Coupled simulations of indoor-outdoor flow fields for cross-ventilation of a building in a simplified urban array

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics simulations with a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes model were performed for flow fields over a building array and inside a building in the array with different building opening positions. Ten combinations of opening locations were selected to investigate the effect of the locations on indoor cross-ventilation rates. The results of these simulations show that the exterior distributions of mean wind speed and turbulence kinetic energy hardly differ even though building openings exist. Although similar patterns of outdoor flow fields were observed, the opening positions produced two different types of ventilations: one-way and two-way. In one-way ventilation, the wind flows through the opening are unidirectional: diagonally downward at the windward wall. In two-way ventilation, both inflow and outflow simultaneously occur through the same opening. Determination of ventilation rates showed that the ventilation types can explain what type of ventilation rate may be significant for each opening location.