,3m3, respectively. The environment has an opening in the
windward façade and a door in the leeward façade. The window characteristics are: width of 0.90m; height of 1,0m
974 Helenice Sacht and Marieli Azoia Lukiantchuki / Procedia Engineering 196 (2017) 972 – 979

and window sill of 1,0m. The door characteristics are: width of 0.80m; height of 2.10m (Fig. 1). The window and
door works as inlet and outlet opening, respectively.

Fig.1. Reference model analyzed

The dimension of the air entrance opening was altered for the evaluation of its influence on the amount of flow
that enters and leaves the building (volumetric flow), air change rates/ hour, pressure coefficient in the openings
(windows and doors) and qualitative distribution of the indoor airflow. Two different dimensions were analyzed:
window area corresponding to 10% and 25% of the area of the floor.
Table 1. Studied cases.
Cases REFERENCE CASE - A = 10% of the area of the floor CASE 01 - A = 25% of the area of the floor
Images

Width of the window = 0,90m Width of the window = 2,25m

Height of the window = 1,0m Height of the window = 1,0m
Data of the
Project

Window sill = 1,0m Window sill = 1,0m

Area of the window = 0.90m2 (10% - area of the floor) Area of the window = 2,25m2 (25% - area of the floor)
Area of the environment = 9,00m2 Area of the environment = 9,00m2
High Ceiling = 2,70m High Ceiling = 2,70m

2.2. Computational Simulations

Natural Ventilation is an efficient strategy for passive cooling in buildings and improves quality of indoor air and
occupiers´ comfort, welfare and productivity. The aim here is the evaluation of natural ventilation strategies to be
applied to façades ideal for the Brazilian climate through CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software, as it is
recommended for simulations of natural ventilation. CFX 12.0 software, produced by ANSYS enterprise, was used
for the computational simulations.
The three-dimensional base model was performed in the AutoCAD software, using extrude, union and subtract
commands, so that the objects are understood as solids in the Icem CFX. The model was constructed considering
only the characteristics important for the analyzes and all windows / doors were considered open. After completion,
an external volume was drawn up, without openings, representing the domain by which the fluid would be drained.
The procedure adopted was to subtract this domain, generating a volumetric negative of the study area and
configuring the model as a unified block (Fig. 2).
 Helenice Sacht and Marieli Azoia Lukiantchuki / Procedia Engineering 196 (2017) 972 – 979 975

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 2. Geometry in AutoCAD (a) extrude, union and subtract process, (b) final model and (c) model and rectangular domain as a unified block

The three-dimensional base model and volume outside

of the building, that represent the flow domain, were
prepared on AutoCAD software. Only the important
characteristics for the analyses and the open
windows/doors were considered for the construction of
the building. The computational domain followed
Harries [6] recommendations: windward = 5H (25 m);
leeward = 15H (75 m); height = 6H (30 m) and lateral
sides = 5H (25m). The maximum blockage ratio at the
cross section is 1.5%, which, according to Cost [7]
recommendation should not exceed 3% (Fig. 3). This
domain dimension eliminates the blocking effect, which
prevents the influence of domain boundaries in the air
flow. For each wind incidence angle analyzed, the
Fig. 3. Dimensions adopted for the rectangular domain
dimensions of the flow domain were changed to follow
these recommendations.

4. Results

4.1 Air change Rates in function of the incidence angles

The Fig. 4 shows the air change rates/ hour in function of the incidence angles of the external winds for each case
analyzed, with the increment percentage (%) in case 1 in relation to the reference case. The Fig. 5 presents the
differences between the average pressure coefficients (Cp) in the openings of air inlet and outlet, for each case, in
function of the incidence angles of the winds.
976 Helenice Sacht and Marieli Azoia Lukiantchuki / Procedia Engineering 196 (2017) 972 – 979

Ref. Case Ref. Case

Air change rates/hour Case 01 Case 01

Į Į

Fig. 4. Air change rates/ hour in function of the incidence angles (Į) Fig. 5. Difference in the pressure coefficients (Cp) in the openings in
of the external winds for the reference case and case 1 function of the incidence angles of the external winds: Reference Case
and Case 01

In general, both distribution and velocity of the indoor airflow are strongly influenced by the implantation of the
building in the land and orientation of its openings to the dominant winds, once the incidence of the wind on the
building changes the pressure fields in the surroundings and around the windows, hence, the way the indoor flow
travels the space. The size, shape and location of the openings in the building also significantly influence the
performance of the indoor natural ventilation. Besides, the indoor air distribution is influenced by the pressure fields
generated by the wind in the surroundings and around the opening.
The incidence angle of the winds and the change in the dimension of the openings influence the natural
ventilation, as the Cps values in the openings and rates of air renewal/hour are expressively altered. According to the
results, the indoor airflow is dependent on the dimension of the window, as a larger opening promotes an airflow
with a smaller load loss at the inlet due to the obstruction, which results in a better use of the external winds indoors
and higher rates of air renewal/hour.
The performance of the case was significantly better in relation to the reference case for all incidence angles of
the external winds. The increase in the dimension of the window yielded higher absolute Cp values, hence, larger
ǻCp, which indicates a possible indoor air movement (Fig. 5), as such a pressure difference between the openings is
the driving force for the air circulation.
The best performances were observed when the winds entered through the window (0° and 45°), whereas the
worst ones were detected when the winds hit in parallel on the openings (90°), as the velocities of indoor airflow are
reduced. C01 showed 78% and 134% increments for 0° and 45°, respectively, in relation to the Reference Case
(RC). It also showed a 67% increment for a 90° incidence. Finally, the increments were 122% and 121%,
respectively, for 135° and 180°.
When the window worked as an air inlet, (0° and 45°), the highest rates were achieved for both RC and Case 1,
when the winds hit the building obliquely (45°), and significant differences were observed in relation to the
perpendicular incidence (0°). Such events were due to the higher air velocity values in the openings of the building
in the 45° case, which incremented the volumetric flow, hence, the renewal of indoor air. Such performance was
confirmed by the Cps values in the openings of the models. The highest ¨Cps values were achieved for the
45°angle, which reinforces a greater indoor air current is observed in this case (Fig. 5).
Fig. 6 shows the airflow reaches higher velocities in the CR, in the opening of the air inlet, due to its smaller
dimension, which channels the air in the region and increases its velocity. In general, however, such high-velocity
airflow does not reach the internal environment and the velocity in the sides is much lower. The high-velocity
airflow reaches only the central region and is directed to the door, which acts as an opening of air outlet (donwind
region with negative Cp values).
 Helenice Sacht and Marieli Azoia Lukiantchuki / Procedia Engineering 196 (2017) 972 – 979 977

Reference Case Case 01

Fig. 6. Trajectory of the airflow in the internal environment for the 0° incidence angle of external winds for Ref. C and C01, respectively.

The airflow velocity is lower in the opening of C01, however, it reaches the internal environment more
homogeneously and provides a ventilated space with no calm regions where it is reduced. Again, the airflow is
directed to the door due to the negative Cps values and its velocity in the opening is more intense in C01 than in RC,
which reinforces the higher indoor airflow velocities in C01 (Fig. 7). The increase in the opening promotes a larger
indoor air volume, which alters the Cps values in the openings, hence, the indoor airflow trajectory.

Reference Case Case 01

Fig. 7. Indoor airflow trajectory for the 45°incidence angle of external winds for RC and C01, respectively.

In both cases, when the winds hits the openings in parallel (90°), the increase in the opening increased neither the
rates of air renewal/hour, nor its distribution pattern significantly. As such rates are reduced, a 67% increment is not
significant to the natural ventilation performance. Although a slight increment was observed in the air velocity in the
opening, as its dimension was increased, only a variation in the air was detected in the region, with no penetration in
the internal environment at higher velocities (Fig. 8). The Cps values are quite similar in the openings of air inlet
and outlet, which indicates ¨Cps near zero, hence, an indoor airflow of lower velocities (Fig. 5).
978 Helenice Sacht and Marieli Azoia Lukiantchuki / Procedia Engineering 196 (2017) 972 – 979

Reference Case Case 01

Fig. 8. Indoor airflow trajectory for the 90° incidence angle of external winds for RC and C01, respectively.

Finally, when the winds reach out the opposite side, i.e. the environment door, again, the performance of C01 is
better than that of RCs, as the increase in the dimension of the air outlet opening speeds up the air at the window as
it is increased, which promotes a more intense airflow at the outlet (Figs 9 and 10). Higher ventilation rates are
obtained when the downwind openings of the building are larger. In such a situation, the highest ventilation rates
were obtained when the winds reach out the openings perpendicularly (180°). The results were also confirmed by
the higher ¨Cp values for C01, as previously addressed (Fig. 5). However, the velocities of the indoor airflow for
the 135° and 180° angles were lower than those for 0° and 45°. Despite the increment in the renewal of the indoor
air, in C01, for such situations (135° and 180°), the variation in the window did not change the airflow distribution
siginificantly in the user´s occupation zone, as in both cases, the airflows were quite similar (Figs 9 and 10).

Reference Case Case 01

Fig. 9. Indoor airflow trajectory for the 135° incidence angle of external winds for RC and C01, respectively.
 Helenice Sacht and Marieli Azoia Lukiantchuki / Procedia Engineering 196 (2017) 972 – 979 979

Reference Case Case 01

Fig. 10. Indoor airflow trajectory for the 180° incidence angle of external winds for RC and C01, respectively.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by CNPq - Conselho Nacional de
Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Brazil.

5. Conclusions

Based on the results, was verified that the conditions of natural ventilation were influenced by the size of the
windows, as well as by the variation of the angle of wind incidence, which affected significant changes in the values
of the pressure coefficients and air change rates per hour. Regarding the distribution of the air flow in the internal
environment, it was observed that it was dependent on the size of the window, because a larger opening allows the
passage of air with less head loss located at the entrance, due to the obstruction, resulting in a better utilization of the
winds in the internal environment and in greater air change rates per hour.
The increasing the window size caused higher ǻCp. This indicates the possibility of greater air movement in the
internal environment. The best performances were recorded when the wind moved through the window at an angle
between 0° and 45°. For the two cases studied, the highest rates were reached when the wind moved obliquely in the
building (45°). The worst performance occurs when the wind moved parallel to the openings (90°), where the
internal airflow has reduced velocities.

References

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