Wind pressure coefficient on a multi-storey building with external shading louvers

Abstract

Wind characteristics on building surfaces are used to evaluate natural ventilation of a building. As a type of building component, external shading louvers are applied in hot climatic regions to block solar radiation and provide better visual environments. The structure of external louvers can affect wind-induced characteristics, such as convective heat transfer coefficient, wind pressure and pollutant dispersion around building envelopes. This paper aims to analyze the potential ventilation capacity of a multi-storey building with shading louvers, based on wind pressure coefficient by the numerical method. A reference case was established and a previous study was applied to validate the numerical results. The rotation angle of horizontal louvers is taken from 0° to 75° in the simulation cases. The results show that average wind pressure has the greatest reduction for all floors when rotation angle turns from 60° to 75°. Ventilation openings on the stagnation zone contribute to higher ventilation rates for the windward facade with louvers. The analysis, based on multi-floor and multi-row buildings under shaded conditions, will provide a greater perspective for engineers to make optimal natural ventilation routes in multi-storey buildings with external shading louvers.