ARC-419 Research Work and Methodology (Lab)

Assignment – 01
Submitted by: Sheraz Muhammad
Roll no: 08
Submitted to: Dr. Ghousia Saeed
Dated: April 06, 2021
Part 01. Research problem of given research paper
The research problem of the given research paper can be briefly explained as; UAE is
identified as one of the highest carbon emitters per capita despite the fact that it has the
massive potential for energy savings in buildings (WWF, 2012). When we compare UAE with
other countries then we come across several factors which have contributed to the
existence of an insufficient building stuck in the country, including a construction boom, a
lack of stringent green building practices and codes, artificially cheap prices of electricity
and limited awareness with green building practices.

So in this research the scholar will test/investigate the usefulness of applying selected
passive cooling strategies and the purpose is to improve thermal performance and the
reduction of energy consumption of residential buildings in hot arid climate settings,
namely, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Part 02. Literature review of paper in your own words

The literature review of this research paper, comprised of two parts:

(i) A review of previous research work

(ii) A description of the passive cooling strategies adopted in this paper

(i) A review of previous research work

Firstly, In the main investigatory method in this research paper, the scholar has
used IES software. It is a reputable simulation tool that has been used in various
 academic studies; (e.g. El-Sherif, 2012; Liotsios, 2012; Sadrzadehrafiei et al.,
2011).
Secondly, several passive cooling techniques used in specific areas shows results
for that specific area;
Review of the literature reveals the existence of a limited number of studies that
have examined passive means in the buildings of UAE.
 Roof solar chimney coupled with wind cooled cavity was proved to
reduce the energy consumption in this hot arid region (Aboulnaga, 1998).

 The use of green roofing (Passive cooling technique) in the city of Abu
Dhabi which is the capital city of the UAE – has acted as a buffer,
protecting the building from extreme solar radiation and therefore
reducing net heat gain.

 In modern urban contexts of Dubai. Three cases were simulated with

laminar and turbulent wind flow as a passive cooling via natural
ventilation and its impact on human comfort by investigating passive
cooling performance depending on the ASHRAE adaptive model.

 There are several measures including the altering thickness of the walls,
thickness of roof insulation, thickness of external wall insulation,
window orientation, window–wall ratio, glazing type and sunroom
depth/overhang depth by the help of which energy consumption has
minimalized in residential buildings in different parts of the world.
(Gong et al. (2012)

ii. A description of the passive cooling strategies adopted in this paper

In order to know which of the strategies are best for the scholar to use in
own research, the scholar has to look after several strategies being used
in the specific area.
Eight principal passive cooling strategies were applied to the case study
villa (as shown in Figure 1). The eight principles are explained shortly
below;

1. Louver shading devices

A louvered shading device was positioned in the south east façade
of the building in order to block sun gain in summer yet allows it
to enter in the winter. It also allows wind to pass through it and
cool the area.
2. Double glazing
As most of the heat gain and loss occurs through window so by
using double glazing in windows will help in thermal comfort. The
insulation of a window is determined by the space between two
glass panels and cavity is created between the two panes of
glasses which are filled by gas or vacuumed. This reduces the
transmission of heat.

3. Natural ventilation
In the case study, cross ventilation was encouraged by opening
the terraces and windows because natural ventilation is an
efficient way to reduce energy consumption as well as providing a
healthy indoor environment. Wind towers (Passive technique) can
deliver fresh air to the occupants without using any kind of
mechanical system which has a negative impact because of dust
and population.

4. Green roofing
A review of the literature indicates that a green roof can be
defined as a ‘building roof covered by grasses or plants which lie
over a waterproof membrane.
A green roof has several membranes and a water proof layer as
well. It prevents the heat coming through rood and thus makes
the interior of a space moderate. It is anticipated that an eco-roof
can decrease the temperature of the roof slab by 30 1C as well as
reducing energy demand by 6% (Jaffal et al., 2012).

5. Insulation
Insulation acts as a barrier to heat flow, reducing heat loss in
winter to keep the house warm and reducing heat gain in
summer to keep the house cool. Insulation is used in walls,
ceiling and floors. For this case study, reflective bubble white
poly insulation was used with an R-value of 15.67 m2 K/W
combined with a class 1 vapor barrier and radiant barrier.

6. Evaporative cooling via fountain

Water not only cool the air but also help in reducing the dust in
air. If water is distributed well in the air, this will cause in the
reduction of temperature. A recent study has investigated for an
evaporative cooling system suitable for buildings in hot arid
regions (Qui and Riffat, 2006). That study pointed out that a
typical example illustrates that approximately 20 kg of water is
evaporated and around 26 min are required for 980 kg of water
 to be cooled from 28 1C to the wet bulb temperature of 19.2 1C
of ambient air in a typical arid hot climate.
For this study two fountains were utilized, one placed in the
front and another in the back yard of the villa.

7. Indirect radiant cooling

Radiant cooling takes place through the net emission of electromagnetic
waves from warm objects to cool ones. The process then continues until
both objects reach the same temperature.
In the second storey , nocturnal cooling was installed. It involves radiant
cooling of a specialized radiator that is made of a metallic plate with an
air space above it The air cooled by the long-wave radiation under the
metallic radiator is used to cool the indoor space of the second storey
(Watson and Chapman, 2002).

8. High solar reflection

Heat transfer can occur through walls of a house and it can affect
the comfort of indoor environment. To reduce this heat
transmission, solar reflection can be used. For this purpose,
different colors of coating are used. In this study, three different
types of coating with reflection level of 32%, 42% and 61% were
used and using a paint with a 61% reflection of the spectrum can
have a beneficial effect on energy saving.
Part 03. Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks of paper
 Theoretical Framework of paper
In this research paper, we have studied in the literature part about the theoretical
framework. We studied about certain aspects which are either directly or indirectly
related to the research topic of this paper. The theoretical framework of this
research paper consist of the study of software (IES software) which is used by
different scholars for academic studies. Moreover, we studied about the 8 strategies
for passive cooling in the UAE. So in short we can say that we have studied about
different theories in different perspective about the research problem of this
research paper.

 Conceptual Framework of paper

In the conceptual framework we study the aspects that we select from theoretical
framework as a basis for our inquiry in the research problem. First of all, IES software
was the main simulation tool used. Secondly, eight suggested passive cooling
strategies were applied. Solar shading performance was also assessed using Sun Cast
Analysis, as a part of the IES software. Energy reduction was achieved due to both
the harnessing of natural ventilation and the minimizing of heat gain in line with
applying good shading devices alongside the use of double glazing. Additionally,
green roofing proved its potential by acting as an effective roof insulation.