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+ ( ) i u
xi
= 0, (5.1.1)
where is the density of fluid, t is the time, u
i
is the velocity vector
component (u, v, w) and x
i
is the Cartesian coordinate axis of x, y
and z representing space/volume.
b) Conservation of momentum
( ) i u
t
+ ( ) j i
j
u u
x
= -
i x
p
+
j x
|
.
|
\
|
i
j
j
i
x
u
x
u
+ i f , (5.1.2)
where p represents pressure, indicates kinetic viscosity and f
i
is
the body force per unit mass acting on the fluid particles/elements
in x, y or z direction.
c) Conservation of energy
t
( H) +
i x
( u
i
H) =
(
i p i x
H
c
K
x
+ S
H
, (5.1.3)
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where H is the enthalpy, K is the thermal conductivity of the
element, c
p
is the specific heat and S is a source term.
The above Navier-Stokes and energy equations are applicable to viscous flow
where the transport phenomena of friction, thermal conduction and/or mass
diffusion are concerned. The Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes method
(RANS) is then introduced to model turbulence properties by using mean
turbulent flow to average the flow equations over a time scale much larger than
the turbulent motion. Many turbulence models have been developed based on
RANS, namely one equation model and two equation models such as standard
k- and RNG k-, and the Reynolds-stress model.
5.2.2 Grid resolution in CFD software
Numerical procedure is important for achieving accurate results. In most cases
one would demand a grid-independent solution. Chen and Zhai (2003) have
used Fishers (1995) measured data to investigate the difference that grid
resolution makes to CFD results. They used four sets of grids to simulate the
indoor airflow, namely a coarse grid (22 x17 x 15 = 5,610 cells), a moderate
grid (44 x 34 x 30 = 44,880 cells), a fine grid (66 x 51 x 45 = 151,470 cells)
and a locally refined coarse grid (27 x 19 x 17 = 8,721 cells) that has the same
resolution in the near-wall regions as the fine grid.
When comparing the predicted temperature gradient along the vertical central
line of the room, a course grid resolution was found not to produce a
satisfactory result. The moderate and fine grid distributions produced quite
similar temperature profiles and could be considered as grid independent. They
found that instead of using a global refined grid that may need long
computational time, a locally refined course grid could effectively predict
airflow and heat transfer for indoor airflow investigations.
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5.2.3 Verification and validation in CFD
Verification and validation are the primary means to assess accuracy and
reliability in computational simulations. Verification is the assessment of the
accuracy of the solution of a computational model by comparison with known
solutions. Validation is the assessment of the accuracy of a computational
simulation by comparison with experimental data. In validation the relationship
between computation and the real world, i.e. the experimental data, is
important, whilst in verification the relationship of simulation to the real world
is not critical. Therefore verification is primarily a mathematical issue and
validation is primarily a physics issue.
Oberkampf and Trucano (2002) extensively addressed the fundamental issues
in verification and validation, such as code verification versus solution
verification, model validation versus solution validation, the distinction
between error and uncertainty, conceptual sources of error and uncertainty, and
the relationship between validation and prediction. They found that the
fundamental strategy of verification is the identification and quantification of
errors in the computational model and its solution, and the fundamental
strategy of validation is to assess how accurately the computational results
compare with the experimental data, with quantified error and uncertainty
estimates for both. In verification activities the accuracy of a computational
solution is primarily measured relative to two types of highly accurate
solutions: analytical solutions and numerical solutions. In validation strategy a
hierarchical methodology that segregates and simplifies the physical and
coupling phenomena involved in the complex engineering system of interest is
employed.
5.2.4 Constraints for CFD simulation
CFD simulation has become less expensive and results have been able to be
obtained faster in the past few of years because of developments in computing
power and capacity. CFD used to be applied to test flow and heat transfer
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conditions where experimental testing could prove to be very difficult and
expensive. However the CFD results could not always be trusted because of the
assumptions used in the modeling, and the approximations used in simulation
to simplify the complex real problem of an indoor environment. Although a
CFD simulation can always give a result, it may not necessarily be the correct
result.
In order to illustrate some of the practical problems encountered in using CFD
for modeling an indoor environment, Figure 5.1 gives the example of the initial
research work of this thesis in modeling a simple small office room with
displacement ventilation. The room was 3.5m wide, 5.5m deep and 2.7m high
with cold air supply through 2 diffusers at the lower part of the rear wall of the
office. The basic heat sources in the room were computers, occupants and
lighting. Warm air was exhausted naturally through the buoyancy effect from
the front window and expelled through the double-skin faade through the
stack effect. Air temperature, air velocity and relative humidity were the main
parameters used and measured. The study used the standard k- model of
RANS. Some of the more important problems found in this initial simulation
task were as follows:
difficulty in selecting an appropriate turbulence model for the study
difficulty in setting correct boundary conditions
selection of an appropriate grid resolution
estimating the convective heat from the heat sources
using the correct relaxation factors and internal iteration numbers for
simulation
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Figure 5.1 Isometric view of the office room
Using CFD for simulating the specific problem of an indoor environment is not
an easy task and it requires much understanding of the tool itself. An example
of this encountered in simulating the above task was how to model the supply
air diffusers appropriately and to estimate the appropriate convective heat to
the heat sources in the room. A commercial software package like Airpak
(Airpak, 2003) from Fluent has a library of diffusers that can be selected to
simulate an array of complex diffusers and a whole library range of heat
sources for accurate computation. Without such a library one would find that
only experienced CFD users would know how to model those items properly.
Most CFD programs are generalized and designed to solve flow and heat and
mass transfer, not just to simulate indoor environments. Therefore a user can
fine-tune the parameters and select the many options provided by the program
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to obtain a result. With different tuning values the CFD results are often not the
same. ASHRAE has developed a guide for using CFD to simulate indoor
environments. The guide helps to establish a CFD model that can simulate a
specific problem and that should be used for verification, validation and
reporting of CFD indoor environment analysis (Chen and Srebric, 2002).
5.3 Research into CFD simulation for building design
5.3.1 CFD simulation in building design
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become a useful tool for designers
in the study of indoor and outdoor environment conditions in building designs.
It is an effective research facility providing large quantities of data that is
complementary to experimental measurements (Fletcher et. al., 2001). CFD
technique has been applied with considerable success in building design and
the advantages in analysing ventilation performance have been reported by
Murakami and Liddament (1992) as the parameters such as air velocity and
relative humidity solved by CFD are critical for designing an acceptable indoor
comfort environment. Stankovic (Internet page of Technology, Environmental
Engineering in The Tropics, http://www.sia.org.sg) found that the accuracy of
CFD results is critically dependent on boundary conditions. The highest
accuracy of the boundary conditions is normally achieved by combining the
measured specific site data with dynamic thermal simulations.
Papakonstantinou et al. (2000) has demonstrated that numerical solutions for
ventilation problems can be obtained quickly and in good agreement with the
experimental measurements. Computational results are realistic and in good
agreement with the experimental measurements and that computer simulations
are capable of assisting the designer to optimize in building design.
Jaros et al. (2002) established that the characteristics of CFD solved problems
could be grouped under the following:
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with problems of interest that are transient (unsteady) with time-
variable boundary conditions (e.g. the direction and intensity of solar
radiation, the outdoor temperature, etc)
where fluid flow is predominantly driven by buoyancy forces (natural
or mixed convection)
where heat transfer arrives simultaneously by conduction (in solids),
convection and thermal/solar radiation (in fluid)
where temperature fields have to be solved simultaneously in solids and
surrounding fluids (i.e. conjugate heat transfer problem)
They also found that solar radiation (short wavelength) and thermal radiation
(long wavelength) should be handled separately in CFD simulation. Diffusive
solar irradiation is significant on cloudy days because on clear days the
diffusive intensity of solar radiation accounts for less than 12% of the direct
radiation. The correct choice of the type of fluid flow is a very important aspect
of the CFD simulation too. There are usually regions with and without
turbulence in the same space. The model of turbulence must be able to deal
with laminar and transitional flow at the same time and the RNG k- model of
turbulence appears to be the most suitable choice.
Gan (1995a, 1995b) has carried out detailed research into the effects of
displacement ventilation in building deign using CFD simulation. He used the
standard k-e turbulence model for the prediction of indoor air flow patterns,
temperature and moisture distributions, and taking account of heat transfer by
conduction, convection and radiation. The thermal comfort level and draught
risk are predicted by incorporating Fangers comfort equations in the airflow
model. He found that common complaints of local thermal discomfort in
offices with low turbulent air flow such as displacement ventilation often result
from unsatisfactory thermal sensation rather than draught itself or alone.
Decreasing supply air velocity or increasing supply air temperature reduces the
potential cold thermal discomfort. Optimal supply air conditions of a
displacement system vary with the distance between the occupant and air
diffuser besides cooling load and load distribution. Thermal discomfort in the
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displacement-ventilated offices can be avoided by optimizing the supply air
velocity and temperatures.
In evaluating room air distribution systems Gan (1995b) uses air-flow model
based on the continuity equation, Navier-Stokes equation, thermal energy
equation and concentration equation together with the k-e turbulence model
equations. He found that the most effective air distribution system for heating
does not coincide with that for cooling. An air supply system that results in
upward displacement flow performs better than conventional air supply
systems such as ceiling diffuser or sidewall slot jet. The supply air velocity for
displacement ventilation should be appropriate so that fresh air can reach
occupants without causing draught. The performance of displacement
ventilation system can be further enhanced when used with a chilled ceiling,
especially when heat gains in the room are large.
Gan (2001) in his research on thermal transmission through the double-skin
facades used CFD for predicting the convective heat transfer coefficient,
thermal resistance and thermal transmittance for a double-glazing unit. The unit
was an unventilated enclosure and the flow within it would be buoyancy-
induced natural convection. A numerical method for predicting the thermal
transmittance of multiple glazing systems under both laminar and turbulent
regimes is presented. The findings are:
o The accuracy of the numerical prediction was found to be influenced by
the turbulence models employed.
o The convective heat transfer coefficient, thermal resistance and thermal
transmittance vary with the air space width between glazing panes up to
about 25mm. After which, the convective heat transfer coefficient
increases slightly with air space.
o Both the convective heat transfer coefficient and thermal transmittance
increase linearly with the temperature difference between the hot &
cold panes of glass.
o The effect of the temperature difference across an air space on the
convective heat transfer coefficient is significant.
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o For moderate climate conditions, the effect of the temperature
difference on the thermal transmittance may be considered negligible.
MIT (Chen and Srebric, 2000) has developed several Reynolds Averaged
Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation models and Large Eddy Simulation (LES)
models to enhance the capabilities of CFD for use in indoor and outdoor
environment design. The new models have been used to assess building shape
design, to evaluate the effectiveness of natural ventilation in buildings, to
model Volatile-Organic-Compound (VOC) emissions from building materials,
and to calculate indoor environment parameters. A two-layer turbulence model,
a single k-equation turbulence model for near-wall flow and the standard k-
model for flow in the outer-wall region, could accurately predict heat transfer
on a wall. The computing time needed is slightly higher than the standard k-e
model but much lower than a low-Reynolds number k- model. A zero-
equation model (a single algebraic function) is used to simulate transient flow
that significantly reduces computing costs. The coupling with an energy
simulation program gives more accurate results for building energy analysis
and indoor environment design. A new dynamic sub grid-scale model is used
to predict indoor airflow without a homogenous flow direction. The model uses
two different filters to obtain the model coefficient as a function of space and
time. The model can accurately predict flow in a room with a heated floor and
in an office with displacement ventilation.
Manz (2003a, 2003b) used overall convective heat transfer in an air layer
within a rectangular cavity was calculated using CFD code (Flovent ver. 3.1
with revised k- turbulence model with logarithmic wall functions) and
compared with correlations based mainly on experimental results. The
calculated Nusselt numbers do not deviate more than 20% from analytical
correlations. A grid independence analysis showed that variations in grid
spacing had only a very minor impact on the calculated Nusselt numbers.
Flovent is currently being applied to double-skin facades with ventilated or
unventilated cavities that include a shading device. The work involves
combining an optical model for determining absorbed solar radiation in layers
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of faade elements such as glass panes, roller blinds, etc with CFD modeling
with the objective of increasing the reliability of predictions of these elements
thermal transmission and total solar energy transmission.
Zhai et al. (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006) used the techniques of coupling energy
simulation (ES) programs with CFD simulations (an integrated program
E+MIT-CFD which developed by coupling an ES program E+ with CFD
solver MIT-CFD) to provide energy analysis for a whole building and the
heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems used. Space-
averaged indoor environmental conditions, cooling/heating loads, coil loads,
and energy consumption can be obtained on an hourly or sub-hourly basis for a
period of time ranging from a design day to a reference year.
They found that:
CFD programs make detailed predictions of thermal comfort and indoor
air quality, such as the distributions of air velocity, temperature, relative
humidity and contaminant concentrations. The programs could
determine thermal comfort and air quality indices such as the predicted
mean vote (PMV), the percentage of people dissatisfied (PPD) which
due to discomfort, the percentage dissatisfied (PD) which due to draft,
ventilation effectiveness and the mean age of air.
CFD can determine the temperature distribution and convective heat
transfer coefficients. It can accurately calculate natural ventilation rate
driven by wind effect, stack effect, or both.
CFD needs information such as heating/cooling load and wall surface
temperatures from ES as inputs.
CFD applies numerical techniques to solve the Navier-Stokes equations
for fluid flow. It also solves the conservation equation of mass for the
contaminant species and the conservation equation of energy for
building thermal comfort and indoor air quality analysis.
For buoyancy-driven flows, the Buossinesq approximation, which
ignores the effect of pressure changes on density, is usually employed.
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The buoyancy-driven force is treated as a source term in the momentum
equations.
CFD solves the equations by discretizing the equations with the finite-
volume method. The spatial continuum is divided into a finite number
of discrete cells, and finite time-steps are used for dynamic problems.
The discrete equations can be solved together with the corresponding
boundary conditions. Iteration is necessary to achieve a converged
solution.
The accuracy of CFD prediction is highly sensitive to the boundary
conditions supplied (assumed) by the user. The boundary conditions for
CFD simulation of indoor air flows relate to the inlet (supply), outlet
(exhaust), enclosure surfaces, and internal objects. The temperature,
velocity and turbulence of the air entering from diffusers or windows
determine the inlet conditions, while the interior surface convective
heat transfers in terms of surface temperatures or heat fluxes are for the
enclosures. These boundary conditions are crucial for the accuracy of
the CFD results.
Room air has a characteristic time of a few seconds while building
envelope has a few hours. CFD simulation must be performed over a
long period for the thermal performance of the building envelope, but it
must use a small time-step to account for the room air characteristics.
5.3.2 CFD approaches in indoor environment simulation
Indoor environments consist of four major components, namely the thermal
environment, indoor air quality, acoustics and the lighting environment.
Building thermal environment and indoor air quality include parameters like air
temperature, air velocity, relative humidity, environmental temperature,
contaminant and particulate concentrations, etc. CFD programs can be used
particularly to deal with problems associated with thermal environment, indoor
air quality and building safety because the programs solve these important
parameters.
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The applications of CFD in indoor environments are very wide and there are a
number of recent examples of its application for natural ventilation design
(Carrilho da Grace et al., 2002), the study of building material emissions for
indoor air quality assessment (Topp et al., 2001; Murakami et al., 2003),
building elements design (Manz, 2003) and for building energy and thermal
comfort simulations (Bartak et al., 2002; Beausoleil-Morrison, 2002; Zhai and
Chen, 2003). Jiang and Chen (2002) found out that the outdoor environment
has a significant impact on the indoor environment, especially in buildings with
natural ventilation. They recommended that both of the indoor and outdoor
environments together with the combined indoor and outdoor airflow needed to
be studied together.
Almost all the flows in indoor environments are turbulent. CFD can analyse
these turbulent flows by different means, namely direct numerical simulation,
large eddy simulation (LES) and the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes
equations with turbulence models (RANS).
Direct numerical simulation computes turbulent flow by solving the highly
reliable Navier-Stokes equation without approximations. It requires a very fine
grid resolution to capture the smallest eddies in the turbulent flow in very small
time steps, even for a steady-state flow. Direct numerical simulation would
therefore require a very fast computer and even then it would take years of
computing time to predict an indoor environment.
Large eddy simulation (LES) separates turbulent motion into large eddies and
small eddies (Deardorff, 1970). The method computes the large eddies in a
three-dimensional and time dependent way, while estimating the small eddies
with a sub grid-scale model. When the grid size is sufficiently small, the impact
of the sub grid-scale model on the flow motion is negligible. Sub grid-scale
models tend to be universal because turbulent flow on a very small scale seems
to be isotropic. Since the flow information obtained from sub grid-scale may
not be as important as that from large-scale grids, LES can be used as a general
and accurate tool to study engineering flows. LES has been successfully
applied to study airflow in and around buildings (Emmerich and McGrattan,
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1998; Jiang and Chen, 2002; Kato et al., 2003), and is much faster than direct
numerical simulation, but it requires a large computer capacity and a long
computing time for predicting indoor environments.
The Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS) with turbulence
models solve the statically averaged Navier-Stokes equations by using
turbulence transport models to simplify the calculation of the turbulence effect.
The use of turbulence models can significantly reduce the requirements for
computer memory and speed and problems can be solved in a few hours of
computing time with a modern PC. The RANS modeling provides detailed
information on indoor environments. The method has been successfully applied
to the analysis of indoor airflow and thermal comfort and of indoor air quality
(Ladeinde and Nearon, 1997). Whether it is LES or RANS modeling, boundary
conditions must be specified in order for the highly nonlinear and interrelated
equations to be used to solve a specific problem of the indoor environment.
5.4 A case study of a CFD simulation for double-skin faade
Grabe et al. (2001) carried out a detailed study of the effects of ventilation with
double-skin faades which provides important guidelines in using CFD
simulation for double-skin faade investigation. They determined that the
simulation of a double-skin faade must yield the following information:
a) The air mass flow through the faade gap to control the possibility
of natural ventilation of the room behind.
b) The temperature of the faade air related to the height of the faade,
which determines the temperature of the supply air in the case of
natural ventilation. It also helps in estimating the cooling load
required in the case of conditioning.
c) The temperature of the faade perimeter to predict possible
deformations of the materials due to thermal elongation.
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5.4.1 Thermal considerations
In their study Grabe et al. determined that the heat flow was one dimension and
the air mass flow was one directional in either the positive or negative y-
direction. There was no consideration of any diagonal flow or any local,
secondary and reverse currents. The temperature function for the shaft air over
the height of the system was based on the energy transport equation. Only
steady state conditions were considered and single heat sources did not occur.
The molecular heat transport within the air was not considered, only the net
heat flow into and out of the gap in a positive or negative x-direction. The
convective transport was taken as the net heat flow in the main y-direction.
The heat transfer depended on the Rayleigh number, which was determined by
thermal diffusivity, temperature differences and the height of the surface. The
radiative heat exchange between the surfaces and the heat exchange between
the system and the ambient climate was also considered.
The thermal driving force in all buildings constructed with double-skin facades
is always the suns radiation that is absorbed by the surfaces of the double
faade. These surfaces are mainly the shading device, the inner pane and the
outer pane. The absorbed energy, determined by the solar intensity and the
absorption coefficient of the material, leads to an energy flow to and from the
element to its surrounding (either shaft air by convection, the other planes by
radiation or to the external/internal climate by both). The shaft air temperatures
and the constant solar energy together with the temperature of the internal and
external climate determine the temperatures of the surfaces.
5.4.2 Fluid dynamics considerations
In this study only buoyancy forces were considered for the motion of the air.
The sum of energy per mass (Nm/kg) according to the Bernoulli equation
remains the same between point 1 and point 2 of a streamline and may only
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change its character between static, dynamic, potential and dissipated energy.
The equation is only applicable for systems with constant density p. If a system
is divided into a number of finite subsystems and the fluid properties are
regarded as constant for each subsystem, the pressure might be related to the
respective density. Only 2 subsystems were chosen the external air and the
faade air and only the pressure difference between inside and outside was
considered. With buoyancy driven natural ventilation it is very common to
determine the dissipated energy in a similar way to the determination of the
turbulence losses of pipes.
The temperature distribution over the height of a double-skin faade is
dependent on the mass flow through it. On the other hand the air velocity is
dependent on the density of the air, which is determined by the temperature of
the air. Therefore, the problem has to be solved by an iteration process.
5.4.3 Modelling of the faade
The physical model was closed to the external climate and opened to the
internal climate. It was still fully exposed to the external temperature and to
solar radiation but ventilated with internal air. This also avoided the effect of
wind pressure on the ventilation of the faade. The total height of the faade
was 2.05m, the breadth 0.95m and the total depth (both shafts) was 0.24m.
The monitored results were the flow resistance, especially at the inlet and outlet
of the double-skin faade. The best predicted result observed was to model
both the inlet and outlet as a flange with an abrupt enlargement to the duct
diameter and a diffuser with a preceding abrupt contraction.
5.4.4 Findings
Assuming the same flow conditions for natural ventilation as those used for
mechanical ventilation caused the main problem found. The driving force for
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natural ventilation is the reduction of the density due to the increase in air
temperature. This increase is greater near the heat sources and thus near the
panes and shading device. The ventilation could be non-symmetrical because
of different magnitudes of the heat sources.
The flow conditions in the double-skin faade were found to be turbulent and
with increasing turbulence the velocity profile became more similar to the
turbulent profile of the pipe flow. This could lead to a better prediction since
resistance factors are usually determined under turbulent conditions. The
researchers found that when using the resistance factor for analysing the flow
characteristics of buoyancy driven ventilation one runs the risk of ending up
with the wrong results.
5.5 Review of several building simulation software packages
5.5.1 Apache software
Apache is a component of the IES Virtual Environment software that is capable
of performing dynamic thermal simulation using hourly weather data. Its
application includes thermal design (heating, cooling and latent load
calculations), equipment sizing, codes and standards checks, dynamic building
thermal performance analysis, systems and controls performance, and energy
use.
The software has a range of building analysis functions including HVAC
systems designs with a strong links with CAD and provides rigorous analysis
and visualization of shading and solar penetration of building designs.
Geometrical building data may be imported from a range of CAD systems via
customized links or DXF files. Building and climatic information can be input
via graphical interfaces and is supported by extensive databases. The output
results are presented in tabular and graphical form and can be exported in a
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variety of common formats. The software will run on a standard PC with a
minimum 100MB of Ram and it only takes a few days to learn the basic
modules to start any meaningful simulation work.
5.5.2 Flovent software
Flovent software uses CFD techniques to resolve issues in the design and
optimization of ventilation systems. It can calculate and predict airflow, heat
transfer and contamination distribution for built environments. Users will input
building geometry, ambient temperature, the flow rate for air supplies, the
thermal conductivity of solid items, etc. for simulation runs and the output
results are presented in 3-D visualizations of predicted air velocity, temperature
profile streamlines and contaminant concentrations for the built environments.
The software runs on either the Windows NT or UNIX platform and it requires
some degree of knowledge of ventilation systems to master the program.
5.5.3 Microflo software
Microflo is part of the IES Virtual Environment software. It uses CFD
simulation techniques coupled dynamically with thermal simulation for a full
building analysis. It can assess building airflow, air quality and thermal
performance, solving the 3D non-isothermal continuity, momentum, energy
and species conservation equations, and incorporating the k-e turbulence model
using the finite difference method.
The software provides a high level graphical user interface for pre-processing,
including creating 3D models, mesh generation, defining boundary conditions,
run monitoring, etc. It has extensive graphical post-processing tools which
provide coloured cut-planes for any selected variable, 3D arrows with variable
coloring, animated airflow streamlines, 3D animation, flying through, etc.
Currently only orthogonal objects can be used due to the restriction of the
Cartesian co-ordinate system of the program. Non-orthogonal objects like
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polygons and cylinders will automatically be reformatted into orthogonal
prisms during the mesh generation.
It requires a large amount of memory and of hard disk space to run, and
knowledge of CFD, and an understanding of the environmental physics of
buildings are desirable for using the program.
5.5.4 Phoenics software
Phoenics is a general purpose CFD program that can simulate fluid movement
and heat transfer for a wide variety of applications. It can predict smoke spread
and ventilation in buildings, fire modeling in and around buildings, internal
airflows in ventilated spaces, thermal comfort, contaminant spread and
deposition of airborne sediment, etc. Flair is a reduced version of Phoenics for
use in analyzing airflows in air conditioning and ventilation systems and fire or
smoke spread in buildings.
The software requires very detailed input of the CFD model, for example
details of each inlets and outlets including their attributes, and details of the
domain grid and initialization for the simulation. The program solves for
pressure, temperature, velocity, contamination or smoke and any fluid property
desired to be determined, and display the outputs through 3D visualization of
the domain and plots isosurfaces and streamlines.
It runs on standard PCs but the software requires considerable experience and
knowledge of CFD to be able to obtain accurate results.
5.5.5 Airpak software
Airpak is an easy-to-use design tool for the design and analysis of ventilation
systems that are required to provide acceptable thermal comfort and indoor air
quality solutions. It can accurately model airflow, heat transfer, contaminant
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transport, and thermal comfort in any ventilation system, as well as external
building flows. Computer models can easily be built for the required
application and quickly tested for a variety of design options to find the best
solution. The software can reduce risks for new designs and improve the
efficiency of current designs, and eliminates the guesswork in designing
ventilation systems for non-standard and one-of-a-kind facilities.
Simulation models can be built with Airpaks object-oriented model building
tools or imported from CAD. Users can specify the ventilation system design,
including types, flow rates, temperatures, and locations of air inlet diffusers
and exhausts; define the thermal boundary conditions that represent heating
loads of occupants, lighting, equipment and external conditions including solar
loads; and define humidity and contaminant boundary conditions. The output
capabilities of the software include full-colour animation, pictures, and plots of
ventilation airflows showing airflow patterns, air turbulence, room air
distribution, temperature distribution, thermal comfort conditions, and
contaminant distribution as well as the ability to automatically generate
detailed quantitative reports specified by the user.
It runs on either Windows, Unix or Linux platforms and users can start using
the software after one day of training.
5.5.6 Conclusion
Besides the reasons given in Section 5.1 for using CFD software instead of ES
software for the purpose of this study, there are still questions regarding which
commercially available CFD software is the most appropriate to be used for the
very specific simulation work of the research.
As the study had to consider the constraints of time, the availability of suitable
software and hardware, and limitations on funding, the criteria for the selection
included the following:
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Ease of use in terms of user input and learning curve for the software
The ability of the software to quickly test different design options for
the best solution
The software had to allow for user determination of the required
ventilation system design and various boundary conditions that relate to
indoor thermal comfort
The software had to be able to produce reliable results for airflow
patterns, temperature distributions and thermal comfort conditions
The software could be supported by any standard PC in terms of
required RAM memory and hard disk space
The software could be obtained and maintained within the research
budget
In assessing several of the available commercial CFD software packages
described above, Airpak software was found to have obvious advantages over
the others in terms of the listed criteria for the purpose of this research, which
was to find out the viability of double-skin faades in a hot and humid climate
to reduce energy usage in high-rise buildings.
5.6 Airpak CFD software
5.6.1 The Airpak CFD software
Airpak uses object-based model building tools and libraries coupled with
automatic unstructured meshing that enables complex model of building. It
uses the FLUENT CFD solver engine for thermal and fluid-flow calculations.
Its post-processing features also allow results to be tabulated easily for any
ventilation problems at hand. (Airpak Users Manual, 2003)
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In conducting solid regions, Airpak solves a simple conduction equation that
includes the heat flux due to conduction and volumetric heat sources within the
solid as shown in the following equation:
t
( H) = [ ] T K + S
H
(5.1.4)
where is density, K is conductivity, T is temperature and S
H
is the
volumetric heat source.
Equation 5.1.4 is solved simultaneously with the energy transport equation
5.1.3 in the flow regions (see Section 5.2), to yield a fully coupled
conduction/convection heat transfer prediction.
Airpak predicts the local mass fraction of each species, Y
i
, through the solution
of a convection-diffusion equation for the ith species. This conservation
equation for species takes the following general form:
t
( Y
i
) + ( ) i Y
= - i J
+ S
i
(5.1.5)
where S
i
is the rate of creation by addition from user-defined sources.
An equation in this form will be solved for N-1 species where N is the
total number of fluid phase species present in the system.
There are four turbulence models available in Airpak, namely the mixing-
length zero-equation model, the indoor zero-equation model, the two-equation
(standard k-e) model, and the RNG k-e model. In turbulent flows Airpak
computes the mass diffusion in the following form:
i J
= -
|
.
|
\
|
+
t
t
m i
Sc
D
, Y
i
(5.1.6)
116
where Sc
t
is the turbulent Schmidt number,
t
t
D
(with a default
setting of 0.7).
5.6.2 Buoyancy-driven flows and natural convection in Airpak
Airpak uses either the Boussinesq model or the ideal gas law in the calculation
of natural-convection flows.
The importance of buoyancy forces in a mixed convection flow can be
measured by the ratio of the Grashof and Reynolds numbers as follow:
2
Re
Gr
=
2
v
TL g
(5.1.7)
When this number approaches or exceeds unity, a strong buoyancy contribution
to the flow is expected. Conversely, if it is very small, buoyancy forces may be
ignored in the simulation.
In pure natural ventilation, the Rayleigh number measures the strength of the
buoyancy-induced flow as follows:
Ra =
3
TL g
(5.1.8)
where is the thermal expansion coefficient of = -
p
T
|
.
|
\
|
1
and
is the thermal diffusivity of =
p c
k
.
Rayleigh numbers less than 10
8
indicate a buoyancy-induced laminar flow,
with transition to turbulence occurring over the range of 10
8
< Ra < 10
10
.
117
5.6.3 Radiation simulation in Airpak
The terms radioactive heat transfer and thermal radiation are commonly used to
describe heat transfer caused by electromagnetic waves. All materials
continually emit and absorb electromagnetic waves or photons. The strength
and wavelength of emissions depends on the temperature of the emitting
material. At absolute zero K no radiation is emitted from a surface. Airpak only
consider the wavelengths in the infrared spectrum for heat transfer applications
in its simulation and it provides two models for radiation heat transfer
simulations, namely the surface-to-surface (S2S) radiation model and the
discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model.
5.6.4 Solution procedures in Airpak
Airpak solves the governing integral equations for mass and momentum, and
when appropriate for energy, species transport, and other scalars such as
turbulence. A control-volume-based technique is used with the procedures as
follows:
a) Division of the domain into discrete control volumes using a
computational grid.
b) Integration of the governing equations in the individual control volumes
to construct algebraic equations for the discrete dependent variables
such as velocities, pressure, temperature and conserved scalars.
c) Linearization of the discretized equations and solution of the resultant
linear equation system to yield updated values of the dependent
variables.
The governing equations are solved sequentially, and because the equations are
not linear several iterations of the solution loop must be performed before a
converged solution is obtained. Each iteration consists of the steps outlined
below and illustrated in Figure 5.2:
118
a) Fluid properties are updated based on the current solution. If the
calculation has just begun the fluid properties will be updated based on
the initialized solution.
b) The u, v and w momentum equations are each solved in turn using
current values for pressure and face mass fluxes, in order to update the
velocity field.
c) Since the velocity obtained in Step (b) may not satisfy the continuity
equation locally, a Poisson-type equation for the pressure correction
is derived from the continuity equation and the linearized momentum
equations. This pressure correction equation is then solved to obtain the
necessary corrections to the pressure and velocity fields and the face
mass fluxes such that continuity is satisfied.
d) Where appropriate, equations for scalars such as turbulence, energy,
species and radiation are solved using the previously updated values of
the other variables.
e) A check for convergence of the equation set is made.
f) The above steps are continued until the convergence criteria are met.
119
Figure 5.2 Overview of the solution method
5.6.5 The validation of Airpak software
A traditional approach for examining whether a CFD result is correct is by
comparing the CFD result with corresponding experimental data. The
validation of the Airpak software was carried out by comparing the simulation
results from Airpak with the experimental and simulation results from another
commercial simulation software called FloVent, which was carried out by
Manz (2003). The measured hourly outdoor air temperatures shown in Graph
5.1 were used for piecewise linear interpolation for the transient simulations.
Update
properties
Solve
momentum
equations
Solve pressure-correction (continuity) equation
Update pressure, face mass flow rate
Solve energy, species, turbulence and
other scalar equations
Converged?
STOP
120
The simulation model for the validation is shown in Figure 5.3 and one of the
comparison results is shown in Graph 5.2 below. Series 1 are the measured
surface temperatures for the inner pane in the experimental results at
Measurement Point 2, and Series 2 are the simulation results from Airpak. Both
results were analyzed and compared and it was found that the variation was
within 5% of the acceptable error tolerance.
Figure 5.3 Simulation model used for the validation constructed in Airpak
(Source: according to Manz, 2003)
Inner pane measurement
point 2
121
Graph 5.1 Measured hourly outdoor temperatures
(Source: Numerical simulation of heat transfer by natural convection in
cavities of faade elements by Manz., 2003)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Time (h)
I
n
n
e
r
P
a
n
e
S
u
r
f
a
c
e
T
e
m
p
(
C
)
Series1
Series2
Graph 5.2 Measured results (Series 1) vs. Airpak simulation results (Series 2)
(Source: Manz., 2003 and Wong, 2008)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25
Time (h)
A
i
r
T
e
m
p
(
C
)
Outdoor
Temp
122
The software is selected to be used in this research to model the complex
energy transfer of the double-skin faade in view of the capabilities and good
interface of the Airpak software discussed above. The software is used to
optimise the appropriate opening sizes on the glazing, the width of the
intermediate space and the ventilation rate through the internal office space.
5.7 Conclusion
This Chapter has given a detailed analysis of the background to the choice of
appropriate software to be used for this research, and has demonstrated why
Airpak CFD software was chosen. The next chapter will describe the thinking
underlying the process of selection for a suitable methodology for this research.
123
Chapter 6 Research Methodology
This Chapter provides the research methodology for the modelling of the high-
rise double-skin faade building using computational fluid dynamic simulation
and set out the knowledge gap and goals for the research.
6.1 Introduction
Architectural research has been conducted throughout the history of
architecture and the development of particular structural forms and building
materials is the outcome of systematic experimentation and observation, and
the application of such building principles to the building projects. On the other
hand, recent development in architectural research has seen its domain
spanning more broadly across a range of topic areas such as design methods,
climate and structural studies, and energy conservation.
Given the breadth and complexity of architectural research, James Snyder in
his edited book titled Architectural Research defined research as systematic
inquiry directed toward the creation of knowledge (Snyder, 1984). It
suggested that the inquiry is systematic in some way and there is a conscious
separation of particular information from our daily experience, and how the
information is categorised, analysed and presented. The creation of knowledge
is not only referred to the grand theories of sciences but new knowledge can
also be attained through different means like testing materials from a number
of building projects; and evaluating different window configurations for better
thermal and wind resistance.
Architectural research is vitally important because of the ever-increasing
proportion of architectural practice involves into unfamiliar domains beyond
the expertise of individual practitioners and beyond the conventional
understanding of the profession as a whole. For example if a project is for a
particular user group with brain disorder whose specific requirements for the
physical environment are not well documented. In this instance, an in-depth
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research into the matter will certainly helps to develop a satisfactory and
functional built environment for the users. Therefore, architectural research
also important in the success and viability of the profession, in that sense, and
should be pursued continuously for the common good.
6.2 Research strategies in architectural research
In their book titled Architectural Research Methods, Groat and Wang (2002)
had identified seven research strategies in architectural research. They are
interpretive-historical research, qualitative research, correlational research,
experimental research, simulation research, logical argumentation research, and
case studies and mixed-method research.
The interpretive-historical research strategy draws upon evidence derived from
archival or artifactual sources as the research question usually focuses on a
setting or circumstance from the past. The qualitative research strategy seeks to
understand settings and phenomena in a holistic way by focusing on
contemporary social and cultural circumstances. Some of the data collection
tactics used in qualitative research is interviews, focus groups, surveys and
observation.
The important characteristic of the correlational research strategy is the
discovery of patterns or relationships among specified variables of interest in a
particular setting or circumstance. Surveys, observation, mapping and sorting
are some of the data collection tactics used in correlational research. Many
viewed the experimental research strategy as the preeminent standard for
empirical research. It emphasized on the careful manipulation of variables with
the goal of attributing causality.
The simulation research strategy recreated some aspect of the physical
environment in one of a variety mode, from a highly abstract computer
125
simulation to full-scale real life mock-up. In scholarly research, simulation is
increasingly used as an alternative to lengthy and costly physical experiments.
The logical argumentation research strategy uses sequence of logical steps
within a closed system and in architecture it can be used in a philosophical
treatise on architectural aesthetics. Finally, in case study research strategy a
particular setting or circumstance is investigated holistically using a variety of
data collection and analysis tactics.
Increasingly, researchers in many fields, including architecture, are advocating
a more integrative approach to research whereby multiple research strategies
are incorporated in one study, for example combining interpretive-historical
research strategy with qualitative research strategy. They believe these
combining methods provides checks against the weak points in each strategies
and enabling the benefits to complement each other. However, difficulties
might arise when different researchers advocate the combining of research
strategies at different levels of the research process including topic areas;
research design; and tactics in data collection.
Groat and Wang (2002) attempted to propose three combined research
strategies namely two-phase research strategy, dominant-less dominant
research strategy, and mixed-methodology research strategy. The mixed-
methodology research strategy is the most complete level of integration among
two or more research strategies. In this model, the researcher conducts aspects
of both strategies in roughly comparable sequences and with approximately
equals degrees of emphasis. While there is much to be gained in integrating
different research strategies, the researcher may also find that combining
strategies may require a higher level of sophistication in research methodology
than would be expected if a more conventional approach were to be used.
6.2.1 Literature review
A literature review is defined as the totality of activities the researcher
undertakes to use that body of information in such a way that a topic of inquiry
126
can be competently defined and addressed (Groat and Wang, p.46). Thus, a
literature review exists only after the general material has been arranged into a
coherent system, one that has been customized to fit the research question.
A literature review is often confused with an annotated bibliography. An
annotated bibliography is an intermediate point toward the literature review.
The aim of an annotated bibliography is to respond to each reference cited with
a descriptive paragraph of the works goal, its theoretical stance, and most
importantly, its relevance for the investigation. This process helps focus the
emerging research question.
The literature review will make use of the references in the annotated
bibliography and go beyond it to include the following information:
a) An introductory statement of the general intent of the literature
exploration that will include the direction of the proposed research to
come.
b) A summary of the lines of existing research that will provide
background for the proposed research.
c) Observations on the state of the literature in terms of how it can be
expanded by the proposed research. The reviewer needs to identify
specific areas that have not been covered by the extant literature,
arguments that the reviewer wishes to challenge, or subject of study that
can be reconfigured by a new conceptual framework.
The use of literature review in research could be identified as follow:
a) Literature review is used to identify the research question, as topics of
inquiry can emerge from analyzing, critiquing and suggesting
improvement to an extant work. Research questions can emerge from a
comparison of representative works in the literature.
b) Literature review is used to focus the topic of inquiry, as a topic of
inquiry should not be too general. An indicator that a topic of inquiry
127
may be either too broad or too restrictive is the inability to clearly and
simply identify a body of literature to which the topical question can be
referred.
c) Literature review is used to understand the makeup of the research
question.
d) Literature review is used to understand an ideas genetic roots and the
current conceptual landscape of the topic.
Barzun and Graff (1985, p.44-45) emphasised that the researcher must have a
love of order. He or she must have a system that allows for any piece of
information to be retrieved. That means during the initial work on the literature
search, whether on the Internet or in a library, the researcher would need to
drop down information clearly and chronologically for easy retrieve in the
future.
6.2.2 Research approach: Qualitative versus Quantitative
Qualitative research is an enquiry into an identified problem, based on testing a
theory, measured with numbers and analyzed using statistical techniques. The
goal of qualitative methods is to determine whether the predictive
generalizations of a theory hold true.
Quantitative research approach has the goal of understanding a social or human
problem from multiple perspectives. This type of research is conducted in a
natural setting and involves a process of building a complex and holistic
picture of the phenomenon of interest.
The selection of which research approach is appropriate in a given study should
be based upon the problem of interest, resources available, the skills and
training of the researcher, and the audience for the research. Although some
research may incorporate both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, in
their pure form there are significant differences in the assumptions underlying
128
these approaches, as well as in the data collection and analysis procedures
used.
It is important to be able to identify and understand the research approach
underlying any given study because the selection of a research approach
influences the questions asked, the methods chosen, the statistical analyses
used, the interface made and the ultimate goal of the research.
There are three general types of quantitative methods:
a) Experiments they are characterized by random assignment of
subjects to experimental conditions and the use of experimental
controls.
b) Quasi-experiments the studies share almost all the features of
experimental design except that they involve non-randomized
assignment of subjects to experimental conditions.
c) Surveys they include cross-sectional and longitudinal studies
using questionnaires or interviews for data collection with the intent
of estimating the characteristics of a large population of interest
based on a smaller sample from that population.
The three general types of qualitative methods are:
a) Case studies single entity or phenomenon (case) bounded by
time and activity and collects detailed information through a variety
of data collection procedures over a sustained period of time. The
case study is a descriptive record of an individuals experiences
and/or behaviors kept by an outside observer.
b) Ethnographic studies the researcher studies an intact cultural
group in a natural setting over a specific period of time. A cultural
group can be any group of individuals who share a common social
experience, location, or other social characteristic of interest.
129
c) Phenomenological studies human experiences are examined
through the detailed description of the people being studied. The
goal is to understand the lived experience of the individuals being
studied. This approach involves researching a small group of people
intensely over a long period of time.
Quantitative Mode Qualitative Mode
Assumptions
Social facts have an objective reality
Primacy of method
Variables can be identified and
relationships measured
Etic (outside's point of view)
Assumptions
Reality is socially constructed
Primacy of subject matter
Variables are complex, interwoven,
and difficult to measure
Emic (insider's point of view)
Purpose
Generalizability
Prediction
Causal explanations
Purpose
Contextualization
Interpretation
Understanding actors' perspectives
Approach
Begins with hypotheses and theories
Manipulation and control
Uses formal instruments
Experimentation
Deductive
Component analysis
Seeks consensus, the norm
Reduces data to numerical indices
Abstract language in write-up
Approach
Ends with hypotheses and grounded
theory
Emergence and portrayal
Researcher as instrument
Naturalistic
Inductive
Searches for patterns
Seeks pluralism, complexity
Makes minor use of numerical
indices
130
Descriptive write-up
Researcher Role
Detachment and impartiality
Objective portrayal
Researcher Role
Personal involvement and partiality
Empathic understanding
Table 6.1 Reproduced from Glesne, C., & Peshkin, A. (1992): Becoming
qualitative researchers: An introduction.
Table 6.1 above shown the difference between qualitative and quantitative
research methodologies and what the two research approaches encompassed.
6.3 The knowledge gap and research questions
The research questions arise from the commitment in contributing in reducing
global warming due to the harmful by-products of human built environment. In
search of fulfillment to the course of reducing energy usage, the new
technology of using double-skin faade in commercial buildings seem giving
some sort of positive direction to achieve that goal. Literature review is used to
narrow down the scope of the research field, further streamlining the right
research questions to be asked, and in identifying the knowledge gap of the
interest research topic.
This research is carried out using the combined research strategies mentioned
in Section 6.2 in this Chapter by integrating simulation research strategy with
case study research strategy. It is mainly based on the quantitative research
approach by identifying an issue at hand and proposing a theory, then tests it
out vigorously using the most appropriate research strategies at hand. Results
131
are analysed and conclusions established to prove the viability of the theory
proposed.
The research attempts to bridge the gap of looking into the possibilities of
natural ventilation in office buildings specifically in the hot and humid climate
region with the use of double-skin faade. The research questions are:
a) Is the technology of double-skin faade viable in the hot and humid
climatic environment?
b) Could naturally ventilating a commercial building using the double-
skin faade technology possible at all?
c) How well does double-skin faade technology in providing natural
ventilation to the high-rise building in the hot and humid climatic
environment?
d) What will be the window periods for such advance system in order for
it to work in the hot and humid climate?
The unique double-skin faade construction is thought to be able to act as a
stack in providing required ventilation for the internal space. It is the intent of
the research to analyse the airflow patterns induced by the wind & thermal
forces through the double-skin faade into the interior office space and their
effects onto the thermal comfort within the space. Computer simulation is used
to analyse the results obtained through the different opening sizes of the glass
panel and the size of the intermediate space of the double-skin faade with
variation of vent sizes at the rear of the office space to generate an acceptable
cross ventilation rate within the internal space.
132
6.4 Research methods for a tropical double-skin faade
6.4.1 Building simulation methodology
The scope of building simulation is wide and it includes the early studies of the
energy and mass flow process in the built environment. Building simulation
tools had been used in the energy performance field since in the 60s and
extended into other fields like lighting, heating ventilation and air-conditioning
(HVAC), airflow, and more recently into areas like heat transfer, acoustics,
control systems, urban and micro climate simulations.
Simulation involves the creation of behavioral models of a building for a
given stage of its development. The development stage can range from as-
designed to as-built to as-operated. The distinction is important as
correctness, depth, completeness and certainty of the available building
information varies over different life cycle stages. The actual simulation
involves executing a model that is deduced from the available information on a
computer. Models are developed by reducing real world physical entities and
phenomena to an idealized form at some level of abstraction. From this
abstraction, a mathematical model is constructed by applying physical
conservation laws.
The modelling and simulation of complex systems requires the development of
a hierarchy of models, which represent the real system at differing levels of
abstraction. The selection of a particular modeling approach is based on a
number of criteria, including the level of detail needed, the objective of the
simulation, available knowledge resources, etc.
Simulation is credited with speeding up the design process, increasing
efficiency and enabling the comparison of broader range of design variants.
Simulation provides a better understanding of the consequences of design
decisions, which increases the effectiveness of the design process as a whole.
133
Simulation has not only increasingly being used during the early design stages;
it is also being applied during the commissioning and operational facility
management phases of a project.
6.4.2 Computational Fluid Dynamic and Airpak software
Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) has become a useful tool for designers in
the study of indoor and outdoor environment conditions in building designs.
The parameters such as air velocity and relative humidity solved by CFD are
critical for designing an acceptable indoor comfort environment.
The complex issues of the need in analysing a number of parameters of thermal
comfort (e.g. humidity, air velocity, etc) at the same time together with the
related changes of different building envelope (double-skin faade) opening
sizes, with acceptable accuracy, the capability of CFD has provided the
appropriate option to be used to test out the theory for the research.
In view of the capabilities and good interface of the Airpak software as
discussed in details in Section 5.5.5, it is selected to be used in this research to
model the complex energy transfer through the component layers of the
multilayer faade of the double-skin through the optimisation of the
appropriate opening sizes on the glazing, the width of the intermediate space
and the ventilation rate through the internal office space. The validation of the
software (Section 5.6.5) has been carried out by comparing the experimental
and simulation results from another commercial simulation software called
FloVent which carried out by Manz H (2003). Both of the results are compared
and analyzed and it was found that the variation is within 5% of the acceptable
error tolerance. A detail analysis of the use and capability of CFD in relation to
the selection of this particular software for this research has been discussed in
Chapter 5.
134
6.4.3 The CFD Modelling
6.4.3.1 Stage 1 Single office
Literature review and case studies had been used to establish the domain and
boundary conditions for the CFD modeling and simulation in this research. The
final goal of this research is to look into the possibilities of natural ventilation
in a high-rise office building in a hot and humid climate condition using
double-skin faade. In order to realise this complex problem, several stages of
different levels of complexity modelling are introduced. Airflow effects
induced by wind and thermal forces onto a single storey office model
constructed are to be observed for the first stage before a complex multi-storey
office with all the thermal comfort parameters included are to be analysed.
In recognition of the complexity of the problem at hand, the modeling of the
computer model has been broken down into several levels. The initial
simulations were concentrated onto a single office space within a high-rise
office building. The single office module in 3D is constructed using Airpak
CFD software with the geometrical dimensions of 3.5m x 5.0m x 2.6m height.
Numerous of simulation runs have been carried out for the benchmarking
purposes in which a typical curtain walling office module was observed and
simplified nomograms had been established to define the initial parameters
for thermal comfort in the tropic region. These results are compared with the
simulation runs from the office module with double-skin faade construction.
The simplified double-skin faade of the office module has openings on each
of the external and internal panes with 6mm thick glass used at the external
pane and 6/12/6mm double glazed used for the inner pane (Figures 6.1 and
6.2). Internal heat sources of two computers, four ceiling lights and two
persons are introduced in the office space for thermal comfort analysis. The
office module has two vents at the rear wall to introduce cross ventilation from
the internal a/c space across the internal office space. For this first stage of the
analysis, combination of different opening sizes and its locations of the
openings together with the different sizes of the vents are looked at and their
135
effects onto the airflow patterns within the double-skin and the internal office
space are observed and analysed.
7000 W 3500
3
5
0
0
V
1
H
1
H
3
H
2
3
5
0
3
5
0
EXTERNAL
WIND
V
DIRECTION
OFFICE
Figure 6.1 Section through the model (with external space at the left)
H
3
3500
V
1
V2
3
5
0
0
H
1
H
2
Figure 6.2 Rear elevation of the model
The simulations are performed under steady state condition using k-epsilon
equation turbulent model. The simulated wind speeds of 1.5m/s and 3.0m/s are
used to model expected ground level wind velocities with ambient temperature
of 30 degree C. The external temperature at the rear wall is set at 23
o
C to
simulate an internal air-conditioning space like internal corridor. Only wind
136
direction which perpendicular to the double-skin faade has been looked at.
The upwind distance from the outer pane of the double-skin faade is set at 7m
to simulate half the distance between office buildings at the city centre. The
results of the airflow velocities, temperatures and the airflow patterns are
recorded and observed with different combinations of glass opening sizes of
the double-skin faade and the vents.
6.4.3.2 Stage 2 Office blocks
The results and findings in Stage 1 are very positive as presented in Chapter 7.
The next step is to model the multi-storey office building within Airpak
environment. Instead of using the software to model the whole high-rise
building in one complete computer model, the office building has been
divided into several blocks vertically. This is done to reduce the simulation
time needed for each simulation run and any mistake or problem in the
modeling process or domain settings will easier be identified and rectified. An
18-storey high building is believed to be a well representation of a high-rise
office building and generate sufficient parameters to be explored within the
scope of the research topic.
The high-rise office building is divided vertically into three office blocks of
6-storey each. Each office block of 6-storey will be modeled with the similar
boundary conditions and simulations were runs to study the thermal comfort of
the internal spaces created. Results were analysed and details of the step-to-
step modeling process were documented in Chapter 8. At this stage, a new type
of double-skin faade configuration to be used in hot and humid climate is
presented.
6.4.3.3 Stage 3 Optimisation
Stage 3 is the optimisation of the configuration of the new type of double-skin
faade presented at the end of Chapter 8. The parameters used for the
137
optimisation are sizes and locations of the openings of the double-skin faade,
the height of the ventilation shaft of the double-skin system, different air gap
sizes, different ventilation modes for the faade system, and the sun shading
location within the faade system. These parameters are found to be most
important in affecting the efficiency of the facade system in providing optimum
internal comfort for the office spaces. The parametric studies of the
optimisation process are presented in Chapter 9.
6.4.3.4 Stage 4 Nomograms
A new revised double-skin faade configuration was presented from the
optimisation studies and a series of nomograms are generated to be used to help
in the initial design process of double-skin faade in hot and humid climate.
The nomograms presented are by no means exhaustive but it will serve as a
general rule of thumb for the design of this very specialised faade system
before serious investment is made.
6.5 Goals for the research
In attempting to answer the research questions raised in the first section of this
Chapter, an extensive research into the relevant subjects was carried out.
Topics like natural ventilation techniques, human thermal comfort requirement
and responses, double-skin faade technologies, building simulation tools,
high-rise building designs in the urban context, and others built environment
criteria that related to the research topic had been studied and critically
reviewed.
The goals of the research are aim to contribute to the reduction of energy usage
and the reduction of CO
2
emission by high-rise office buildings in the tropics.
The research is attempting to use passive solar design concept, in this case
138
natural ventilation techniques, combining with the newly developed double-
skin facades technologies, and applying them onto high-rise office buildings in
the tropics. A series of nomograms for double-skin faade design on high-rise
office buildings in the hot and humid climate are proposed in the hope to help
designers to have a better understanding of the functions of double-skin faade
in providing natural ventilation to high-rise office buildings in the tropics. The
nomograms will also help the designers in decision making and appropriate
selection of design criteria for double-skin faade design in terms of openings
sizes and locations, air gap width, height of stack, etc. These will certainly help
in time saving and shorten the design process.
6.6 Limitations of the research
Due to the complexity of the research topic, certain careful control and defining
the scope of the research is needed. Firstly the research is only deal with the
issue at hand in the hot and humid climatic conditions. This is seen as a
positive approach because there isnt much research being done in that
particular region which related to the topic. Further more it is hoped that the
finding of the research will contribute to the knowledge in that particular area.
Secondly a more specific domain is needed to test the theory of the research
and to apply any useful finding onto it in order to realize the impact of the
research work. Singapore is chosen as the domain and it is seen as an
appropriate choice because it is a developed country of resource dependent and
with high-energy usage per capital. The country is also located in the tropic.
Thirdly the research is only looking into certain building type, namely the
office building. The office building type is chosen because in Singapore it is
one of the highest energy consumption sectors. It will be of greater impact in
the reduction of energy usage if the proposed theory will work for this sector.
139
Fourthly the economical impact of the energy saving and the cost in using the
double-skin faade are not cover in this research. Besides they are not in the
scope of the research, others had covered these topics quite comprehensively in
different published books and journals.
Fifthly, as the research area is new therefore there isnt much existing
information in terms of measured data, etc and not many constructed similar
buildings directly related to the field. In fact, there isnt any naturally ventilated
cavity double-skin faade building in Singapore during this research is being
carried out. Therefore the research has to rely heavily on external sources and
data and the testing of the built environment has to be carried out using
modeling techniques.
Notwithstanding constrains of the research mentioned above, it is a
constructive challenge throughout and the research will provide a specific
answer to a specific issue and filling up a gap within the knowledge in the
mentioned field.
140
Chapter 7 Preliminary Modelling
7.1 Preliminary modelling
For this first stage of the analysis, combination of different opening sizes and
its locations of the openings for both the outer and inner panes of the double-
skin faade, the different sizes of the vents at the rear wall of the office module,
with different external wind velocities are studied. The effects of these
variations on the airflow patterns, temperatures, relative humidity within the
double-skin faade air gap and the internal office space were observed, and the
thermal comfort for the office space is analysed.
7.1.1 The geometry of the CFD model
The first stage of the whole complex modelling process is to construct a single
storey office module with the geometrical dimensions of 3.5m wide, 5.0m deep
and 3.5m in height with a ceiling depth of 0.9m. Therefore the effective height
of the internal space of the office module is 2.6m in height and has a volume of
45.5m
3
. This size is a typical small office module found in an office building in
Singapore (Lee, 2002). The double-skin faade in front of the office has a
dimension of 3.5m wide and 3.5m high. The simplified double-skin faade
construction has two openings at the outer pane and one opening at the inner
pane with the top ventilated. The office space also has two vents at the rear
wall to introduce cross ventilation, if any, to the internal space. The model is
constructed in 3D in Airpak as shown in Figures 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3.
7.1.2 The construction materials used for the model
The external walls of the office consist of solid brick with density of 1970
kg/m
3
and thermal conductivity of 0.7 W/m-K. The walls are painted with
141
white acrylic paint with emissivity value of 0.9, reflective index of 1.5 and
shading coefficient of 1.
The outer pane of the double-skin faade consists of 6mm clear heat-resistant
glass of 2230 kg/m
3
density and thermal conductivity of 1 W/m-K. The inner
pane is a double glazing of 6/8/6 mm clear heat-resistant glass with similar
density and thermal conductivity as the outer pane. Sun shading located within
the double-skin faade was introduced at the later stage to investigate its effect
on the thermal comfort of the internal space.
7.1.3 The heat sources in the model
There are three main heat sources in this CFD model with two occupants, two
computers and four ceiling lights. They are introduced in the office space for
thermal comfort analysis. Each human model is assigned with 75 W/m
2
of heat
generation based on ASHRAE standards for sedentary office activities with
clothing value (clo) of 1.0 and metabolic rate (met) of 1.2. Heat generated for
the computers are assumed to be 108 W/m
2
and 173 W/m
2
and are assigned
evenly to all the surfaces of the models. Energy saving lighting fixture is used
and heat flux is assumed to be 38 W/m
2
.
7.1.4 The boundary conditions of the model
The simulations are performed under steady state condition using k-epsilon
equation turbulence model. The simulated wind speeds of 1.5m/s and 3.0m/s
are used to model expected ground level wind velocities with ambient
temperature of 30
o
C. The external temperature at the rear wall is set at 23
o
C to
simulate an internal air-conditioning space like internal corridor. Only wind
direction that is perpendicular to the double-skin faade has been looked at.
The upwind distance from the outer pane of the double-skin faade is set at 7m
to simulate half the distance between office buildings at the city centre. The
illumination parameters were set as following:
142
Spectral fraction: 0.5
Diffuse entry angle: 60
o
Refractive index of air: 1.0
Scattering fraction: 1.3
Diffusive solar intensity: 500 W/m
2
The location time and position of the model are set at latitude 1
o
N and
longitude 104
o
E (Singapore location), in 1 July at 10 a.m. (which is usually the
hottest month in Singapore).
Figure 7.1 Sectional elevation of the single office module
Figure 7.2 Longitudinal section of the single office module
143
Figure 7.3 Isometric view of the CFD model
7.2 Strategies in modelling
For the first stage of the analysis, combination of different glass opening sizes
[A, B and C] and its locations together with the different sizes of the
intermediate space [D] and the vents [E=E1xE2] at the rear are looked at
(Figure 7.4) and their effects on the airflow patterns and temperature within the
double-skin and the internal office space are observed and analysed to
determine the level of thermal comfort within the space. Two scenarios had
been looked at for this initial stage of the modelling, i.e. one with air-
conditioning space and one with ambient temperature conditions at the rear of
the building behind air vent E (Figure 7.4). Solar loading that is similar to
morning sun in the middle of the year in a tropical country is modelled to
observe the impact on the thermal comfort for the internal space. Seven
points/locations of the office module were selected to monitor the air velocities
and temperature values for those simulations (Figure 7.5) and some of the more
144
critical results are listed in Tables 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3. The results obtained from
the benchmarking simulations, which is a typical curtain walling system
faade, are compared to the results from the proposed prototype double-skin
faade. Some selected benchmarking results for double-skin faade are
presented in Appendix A. Analysis and findings for the comparison of the two
faade systems are discussed in Sections 7.3, 7.4 and 7.5.
B
A
C
E
D
H
1
H
INTERNAL SPACE
WIND
DIRECTION
A/C
SPACE
Figure 7.4 The single office module with studied openings A, B, C, D & E
7.3 Analysis of preliminary models
A large numbers of simulations were generated with different combinations of
wind velocities (V), glass opening sizes (H1 and H2 are the top and bottom
openings of the outer pane, H3 is the opening of the inner pane), width of air
gaps (W) and vent sizes (V1 & V2) as indicated in Tables 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3.
Twenty (20) of such simulation results and their variables of the parameters are
indicated in Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3. The difference between the
simulations generated in Table 7.1 and Table 7.2 is that the vents area. The
area of the vent has increased 100% for the models in Table 7.2. Simulations
15 and 16 are generated with a narrower air gap of 300mm to investigate if
there is any influence on the indoor comfort level. Simulations 17 to 20 are
computed with two openings at the outer pane of the double-skin faade with
300mm air gap.
145
Figure 7.5 Location points for taking the simulation results (section of model)
Simulation 1 2 3 4 5 6
V (m/s) 1.5 1.5 1.5 3.0 3.0 3.0
H1 (mm) 0 0 300 0 0 300
H2 (mm) 200 300 0 200 300 0
H3 (mm) 200 300 300 200 300 300
W (mm) 450 450 450 450 450 450
V1 (mm) 300 300 300 300 300 300
V2 (mm) 600 600 600 600 600 600
P1 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.83
30
0.86
30
0.97
30.02
1.55
30
1.63
30
1.88
29.99
P2 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.25
30.12
0.41
30.08
0.51
30.05
0.39
30.02
0.71
30.02
0.97
29.97
P3 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.12
30.58
0.22
30.40
0.08
30.37
0.21
30.10
0.40
30.09
0.15
29.69
P4 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.05
31.70
0.05
31.74
0.05
31.11
0.01
30.75
0.01
30.86
0.02
30.13
P5 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.11
24.19
0.11
24.21
0.17
23.82
0.03
24.08
0.03
24.16
0.27
23.66
P6 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.22
30
0.40
30
0.11
30.12
0.40
30
0.75
30
0.22
29.92
Table 7.1 Simulation results A
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
146
Simulation 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
V (m/s) 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
H1 (mm) 0 200 0 300 0 200 0 300
H2 (mm) 200 0 300 0 200 0 300 0
H3 (mm) 200 200 300 300 200 200 300 300
W (mm) 450 450 450 450 450 450 450 450
V1 (mm) 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300
V2 (mm) 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200
P1 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.86
30
0.94
30
0.90
30
0.97
30
1.59
30
1.83
29.90
1.68
30
1.88
29.96
P2 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.24
30.03
0.39
29.97
0.40
30.03
0.54
30.01
0.39
29.99
0.75
29.72
0.71
30
1.05
29.90
P3 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.14
30.21
0.08
29.81
0.24
30.14
0.07
30.01
0.25
29.92
0.18
28.70
0.43
29.97
0.15
29.22
P4 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.05
31.17
0.05
30.50
0.05
31.19
0.05
30.66
0.01
30.33
0.01
29.08
0.01
30.46
0.02
29.48
P5 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.04
24.36
0.09
23.88
0.04
24.36
0.07
23.95
0.02
25.15
0.19
23.55
0.03
26.06
0.13
23.68
P6 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.20
30
0.05
29.96
0.36
30
0.12
30.02
0.36
30
0.07
29.59
0.68
30
0.22
29.80
Table 7.2 Simulation results B
Simulation 15 16 17 18 19 20
V (m/s) 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 3.0 3.0
H1 (mm) 0 200 200 300 200 300
H2 (mm) 200 0 200 300 200 300
H3 (mm) 200 200 200 300 200 300
W (mm) 300 300 300 300 300 300
V1 (mm) 300 300 300 300 300 300
V2 (mm) 600 600 600 600 600 600
P1 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.78
30
0.48
30
0.90
30
0.93
30
1.77
30
1.83
30
P2 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.36
30.04
0.47
30
0.74
30
0.67
30
1.40
30
1.28
30
147
P3 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.21
30.27
0.08
29.96
0.73
30.07
0.90
30.03
1.35
30.01
1.74
30.01
P4 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.05
31.35
0.05
30.63
0.20
30.77
0.29
30.22
0.41
30.18
0.54
30.08
P5 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.07
24.32
0.14
23.87
0.06
32.48
0.06
32.14
0.01
31.35
0.01
31.18
P6 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
0.34
30
0.07
30
0.06
29.97
0.29
30.86
0.29
30.24
0.71
30.18
P7 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp,
o
C)
-
-
-
-
0.31
30
0.42
30
0.58
30
0.80
30
Table 7.3 Simulation results C
It was observed that by just changing the glass opening sizes of the double-skin
faade with similar external wind velocity would not contribute much to the
indoor thermal quality of the office. This was due to the indoor airflow
velocities are almost similar for each case. (e.g. Simulations 7 & 9)
The locations of the glass opening on the outer pane of the double-skin faade
will have effect onto the indoor thermal and airflow velocity. It was found that
the higher the opening is located from the floor level it will generate a stronger
stack effect within the air gap which in turn will pull more air out from the
office space through the vents at the rear wall. The temperature generated
within the office space is much desirable and closer to human comfort
requirement. The airflow pattern created will be a good cross ventilation effect
with cool air coming into the office space from the vents and right across and
above the internal space and discharge out through the high level opening at the
inner pane. (e.g. Simulations 7-14)
A narrower air gap between the double-skin faade constructions will provide a
more desirable indoor thermal level as it generates stronger stack effect which
pulls more air out from the internal office space. (e.g. Simulations 1 and 15)
148
There is not much of an advantage to provide larger vents at the rear of the
space in order to provide cross ventilation to the internal space. The resultant
air movement and temperature of the internal space are not much better as
compared to smaller vent sizes. This might give a slightly better condition if
the external wind velocity is stronger but it will not be able to justify the cost in
providing a larger vent opening. It might also not be feasible for some
construction constrains with big vents. (e.g. Tables 7.1 & 7.2)
Simulations 17-20 show that the indoor airflow velocities are the most
desirable with 2 openings on the outer pane of the double-skin faade. The
indoor temperatures are also lower as compared to only one opening at the
outer pane. The internal airflow pattern is different from the outer pane with 1
opening on the faade. The warm air from the air gap is passing through the
opening of the inner pane right across the office space and exit through the rear
vents. This will have an undesirable mixing of warm air to the internal cool air
at the rear of the office.
Figure 7.6 shows an example of the velocity vectors generated through one of
the simulations with particular boundary conditions specified. The red colour
shows the highest velocity and the blue colour shows the lowest velocity for
that particular simulated result.
Figure 7.6 Example of velocity vectors generated through simulation
149
Figure 7.7 below shows an example of the temperature contours generated
through one of the simulations with boundary conditions specified as in Figure
7.6. The green colour shows the highest temperature within the model and the
blue colour shows the lowest temperature for that particular simulated result.
Figure 7.7 Example of temperature contours generated through simulation
7.4 Discussion
All simulations, be it the benchmarking cases or the double-skin scenarios,
generated cross ventilation effects from the internal a/c space across the office
space and discharged out through the internal pane opening into the
intermediate space of the double faade. The strength of the cross ventilation
will mainly depend on the airflow resistances within the intermediate space and
the internal office space, together with the pressure differences between them.
The magnitude of the internal ventilation will depend on the summation of the
airflow resistances and in turn control by the smallest cross section area of the
opening within the space.
150
The first group of simulations has the opening areas comparison of
D>A/B/C>E (Figure 7.4). When the areas of A/B/C increased in the same
proportion by as much as 50%, the airflow velocities at P2, P3 and P6 have
increased almost 100% but at P4 remained the same. The temperatures
observed are almost the same at all points or locations.
The airflow velocities within and around the double faade have doubled with
the wind velocity increased by 100%. But the airflow velocities within the
internal space, P4 and P5 have reduced 5 and 4 times respectively.
It could be concluded from the above results that by just changing the glass
opening sizes of the external and internal panes of the double-skin faade it
will not contribute much to the indoor thermal quality of the office space. This
was due to the indoor airflow velocities being almost similar for each case.
The location of the glass openings on the outer pane of the double-skin faade
in relation to the inner pane will have effect onto the indoor thermal and
airflow velocity. It was found that the higher the opening is located from the
floor level it will generate a stronger stack effect within the air gap which in
turn will pull more air out from the office space through the vents at the rear
wall. The temperature generated within the office space is much desirable and
closer to human comfort requirement. The airflow pattern created will be a
good cross ventilation effect with cool air coming into the office space from the
vents and right across and above the internal space and discharged out through
the high level opening at the inner pane. The opening areas comparison for
these findings are D>B=C>E.
The combination of larger rear vents and a high level external opening in the
opening areas comparison of D>B=C=E gives the most desirable results. The
internal temperature at P4 has reduced by 0.45K to 0.65K, depending on the
wind velocities. A narrower air gap between the double-skin faade will
provide a more desirable indoor thermal level also as it generates stronger
stack- effect which extract more air out from the internal office space.
151
The second group of simulations with two external openings produced slightly
better results as compared to only one external opening. The indoor
temperatures are lower but the airflow velocities increased tremendously. The
internal airflow pattern is different from the single external opening on the
faade. The warm air from the air gap is passing through the opening of the
inner pane right across the office space and exit through the rear vents. This
will have an undesirable mixing of warm air to the internal office space and the
a/c space at the rear of the office.
Solar loading has been introduced to the third simulations group with high-
level external opening. The area of the external opening is smaller by 2.5-4
times as compared to the internal opening. This was done to control the amount
of external hot airflow from entering the intermediate space but allowing as
much internal room air as possible to be discharged into the air gap of the
double-skin faade. This will have to rely upon sufficient stack effect to be
generated. The area of opening for the intermediate space is also smaller than
the internal pane opening. These groups of simulation by far gave the lowest
internal temperature at P4 but the internal airflow velocities are low. The stack-
effect combined with the thermal buoyancy effect within the intermediate
space of the double-skin faade has produced a stronger suction for cross
ventilating the internal office space. The opening areas comparison for these
findings are C>D>B=E.
7.5 Initial findings
Thermal sensation plays a major role in the perception of comfort and the
comfort parameters are highly subjective. Some of these parameters are air
temperature, the relative humidity of the air, the local air velocity and human
activity. A comprehensive explanation of thermal comfort is listed in Chapter 8
of ASHRAE Fundamentals. (ASHRAE Fundamentals, 1993) and thermal
152
comfort in the hot and humid climate has been discussed in Chapter 2. Figure
7.8 below shows the operative temperature ranges for naturally ventilated
spaces with 90% and 80% acceptable limits indicated. This graph shows that
there is a broader acceptable temperature ranges for naturally ventilated spaces.
For air velocity lower than 1m/s and temperatures difference between radiant
and ambient of lower than 4K, the operative temperature (Top) would need to
be adjusted according to the formula Top=Ata + (1-A)Tr, where ta is the
ambient air temperature and Tr is the radiant temperature.
Air movements determine the convective heat and mass exchange of the human
body with the surrounding air. In hot and humid climate, high air velocities
will increase the evaporation rate at the skin surface and results in cooling
sensation. The recommended upper limit of indoor air movement is usually
0.8m/s for human comfort and such air velocity permits the interior space to be
1-2 degree higher than the human comfort temperature to maintain desirable
comfort level (Hien and Tanamas, 2002).
Air speed < 0.2m/s
Difference between radiant & air temp < 4C
Top = Ata + (1-A)Tr
V <0.2m/s 0.2-0.6m/s 0.6-1m/s
A 0.5 0.6 0.7
Figure 7.8 Thermal Environment Conditions for Human Occupancy,
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2004
153
The initial findings confirmed that double-skin faade did improve the thermal
comfort of an internal office space by reducing the temperature from 1.0
o
C to
1.5
o
C, with the external wind velocities between 1.5m/s to 3m/s. The internal
temperatures are still considered a bit high (as the model constructed for this
preliminary investigation is only considered a one storey space) but the
situation will be expected to improve when multi-storey spaces are linked
together in a high-rise building when the stack effect of the air gap will
increase tremendously. The results could be improved by using wind turbine at
the top of the faade to increase the airflow velocity at the intermediate space
to give effective airflow speed within the internal space. This will be looked at
during the next stage of the development of the research.
The correlations between the areas of openings play a significant role in
providing natural ventilation for an internal office space in the hot and humid
climate. The initial CFD modelling and the analysis of the results had found
that a high level single opening at the outer pane of the double-skin faade
would create a desirable cross ventilation airflow pattern at the internal office
space. The cross ventilation effect will bring the cool air from the internal air-
conditioned space across the internal space and prevent the warm air from the
air gap entering the office space. The other option could be using wind turbine
to increase the air velocity at the air gap to give effective airflow speed within
the internal space. This will be looked at and analysed further in the next stage
of the development of the research work.
The design of two openings (one at high and one at low levels) on the outer
pane of the faade by far is the best solution. The internal air velocities
between 0.2-0.5 m/s observed could provide more than 80% of human
satisfaction for comfort, as shown in Figure 7.9. Due care should be given to
deal with the warm air coming into the internal space through the air gap
especially for higher wind velocity experienced at the high level of a high-rise
building.
154
Figure 7.9 Ventilation Comfort Chart of Singapore (Source: Priyadarsini,
Cheong and Wong, 2004)
The issue of fire spreading within the multi-story double-skin faade is an
important one. Most high-rise buildings will have to provide some sort of
automatic fire protection system like sprinkler system within the habitable
space, and this system could be extended to the intermediate space of the
faade construction. Alternatively smoke extract system could be provided to
the intermediate space of the double-skin faade in which linked to the
automatic fire protection system of the building. Fire shutter could also be
installed at the internal pane opening for blocking any fire or smoke spreading
in the event of a fire breakout in the building.
7.6 Progressive modelling
The initial single office module in 3D is constructed with the geometrical
dimensions of 3.5m x 5.0m x 3.5m in height. Numerous simulation runs have
been carried out for the benchmarking purposes in which a typical curtain
155
walling office module was observed and a simplified nomogram has been
established to define the initial parameters for thermal comfort in the tropical
region. These results are compared with the simulation runs from the office
module with double-skin faade construction.
Following-up with the simulations analysis of a single office module discussed
above, the computer model is extended vertically to incorporate a concealed
ground floor space which usually used as shop front space for most high-rise
office buildings. The office space is only starting at 1
st
level. Two different
groups of modelling are constructed at this stage. First group is the
benchmarking model with standard curtain walling system generally used in
most modern high-rise office buildings (Figure 7.10). The other group is
replaced with a standard vertically vented double-skin faade construction
(Figure 7.11).
The modelling parameters (Figure 7.11) for the double-skin faade model and
the simulation boundary conditions are stated below. The strategy is to break-
down a very complex problem of simulating a multi-storey high-rise building
into a 6-storey building block. Simulations will be run for the 1
st
building
block of 6-storey for the modelling of the office building from ground floor to
6-storey. Subsequently another 6-storey building block of the model will be
constructed for modelling of the office building from 7-storey to 12-storey. The
last building block will be the modelling of the office building from 13-storey
to 18-storey. The building height of 18-storey or about 60m high will constitute
the majority of the office buildings height in a medium to medium-dense
modern city. This will give a good representation for investigating the problem
at hand.
Model Parameters:
Width of Room = 3.5m
Depth of Room = 5.0m
Height of Room = 3.5m
Rear Ventilation = 0.3m x 0.6m
156
Standard curtain wall & Double-skin Faades Parameters:
A = External Faade Opening
C = Internal Faade Opening
D = Air Gap
E = Rear Ventilation Slot
CFD Simulation Boundary Conditions:
> Steady State Condition
> Solved With Radiation, Species, IAQ/Comfort and Solar
Loading
> k- Turbulence Model
> Wind Perpendicular To Building Faade
> Wind Speed = 0m/s 3m/s
> Ambient Temperature = 22
o
C 30
o
C
> Relative Humidity = 70% 100%
Figure 7.10 Standard curtain walling model
Concealed Ground
Floor Space
157
Figure 7.11 Double-skin faade model
7.6.1 Comparison of results for single-skin and double-skin faades
The results obtained from the benchmarking simulations, which is a typical
curtain walling system faade, are compared to the results from the proposed
prototype double-skin faade. The results of the benchmarking are first
presented in the form of a nomogram here for the research. There are many
ways in representing huge amount of information generated through
simulations, which could be in the form of graphs, tables, charts (e.g.
Pychrometric Chart), spreadsheet, customised computer programs, etc. These
methods of representation are valid but some could be very time consuming to
formulate and others could be too complicated to be use effectively by
designers. After much consideration in finding a way to formulate the results
into useful information that could be used by others in design purposes,
nomogram has been chosen. Even though nomogram traditionally has been
used to represent mathematical relationships or laws in graphical form, but it
Concealed Ground
Floor Space
158
provides an easy way to quickly and accurately finding an answer to a rather
complex problem. Nomogram is also be able to comprehensively represent a
complex correlation between different variables to generate desirable and
acceptable conditions or results, if it is constructed appropriately. The detail
construction, formulation and usage of the nomogram used in this research are
presented in Chapter 9, Section 9.4.
The nomograms are formed by three axes, which represent the three most
important parameters in thermal comfort analysis. The parameters are air
temperature, air velocity and relative humidity. Boundaries of thermal comfort
are plotted onto the nomograms from the analysis of the simulation results and
they are compared to see whether there are any advantages for using double-
skin construction for an office building in the tropical climate. The area
bounded by the acceptable thermal comfort limits is shaded, showing the
extent of acceptable indoor conditions. Figures 7.12 & 7.13 have shown that
there are positive points in using the double-skin construction, as the shaded
area for the double-skin faade is larger than the normal curtain walling
construction, even though this finding is only representing the low level results
for the high-rise office building in study. These findings are encouraging as the
double-skin faade construction does improve the internal thermal comfort for
a naturally ventilated office space by as much as 10%, as compared to
conventional curtain wall system.
159
Figure 7.12 Nomogram showing the acceptable thermal comfort conditions
(shaded area) for standard curtain wall system
160
Figure 7.13 Nomogram showing the acceptable thermal comfort conditions
(shaded area) for double-skin faade system
An example of an acceptable internal thermal comfort condition is shown at
Point B (which could have air temperature=25
o
C, relative humidity=70% and
air velocity=0.5m/s) in the nomogram in Figure 7.13 above. Point A is not an
acceptable thermal comfort condition, which could have the values of air
temperature=22
o
C, air velocity=0m/s, and relative humidity=60%.
A
B
161
7.7 Conclusion
This initial stage of the research work has shown that double-skin faade has a
possibility to provide acceptable internal thermal comfort for office space
through natural ventilation strategy in the hot and humid climate. These results
have helped to answer the first question set out in the Research Questions
section mentioned in Chapter 1.
A specific research methodology has then been developed following this
finding to systematically explore the use of double-skin faade on high-rise
office building in the tropical climate and to find out the possible opening
window in terms of periods of time of the day that double-skin faade could
provide acceptable indoor thermal environment. This will help to answer the
second research questions that set out in Section 1.11. The methodology and
findings of the investigation are presented in Chapters 8 and 9.
162
Chapter 8 Multi-Storey Building Modelling
8.1 Stage 1 of the multi-storey modelling
The initial model was constructed as a single-room condition to test out
whether double-skin faade is able to provide a better indoor environment
under the hot and humid climate as compared to typical single-skin curtain
wall. In the earlier Chapter it was found that double-skin faade does perform
better compared to single-skin curtain wall system.
The positive finding has confirmed the possibility of introducing double-skin
faade to the hot and humid climatic condition in a country like Singapore.
This will bring us to the next stage of the modelling by extending the numerical
model to a six-storey building. The choice of implementing a six-storey high
building for the next stage for analysis is because the height of the overall
building will give a sufficient complexity to study the problem at hand and the
height is also being defined as high-rise building in the context of Singapore
situation.
The first block (Stage 1) of the six-storey building (Figure 8.1) consists of a
ground floor (which is not served by the double-skin faade, as this will be the
typical design for any high-rise building) and 5 stories of office spaces above.
The double-skin faade is a ventilated-shaft with a design of 2.8m from ground
level. In earlier findings it is a practical and economical option to introduce a
shaft to improve the stack effect of the natural ventilation and in turn will
improve the airflow rates required to reach thermal comfort level within the
interior office space.
The parameters and boundary conditions for this stage of the modelling are
listed below and shown in Figure 8.2:
Multistory Space (6-storey)
DSF faade system is orientated towards South and North
163
Simulations run for 2 periods of time => morning (10 am) and
afternoon (2 pm)
Wind direction => Perpendicular to the wall system
Wind speed => 0.5m/s to 3m/s
External temperature => 26
o
C to 30
o
C
Relative humidity => 70% to 100%
DSF opening size for inner pane => 300mm
Air gap size => 300mm to 1200mm
Vent size => 300mm x 600mm
WIND
GROUND FLOOR
VENT
2
8
0
04
0
0
0
WIND
3
5
0
0
1st FLOOR
2nd FLOOR
3
5
0
0
VENT
DSF
3rd FLOOR
2
1
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
WIND
WIND
VENT
4th FLOOR
3
5
0
0
5th FLOOR
3500
3
5
0
0
Figure 8.1 Model geometry of Stage 1 of the 6-storey building
164
The heat sources for this CFD model will only be introduced at alternate floor,
starting from 1
st
-storey. This was done to reduce the complexity of the model
and computing time, but at the same time will be able to give a comprehensive
view of the indoor thermal comfort of the office spaces. Each alternate floor
will have two occupants, two computers and four ceiling lights, which are the
same as the initial single office model discussed in Chapter 7. Each human
model is assigned with 75 W/m
2
of heat generation with clothing value (clo) of
1.0 and metabolic rate (met) of 1.2 for sedentary office activities. Heat
generated for the computers are 108 W/m
2
and 173 W/m
2
respectively and the
heat flux of the lighting fixture is assumed to be 38 W/m
2
each.
WIND - 0m/s to 3m/s
DSF FACING SOUTH / NORTH
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
OFFICE SPACE
V
E
N
T
S
I
Z
E
3
0
0
x
6
0
0
External Temperature - 26C to 30C
Relative Humidity - 70% to 100%
3
0
0
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
AIR GAP SIZE
300 - 1200
3
0
0
Figure 8.2 Boundary conditions and ranges of parameters used in the CFD
simulations
Boundary conditions for wind velocity, external temperature and relative
humidity were set to the ranges similar to the climatic conditions for
Singapore. The ambient temperature in Singapore is hot with high humidity
165
and relatively low wind velocity throughout most of the year. Only the
optimum opening sizes on the inner pane and the air gap sizes of the double-
skin faade (DSF) are being considered (as shown in Figure 8.2 above) for this
stage of simulations, based on the findings from the preliminary modelling in
Chapter 7. The optimum vent size at the rear wall was found to be 300mm by
600mm from previous findings and the condition behind the vent is an external
space with ambient temperature conditions (26
o
C 30
o
C). The scope of the
problem in investigation has been narrowed down and carefully controlled
to find the optimum DSF configuration for use in Singapore climatic
conditions.
8.1.1 Simulation results for South facing DSF system
The first group of simulations is generated with the DSF system constructed at
the south facing faade of the building only. The simulation periods are at 10
a.m. or 2 p.m. on either 15 January or 1 July of the month with wind direction
perpendicular to the DSF wall and with wind velocities of 0.5 m/s, 1.5 m/s and
3 m/s. The external ambient temperatures were set from 26
o
C to 30
o
C with
relative humidity ranging from 70% to 100%. The opening size for the inner
pane of the DSF system used is 300mm. The air gap sizes used for the DSF are
300mm, 600mm, 900mm and 1200mm. The air vent size at the rear office wall
is fixed at 300mm x 600mm.
There are a total of 18 location points being identified to record the simulation
results on thermal comfort parameters. Figure 8.3 shows six of those location
points that are 0.8m above the office floor level and 0.2m away from the two
human figures. These six points are chosen to monitor the thermal comfort
conditions experienced by the occupants. Tables 8.1 show some of the
comparative results for the simulation with different parameters used for the
boundary conditions and DSF configurations taken at P1, P6 and P11 (Figure
8.3). The indoor Operative Temperature (OT) calculated in the above table was
using the formula stated in Figure 8.4 and the value was used to identify
166
acceptable thermal comfort for naturally ventilated spaces in hot and humid
climate using the graph given in the same figure.
Figure 8.3 Location points for monitoring the simulation results (Stage 1)
P1
P2
P6
P7
P11
P12
1
st
Floor
3
rd
Floor
5th Floor
167
Simulation Orientation Date Time Air
Temp.
o
C
Wind
Vel.
m/s
Air RH
%
Air Gap
Size
mm
S1-1
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
300
S1-2
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
600
S1-3
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
900
S1-4
South
15 Jan
2pm
26
1.5
80
300
S1-5
South
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
S1-6
South
15 Jan
10am
28
1.5
80
300
Simulation
Floor
Level
Temp.
o
C
Air
Vel.
m/s
Radiant
Temp.
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
S1-1
1
28.5
0.04 29.93 70.49 1.99 29.22
3
29.08 0.01 29.52 77.3 1.8 29.30
5
29.47 0.01 29.64 75.59 1.85 29.56
S1-2
1
29.95 0.02 32.96 70.69 2.41 31.46
3
30.67 0.04 31.50 76.60 1.97 31.09
5
30.72 0.03 31.19 75.42 2.13 30.96
S1-3
1
29.99 0.03 32.48 70.61 2.38 30.59
3
30.47 0.06 32.25 77.40 2.04 31.36
5
30.43 0.04 31.98 76.25 1.9 31.20
S1-4
1
27.49 0.04 28.98 70.54 1.8 28.24
3
28.15 0.05 29.45 76.39 1.66 28.80
5
27.40 0.03 28.67 75.44 1.6 28.04
168
S1-5
1
27.38 0.02 28.74 70.22 1.97 28.06
3
28.07 0.04 29.59 76.13 1.62 28.83
5
27.61 0.03 28.81 74.85 1.59 28.21
S1-6
1 28.41 0.03 29.73 70.17 1.92 29.07
3 29 0.01 29.38 77.04 1.78 29.19
5 29.26 0.01 29.5 75 1.84 29.38
(Note: Shaded results are acceptable thermal comfort conditions)
Tables 8.1 Simulation results for P1, P6 and P11 of different boundary
conditions (Stage 1 South facing DSF system)
Air speed < 0.2m/s
Difference between radiant & air temp < 4C
Top = Ata + (1-A)Tr
V <0.2m/s 0.2-0.6m/s 0.6-1m/s
A 0.5 0.6 0.7
Figure 8.4 Thermal Environment Conditions for Human Occupancy from
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2004
26
29.5
169
8.1.2 Simulation results for North facing DSF system
The second group of simulations is generated with the DSF system constructed
at the north facing faade of the building only. The simulations period are at 10
a.m. or 2 p.m. on either 15 January or 1 July of the month with wind direction
perpendicular to the DSF wall and with wind velocities of 0.5 m/s, 1.5 m/s and
3 m/s. The external ambient temperatures were set from 26
o
C to 30
o
C with
relative humidity ranging from 70% to 100%. The opening size on the DSF
system used is 300mm. The air gap sizes used for the DSF are 300mm,
600mm, 900mm and 1200mm. The air vent size at the rear office wall is fixed
at 300mm x 600mm. Tables 8.2 show some of the comparative results for the
simulation with different parameters used for the boundary conditions and DSF
configurations taken at P1, P6 and P11 (Figure 8.3).
Simulation Orientation Date Time Air
Temp.
o
C
Wind
Vel.
m/s
Air RH
%
Air Gap
Size
mm
S1-1a
North
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
300
S1-2a
North
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
600
S1-3a
North
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
900
S1-4a
North
15 Jan
2pm
26
1.5
80
300
S1-5a
North
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
S1-6a
North
15 Jan
10am
28
1.5
80
300
170
Simulation
Floor
Level
Temp.
o
C
Air
Vel.
m/s
Radiant
Temp.
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
S1-1a
1
28.78
0.03 34.16 72.1 2.17 31.47
3
29.83 0.03 35.97 67.84 2.41 32.90
5
29.31 0.04 36.21 69.91 2.4 32.76
S1-2a
1
30.23 0.03 37.17 72.39 2.59 33.70
3
31.42 0.04 35.45 67.6 2.57 33.44
5
30.88 0.03 37.76 69.73 2.68 34.32
S1-3a
1
30.24 0.04 36.65 72.31 2.55 33.45
3
31.22 0.06 36.1 68.4 2.6 33.66
5
30.65 0.05 34.66 70.65 2.45 32.66
S1-4a
1
27.75 0.03 33.21 72.14 1.98 30.48
3
28.92 0.06 33.94 67.39 2.16 31.43
5
27.56 0.03 35.31 72.99 2.12 31.44
S1-5a
1
27.66 0.03 33.17 72.53 1.97 30.42
3
28.81 0.04 35 67.85 2.22 31.91
5
27.79 0.03 35.21 72 2.14 31.50
S1-6a
1 28.68 0.03 34.12 72.46 1.90 31.40
3 29.75 0.02 34.79 68.78 2.34 32.27
5 29.40 0.02 35.5 73.14 2.33 32.45
Tables 8.2 Simulation results for P1, P6 and P11 of different boundary
conditions (Stage 1 North facing DSF system)
8.1.3 Analysis of results and findings for Stage 1
Selective results for South facing DSF with external wind velocity of 1.5m/s
and air humidity of 80% respectively are tabulated in Tables 8.1. The variable
parameters in consideration for this instance are external air temperature, the
171
DSF air gap size and the time of the day. Results for S1-1, S1-2 and S1-3
(South facing DSF) as shown in Tables 8.1 and Graph 8.1 indicated that the
DSF air gap size of 300mm gives the best result for the particular conditions in
a natural ventilated space. The findings are the same for the Northern
orientation faade as presented in Tables 8.2 and Graph 8.2. In most cases the
lower floor of the office space would generate the lowest operative temperature
due to the stack effect provided by the DSF configuration. This has enhanced
the natural ventilation strategy to provide better internal thermal comfort
condition for the office spaces.
There is not much of a difference in terms of the internal thermal comfort
conditions for either period of time in a given day (morning or afternoon) as
seen in the results for S1-4 and S1-5 for South facing DSF and for S1-4a and
S1-5a for North facing DSF. There is an internal temperature difference of
0.5
o
C for the mid-floor of North facing DSF and this could be due to the slower
internal air velocity generated (Tables 8.1 and 8.2). The overall results for 1
st
July for both faade orientations (South and North) are slightly better than 15
th
January for most conditions.
The South facing DSF configuration has produced an 80% Acceptability Limit
for the 300mm air gap size for external temperatures between 26
o
C and 28
o
C,
according to the Thermal Environment Conditions for Human Occupancy from
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 as indicated in Figure 8.4. This is tabulated
in accordance with the context that the office building is located in the
Northern Hemisphere of tropical climate like the country of Singapore. The
North facing DSF configuration did not produce any acceptable internal
thermal comfort condition for the office space (Tables 8.2 and Graph 8.2) as
the operative temperatures for all the floors are above 30
o
C. Even though the
results for the North facing DSF during the period of 1
st
July is slightly better
than the period of 15
th
Jan but it still does not provide an acceptable internal
thermal comfort condition. This has again confirmed that the southern
orientation is the best facing for buildings in the Northern Hemisphere.
172
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
1st Floor 3rd Floor 5th Floor
S1-1
S1-2
S1-3
S1-4
S1-5
S1-6
Graph 8.1 Comparison of Operative Temperatures (
o
C) for South facing DSF
(Stage 1)
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
1st Floor 3rd Floor 5th Floor
S1-1a
S1-2a
S1-3a
S1-4a
S1-5a
S1-6a
Graph 8.2 Comparison of Operative Temperatures (
o
C) for North facing DSF
(Stage 1)
8.2 Stage 2 of the multi-storey modelling
The Stage 2 of the simulation model (Figure 8.6) consists of a 6-storey office
spaces. A fan is introduced at the bottom portion of the ventilated-shaft design
of the DSF to simulate the continuity of the airflow from the stage 1 model.
The flow rate of the fan is calculated to be 5.57m
3
/s from simulation results
173
from Stage 1. The parameters and boundary conditions for this stage of the
modelling are listed below (also as shown in Figure 8.2):
Multistorey Space (6-storey)
DSF faade system is orientated towards South and North
Simulations run for 2 periods of time => morning (10 am) and
afternoon (2 pm)
Wind direction => Perpendicular to the wall system
Wind speed => 0.5m/s to 3m/s
External temperature => 26
o
C to 30
o
C
Relative humidity => 70% to 100%
DSF opening size for inner pane => 300mm
Air gap size => 300mm to 1200mm
Vent size => 300mm x 600mm
The heat sources for this stage of CFD model will only be introduced at
alternate floors also, namely at 7
th
, 9
th
and 11
th
. Each alternate floor will have
two occupants, two computers and four ceiling lights, which are the same as
the initial single office model discussed in Chapter 7. Each human model is
assigned with 75 W/m
2
of heat generation with clothing value (clo) of 1.0 and
metabolic rate (met) of 1.2 for sedentary office activities. Heat generated for
the computers are 108 W/m
2
and 173 W/m
2
respectively and the heat flux of
the lighting fixture is assumed to be 38 W/m
2
each. Figure 8.5 below shows the
location points selected for obtaining thermal comfort parameters for analysis.
174
Figure 8.5 Location points for recording the simulation results (Stage 2)
P1
P2
7
th
Floor
P6
P7
9
th
Floor
P11
P12
11th Floor
175
3
5
0
0
3500
10th FLOOR
3
5
0
0
9th FLOOR
WIND
WIND
3
5
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
8th FLOOR
DSF
VENT
3
5
0
0
7th FLOOR
3
5
0
0
WIND
VENT
6th FLOOR
VENT
11th FLOOR
WIND
3
5
0
0
FAN
Figure 8.6 Model geometry of Stage 2 of the 18-storey office building
8.2.1 Simulation results for South facing DSF system
The simulation period are at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. on either 15 January or 1 July of
the month with wind direction perpendicular to the DSF wall and with wind
velocities of 0.5 m/s, 1.5 m/s and 3 m/s. The external ambient temperatures
were set from 26
o
C to 30
o
C with relative humidity ranging from 70% to 100%.
The opening size on the DSF system used is 300mm. The air gap sizes used for
the DSF are 300mm, 600mm, 900mm and 1200mm. The air vent size at the
rear office wall is fixed at 300mm x 600mm.
176
Simulation Orientation Date Time Air
Temp.
o
C
Wind
Vel.
m/s
Air RH
%
Air Gap
Size
mm
S2-1
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
300
S2-2
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
600
S2-3
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
900
S2-4
South
15 Jan
2pm
26
1.5
80
300
S2-5
South
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
S2-6
South
15 Jan
10am
28
1.5
80
300
Simulation
Floor
Level
Temp.
o
C
Air
Vel.
m/s
Radiant
Temp.
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
S2-1
7
28.81
0.06 31.11 74.12 1.91 29.96
9
28.87 0.03 30.52 74.47 1.89 29.70
11
30.18 0.08 32.08 72.56 2.07 31.13
S2-2
7
30.24 0.04 33.98 74.29 2.37 32.11
9
30.46 0.05 32.43 73.88 1.87 31.44
11
31.42 0.08 33.65 72.72 1.91 32.54
S2-3
7
30.29 0.05 33.58 74.21 2.28 31.94
9
30.23 0.07 33.23 74.59 1.96 31.73
11
31.14 0.10 34.38 73.69 2.10 32.76
S2-4
7
27.79 0.06 30.09 74.14 1.71 28.94
9
27.91 0.06 30.45 73.62 1.76 29.18
11
28.11 0.09 31.13 72.78 1.82 29.62
7
27.66 0.06 29.83 73.80 1.86 28.75
177
S2-5 9
27.85 0.05 30.58 73.92 1.72 29.22
11
28.32 0.09 31.22 72.23 1.81 29.77
S2-6
7 28.72 0.05 30.83 73.77 1.87 29.78
9 28.88 0.02 30.38 76.35 1.88 29.63
11 29.97 0.07 31.72 72.66 1.64 30.85
(Note: Shaded results are acceptable thermal comfort conditions)
Tables 8.3 Simulation results for P1, P6 and P11 of different boundary
conditions (Stage 2 South facing DSF system)
8.2.2 Simulation results for North facing DSF system
This group of simulations is generated with the DSF system constructed at the
north facing faade of the building with similar boundary conditions and DSF
system configurations as the south facing faade in section 8.2.1.
Simulation Orientation Date Time Air
Temp.
o
C
Wind
Vel.
m/s
Air RH
%
Air Gap
Size
mm
S2-1a
North
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
300
S2-2a
North
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
600
S2-3a
North
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
900
S2-4a
North
15 Jan
2pm
26
1.5
80
300
S2-5a
North
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
S2-6a
North
15 Jan
10am
28
1.5
80
300
178
Simulation
Floor
Level
Temp.
o
C
Air
Vel.
m/s
Radiant
Temp.
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
S2-1a
7
28.58
0.06 37.26 70.08 2.39 32.92
9
30.07 0.05 38.66 61.95 2.83 34.36
11
29.86 0.10 38.98 69.70 2.71 34.42
S2-2a
7
30.03 0.06 39.21 70.48 2.26 34.62
9
31.65 0.05 38.19 68.72 2.17 34.92
11
31.43 0.09 39.88 69.54 2.39 35.66
S2-3a
7
29.82 0.07 39.77 70.38 2.27 34.80
9
31.46 0.06 38.86 63.23 3.01 35.16
11
31.27 0.11 38.76 70.43 2.78 35.02
S2-4a
7
27.45 0.05 35.31 71.14 2.25 31.38
9
29.16 0.06 36.69 65.39 2.46 32.93
11
28.11 0.08 38.46 72.76 2.44 33.28
S2-5a
7
27.36 0.06 36.29 70.55 2.24 31.82
9
29.05 0.05 37.73 63.18 2.40 33.39
11
28.34 0.09 39.39 71.89 2.37 33.86
S2-6a
7 28.59 0.06 37.24 70.42 2.17 32.92
9 29.99 0.06 37.45 64.23 2.74 33.72
11 29.95 0.08 39.68 72.96 2.63 34.82
Tables 8.4 Simulation results for P1, P6 and P11 of different boundary
conditions (Stage 2 North facing DSF system)
8.2.3 Analysis of results and findings for Stage 2
The selected results for both South and North facing DSF configurations are
having similar parameters as Stage 1 for direct comparison. The external wind
velocity is 1.5m/s and air humidity is 80% respectively and the variable
parameters in consideration for this Stage are external air temperature, the DSF
air gap size and the time of the day, as tabulated in Tables 8.3 and Tables 8.4.
Results for S2-1, S2-2 and S2-3 (South facing DSF) as shown in Tables 8.3 and
179
Graph 8.3 indicated that the DSF air gap size of 300mm gives the best result
for the particular conditions in a natural ventilated space, as in Stage 1 also.
The findings are the same for the Northern orientation faade as presented in
Tables 8.4 and Graph 8.4. In most cases the lower floor of the office space
would generate the lowest operative temperature due to the stack effect
provided by the DSF configuration.
There is not much of a difference in terms of the internal thermal comfort
conditions for either period of time in a given day (morning or afternoon) as
seen in the results for S2-4 and S2-5 for South facing DSF but for North facing
DSF morning period has a higher operative temperatures compare to afternoon
period (as indicated in S2-4a and S2-5a). This could be due to the higher
internal radiant temperatures generated during this particular period of time
(Tables 8.4).
The South facing DSF configuration has produced an 80% Acceptability Limit
for the 300mm air gap size for external temperature of 26
o
C up to 9
th
Floor as
indicated in Tables 8.3. The North facing DSF configuration did not produce
any acceptable internal thermal comfort condition for the office space (Tables
8.4 and Graph 8.4) as the operative temperatures for all the floors are above
31
o
C.
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
7th Floor 9th Floor 11th Floor
S2-1
S2-2
S2-3
S2-4
S2-5
S2-6
Graph 8.3 Comparison of Operative Temperatures (
o
C) for South facing DSF
(Stage 2)
180
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
7th Floor 9th Floor 11th Floor
S2-1a
S2-2a
S2-3a
S2-4a
S2-5a
S2-6a
Graph 8.4 Comparison of Operative Temperatures (
o
C) for North facing DSF
(Stage 2)
8.3 Stage 3 of the multi-storey modelling
The Stage 3 of the simulation model (Figure 8.8) consists of a 6-storey office
spaces. A fan is introduced at the bottom portion of the ventilated-shaft design
of the DSF to simulate the continuity of the airflow from the stage 2 model.
The flow rate of the fan is 17.7m
3
/s and it was calculated from Stage 2
simulations. There is a 1m high parapet at the rooftop of the office building
model.
The parameters and boundary conditions for this stage of the modelling are
listed below:
Multistorey Space (6-storey)
DSF faade system is orientated towards South and North
Simulations run for 2 periods of time => morning (10 am) and
afternoon (2 pm)
Wind direction => Perpendicular to the wall system
Wind speed => 0.5m/s to 3m/s
181
External temperature => 26
o
C to 30
o
C
Relative humidity => 70% to 100%
DSF opening size for inner pane => 300mm
Air gap size => 300mm to 1200mm
Vent size => 300mm x 600mm
The heat sources for this stage of CFD model will only be introduced at
alternate floors also, namely at 13
th
, 15
th
and 17
th
. Each alternate floor will have
two occupants, two computers and four ceiling lights, which are the same as
the initial single office model discussed in Chapter 7. Each human model is
assigned with 75 W/m
2
of heat generation with clothing value (clo) of 1.0 and
metabolic rate (met) of 1.2 for sedentary office activities. Heat generated for
the computers are 108 W/m
2
and 173 W/m
2
respectively and the heat flux of
the lighting fixture is assumed to be 38 W/m
2
each. Figure 8.7 below shows the
location points selected for obtaining thermal comfort parameters for analysis.
182
Figure 8.7 Location points for monitoring the simulation results (Stage 3)
P1
P2
13
th
Floor
P6
P7
15
th
Floor
P11
P12
17th Floor
183
WIND
WIND
3
5
0
0
12th FLOOR
FAN
13th FLOOR
VENT
14th FLOOR
3
5
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
3
5
0
0
WIND
DSF
WIND
VENT
15th FLOOR
VENT
16th FLOOR
3500
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
17th FLOOR
3
5
0
0
1
0
0
0
Figure 8.8 Model geometry of Stage 3 of the 18-storey office building
8.3.1 Simulation results for South facing DSF system
The simulation periods are at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. on either 15 January or 1 July
of the month with wind direction perpendicular to the DSF wall and with wind
velocities of 0.5 m/s, 1.5 m/s and 3 m/s. The external ambient temperatures
were set from 26
o
C to 30
o
C with relative humidity ranging from 70% to 100%.
The opening size on the DSF system used is 300mm. The air gap sizes used for
the DSF are 300mm, 600mm, 900mm and 1200mm. The air vent size at the
rear office wall is fixed at 300mm x 600mm.
184
Simulation Orientation Date Time Air
Temp.
o
C
Wind
Vel.
m/s
Air RH
%
Air Gap
Size
mm
S3-1
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
300
S3-2
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
600
S3-3
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
900
S3-4
South
15 Jan
2pm
26
1.5
80
300
S3-5
South
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
S3-6
South
15 Jan
10am
28
1.5
80
300
Simulation
Floor
Level
Temp.
o
C
Air
Vel.
m/s
Radiant
Temp.
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
S3-1
13
28.11
0.2 28.28 77.35 1.33 28.2
15
28.16 0.15 27.48 77.6 1.35 27.82
17
29.57 0.09 28.55 75.09 1.62 29.06
S3-2
13
29.51 0.21 31.04 77.5 1.8 30.28
15
29.72 0.17 29.35 77.01 1.36 29.54
17
30.84 0.09 30.1 75.38 1.42 30.47
S3-3
13
29.53 0.21 30.67 77.44 1.75 30.1
15
29.52 0.19 30.15 77.77 1.44 29.84
17
30.51 0.11 30.83 76.31 1.62 30.67
S3-4
13
27.06 0.22 27.16 77.37 1.15 27.11
15
27.2 0.18 27.38 76.76 1.22 27.29
17
27.5 0.1 27.58 75.41 1.34 27.54
S3-5
13
26.93 0.22 26.96 77.05 1.3 26.94
15
27.12 0.17 27.5 77.09 1.21 27.31
17
27.73 0.1 27.68 74.83 1.33 27.7
185
S3-6
13 28.02 0.19 27.93 77 1.32 27.98
15 28.18 0.15 27.34 79.52 1.34 27.76
17 29.33 0.08 28.27 75.29 1.13 28.8
(Note: Shaded results are acceptable thermal comfort conditions)
Tables 8.5 Simulation results for P1, P6 and P11 of different boundary
conditions (Stage 3 South facing DSF system)
8.3.2 Simulation results for North facing DSF system
This group of simulations is generated with the DSF system constructed at the
north facing faade of the building with similar boundary conditions and DSF
system configurations as the south facing faade in section 8.3.1.
Simulation Orientation Date Time Air
Temp.
o
C
Wind
Vel.
m/s
Air RH
%
Air Gap
Size
mm
S3-1a
North
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
300
S3-2a
North
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
600
S3-3a
North
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
900
S3-4a
North
15 Jan
2pm
26
1.5
80
300
S3-5a
North
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
S3-6a
North
15 Jan
10am
28
1.5
80
300
186
Simulation
Floor
Level
Temp.
o
C
Air
Vel.
m/s
Radiant
Temp.
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
S3-1a
13
27.88
0.18 33.5 74.38 1.87 30.69
15
29.14 0.15 33.72 69.58 2.05 31.43
17
29.62 0.08 35.84 75.04 2.24 32.73
S3-2a
13
29.28 0.2 36.22 74.53 2.33 32.75
15
30.96 0.17 35.55 68.79 2.06 33.26
17
30.88 0.08 37.38 75.34 2.04 34.13
S3-3a
13
29.19 0.21 35.89 74.45 2.28 32.54
15
30.75 0.18 36.33 69.59 2.14 33.54
17
30.55 0.1 38.11 76.28 2.22 34.33
S3-4a
13
26.93 0.2 32.34 74.47 1.66 29.64
15
28.57 0.17 33.58 68.68 1.92 31.08
17
27.55 0.08 34.87 75.34 1.96 31.21
S3-5a
13
26.59 0.21 32.17 74 1.8 29.38
15
28.43 0.18 33.75 68.97 1.89 31.09
17
27.77 0.1 35.01 74.81 1.92 31.39
S3-6a
13 27.69 0.18 33.2 73.89 1.85 30.44
15 29.45 0.16 33.58 71.22 2.02 31.52
17 29.4 0.07 35.6 75.23 1.75 32.5
(Note: Shaded result is acceptable thermal comfort condition)
Tables 8.6 Simulation results for P1, P6 and P11 of different boundary
conditions (Stage 3 North facing DSF system)
8.3.3 Analysis of results and findings for Stage 3
The selected results for both South and North facing DSF configurations are
having similar parameters as Stages 1 and 2 for direct comparison. The external
wind velocity is 1.5m/s and air humidity is 80% respectively and the variable
parameters in consideration for this Stage are also external air temperature, the
DSF air gap size and the time of the day, as tabulated in Tables 8.5 and Tables
187
8.6. Results for S3-1, S3-2 and S3-3 (South facing DSF) as shown in Tables
8.5 and Graph 8.5 indicated that the DSF air gap size of 300mm gives the best
result for the particular conditions in a natural ventilated space, as in Stages 1
and 2. The findings are the same for the Northern orientation faade as
presented in Tables 8.6 and Graph 8.6. In most cases the lower floor of the
office space would generate the lowest operative temperature due to the stack
effect provided by the DSF configuration, as in Stages 1 and 2 also.
There is not much of a difference in terms of the internal thermal comfort
conditions for either period of time in a given day (morning or afternoon) as
seen in the results for S3-4 and S3-5 for South facing DSF, and results for S3-
4a and S3-5a for North facing DSF.
The South facing DSF configuration has produced an 80% Acceptability Limit
for the 300mm air gap size for external temperatures between 26
o
C and 28
o
C as
indicated in Tables 8.5 and Graph 8.5. The North facing DSF configuration did
not produce any acceptable internal thermal comfort condition for the office
space except for the lower floor for 300mm air gap configuration with external
air temperature of 26
o
C during morning period (Tables 8.6 and Graph 8.6).
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
13th Floor 15th Floor 17th Floor
S3-1
S3-2
S3-3
S3-4
S3-5
S3-6
Graph 8.5 Comparison of Operative Temperatures (
o
C) for South facing DSF
(Stage 3)
188
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
13th Floor 15th Floor 17th Floor
S3-1a
S3-2a
S3-3a
S3-4a
S3-5a
S3-6a
Graph 8.6 Comparison of Operative Temperatures (
o
C) for North facing DSF
(Stage 3)
8.4 Comparison results for different orientations
The simulation results for the three stages of the modelling have shown that the
South-facing orientation provide a better outcome compared to the North-
facing direction. The optimum air gap size for the double-skin faade
construction is found to be 300mm and the best results were obtained during
the morning period.
Tables 8.7 below recorded the comparison of selective results between the four
major orientations for a double-skin faade installation for a typical high-rise
office building. The results show that the South-facing faade has the best
outcome followed by the East-facing faade during the morning period in the
month of January. The North-facing and the West-facing faades do not
provide an acceptable indoor thermal comfort for the purposes of office
function in a high-rise building. Graph 8.7 shows the comparison of operative
temperatures for the four orientations, which has further reinforced the
simulation results, that the best orientation for installing double-skin faade for
high-rise office building in the tropics is the South-facing orientation.
189
Simulation Orientation Date Time Air
Temp.
o
C
Wind
Vel.
m/s
Air RH
%
Air Gap
Size
mm
S3-5
South
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
S3-5a
North
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
S4-5
East
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
S4-5a
West
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
Simulation
Floor
Level
Temp.
o
C
Air Vel.
m/s
Radiant
Temp.
o
C
RH
%
OT
o
C
S3-5
(South)
13
26.93
0.22 26.96 77.05 26.94
15
27.12 0.17 27.5 77.09 27.31
17
27.73 0.1 27.68 74.83 27.7
S3-5a
(North)
13
26.59 0.21 32.17 74 29.38
15
28.43 0.18 33.75 68.97 31.09
17
27.77 0.1 35.01 74.81 31.39
S4-5
(East)
13
27.16 0.16 27.61 76.93 27.38
15
27.28 0.14 27.77 76.37 27.52
17
27.61 0.13 28.06 74.93 27.84
S4-5a
(West)
13
26.88 0.15 32.33 77.23 29.6
15
27.09 0.17 33.54 76.83 30.32
17
27.3 0.11 34.97 75.28 31.14
(Note: Shaded results are acceptable thermal comfort conditions)
Tables 8.7 Comparison of selected simulation results for different orientations
of DSF system
190
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
13th Floor 15th Floor 17th Floor
South
North
East
West
Graph 8.7 Comparison of Operative Temperatures (OT) for four major faade
orientations of DSF system
8.5 The complete 18-storey office building
With the completion of the three stages of simulations, numerous simulation
runs had been carried out with various ambient temperatures, different external
air velocities, different orientations of the double-skin faade, different periods
of time during the day, etc in order to find out the appropriate window periods
for acceptable indoor conditions for office workers in the Singapore context.
These findings will be of outmost important as an indication whether double-
skin faade is really possible to be used as a mean to introduce natural
ventilation to the high-rise buildings in the tropics. The results and findings
will also bear an important decision in how to carry out the optimization of the
faade system for the whole high-rise office building, which will be discussed
in detailed in Chapter 9.
Figure 8.9 shows the complete 18-storey office building with typical multi-
storey double-skin faade configuration. The proposed DSF starts from 1
st
storey at 2.8 meters from ground level up to the 17
th
storey with 1-meter
parapet above the roof level. The office spaces are assumed to be divided into a
number of small office usages and are tenanted out to various occupants. All
191
office spaces are assumed to face the DSF at the front and facing open corridor
at the rear.
2
8
0
0
WIND
4
0
0
0
1st FLOOR
GROUND FLOOR
VENT
WIND
WIND
WIND
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
2nd FLOOR
DSF
VENT
6
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
16th FLOOR
17th FLOOR
VENT
3500
1
0
0
0
Figure 8.9 The model of the complete 18-storey office building
8.6 Conclusion
The completion of this stage of research has found a new type of double-skin
faade configuration for use in the tropic and the optimum orientation for the
192
faade is South-facing. The findings helped to answer the second research
questions set out in Section 1.11 that the acceptable opening window for
introducing natural ventilation into the office space using double-skin faade
system are between 10am in the morning and 2pm in the afternoon for a hot
and humid climate condition. These findings also confirmed the review done
by Dr. Karl Gertis (Section 4.4.6) that double-skin faade cannot provide
acceptable indoor climate condition with natural ventilation alone for most
period of the year.
It is also the intent of this research to find an optimum faade configuration for
the high-rise office building in the tropic. The next Chapter has been devoted to
present the optimisation of this faade system and to propose a refined faade
configuration and to present a series of nomograms to help designers in their
design process for double-skin faade for high-rise office building in hot and
humid countries.
193
Chapter 9 Parametric Studies of Optimization
9.1 Strategies for natural ventilation optimization
The completion of the 18-storey building analysis in previous Chapter had
revealed that only the South facing DSF system is viable in terms of providing
acceptable internal thermal comfort through natural ventilation in hot and
humid climatic conditions. The analysis is confined to using a multi-storey
faade DSF system which could provide the maximum extraction force
required to ventilate the internal office spaces through combined wind and
stack effects. The following strategies are designed to further investigate
possibilities to improve the ventilation rates within the office spaces by
modifying the configurations of the DSF system. The strategies are:
a) Modify the ventilated shaft by introducing openings onto the outer
pane of the DSF system. Different sizes and locations for the
openings will be investigated and their effects onto internal thermal
comfort for the office spaces are observed.
b) Extending the ventilation shaft of the DSF system above the roof
level to find out their effects onto the ventilation rates within the
internal office spaces.
c) Compare the results of the extended shaft design with the
installation of mechanical fan at the top part of the DSF system.
This is the comparison between natural ventilation and mixed mode
ventilation for thermal comfort using DSF in the hot and humid
climate.
d) Investigating the effect of sun shading device to the DSF system.
e) Computation of graphs and nomograms to help in the design
process of using DSF system in the hot and humid climate.
194
9.1.1 Investigation of different opening locations on the outer pane of
DSF system
In this investigation openings are introduced on the outer pane of the DSF
system. The optimum opening location will be investigated for providing the
lowest indoor temperature and relative humidity and at the same time giving
acceptable indoor air velocities for carrying out normal office tasks. Figure 9.1
shows the various locations (L1) of the opening under investigation. The 1
st
location (Opening A) selected is the midway between the ceiling and the
ground level of the next floor. The 2
nd
location (Opening B) is at the ceiling
level. The 3
rd
location (Opening C) is at the same level as the opening of the
inner pane. The 4
th
location (Opening D) chosen is at the mid height of the
room and the 5
th
location (Opening E) is 300mm above the floor level of the
room. The outer pane opening size used for this investigation is 200mm.
The boundary conditions used for the simulation are:
- Wind speeds of 0.5m/s, 1.5m/s and 3m/s
- External temperatures between 26
o
C to 30
o
C
- Relative humidity between 70% to 100%
- DSF air gap size of 300mm
- Inner pane opening size is 400mm
- Rear wall vent size is 300mm x 600mm
(i) Opening A (ii) Opening B
L1
L1
195
(iii) Opening C (iv) Opening D
(v) Opening E
Figure 9.1 Investigation of different opening locations (L1) for the outer pane
of DSF system
Measurements of indoor conditions for air temperature, air velocity and relative
humidity are investigated at 1.2m above floor level and at the center of the
office space. There are four measurement points (C1, C2, C3 and C4) selected
across the internal room space as indicated in Figure 9.2. Table 9.1 shows a
sample of the measurements taken from the simulations with external
temperature of 30
o
C, wind velocity of 1.5m/s and relative humidity of 80%.
L1
L1
L1
196
OFFICE
1
2
0
0
500 1000 1000 500 500
C1 C2 C3 C4
OUTDOOR
Figure 9.2 Schematic drawing showing selected points for monitoring
simulation results
C1 C2 C3 C4
Opening A Temp (
o
C) 30.08 30.12 30.16 30.14
Velocity (m/s) 0.11 0.04 0.02 0.02
Relative
Humidity (%)
79.74 79.61 79.51 79.55
Opening B Temp (
o
C) 30.1 30.18 30.2 30.19
Velocity (m/s) 0.09 0.03 0.02 0.03
Relative
Humidity (%)
79.69 79.45 79.4 79.42
Opening C Temp (
o
C) 30.09 30.13 30.17 30.10
Velocity (m/s) 0.11 0.1 0.09 0.04
Relative
Humidity (%)
79.72 79.6 79.49 79.71
Opening D Temp (
o
C) 30.22 30.21 30.22 30.21
Velocity (m/s) 0.07 0.05 0.04 0.04
Relative
Humidity (%)
79.36 79.38 79.35 79.39
Opening E Temp (
o
C) 30.23 30.23 30.2 30.21
Velocity (m/s) 0.05 0.02 0.03 0.03
Relative
Humidity (%)
79.33 79.33 79.42 79.39
Table 9.1 Table showing sample of simulation results for different opening
locations (L1)
197
30
30.05
30.1
30.15
30.2
30.25
C1 C2 C3 C4
Opening A
Opening B
Opening C
Opening D
Opening E
Graph 9.1 Graph showing the temperatures (
o
C) comparison for different
opening locations
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
C1 C2 C3 C4
Opening A
Opening B
Opening C
Opening D
Opening E
Graph 9.2 Graph showing the air velocity (m/s) comparison for different
opening locations
Graphs 9.1 and 9.2 had shown the temperature and air velocity comparison for
the four measuring points of the different opening locations. Opening A has the
lowest indoor temperature and Openings D & E having the highest
temperatures. Even though Opening C has the highest internal air velocities
compared to the rest, three out of four of the velocity values are higher than
0.08m/s, which is the maximum acceptable indoor air velocity for operation of
normal office tasks. Opening D would provide the best indoor air velocity
required. Opening A gives the second best solutions as far as air velocity is
198
concerned. After analyzing all the simulation results and taking all the thermal
comfort parameters into consideration, Opening A would give the optimum
result as compared to the rest of the options.
9.1.2 Investigation of different opening sizes on the outer pane of DSF
system
Following from the above findings, different opening sizes are used to
investigate the optimum size for the 1
st
location. The opening sizes used are
150mm, 300mm and 450mm. Figure 9.3 below shows the configuration for the
model used in the simulations. The boundary conditions for this stage of the
simulations are similar to the investigation for the optimum opening locations
discussed in section 9.1.1. The findings show that opening size of 300mm
provides the optimum ventilation rates for the internal office space and gives
the most desirable thermal comfort conditions.
300
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
Relative Humidity - 70% to 100%
DSF FACING SOUTH / NORTH
External Temperature - 26C to 30C
WIND - 0m/s to 3m/s
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
3
0
0
3
0
0
x
6
0
0
V
E
N
T
S
I
Z
E
AIR GAP SIZE
OFFICE SPACE
3
0
0
Figure 9.3 Investigation of different opening sizes for the outer pane of DSF
system
199
9.1.3 A new type of DSF configuration for hot and humid climate
From the above investigations, a new type of DSF system (Figure 9.4) has
emerged for the use in the hot and humid climate. The new DSF faade system
is a combination of Multi-storey faade configuration with specific openings
located at the outer pane of the system. The openings at the outer pane are
located above the ceiling level and usually there will be spandrel panels behind
at these portions of the building construction. In view of that, this new faade
configuration will not have negative impact onto the external aesthetic of the
high-rise building design.
WIND
WIND
WIND
WIND
V 1
GROUND FLOOR
2
8
0
0
1st FLOOR
4
0
0
0
V 16
V 2
C 1
E 1
C 2
2nd FLOOR
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
V 3
E 2
C 15
DSF
E 15
6
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
V 17
C 16
16th FLOOR
E 16
17th FLOOR
3
5
0
0
C 17
3500
D
Figure 9.4 A new type of double-skin faade model for hot and humid climate
200
9.1.4 Investigation of different shaft heights of DSF system
With the optimum openings location and size obtained for the outer pane of
the DSF system, the next step is to investigate the different heights of the DSF
system above the roof level. The shaft heights being selected are 1.5m, 2.5m
and 3.6m and Figure 9.5 below shows the parameters for the model used in
simulations. The optimum opening size for the outer pane is 300mm and the air
gap size is set at 300mm also for this investigation.
There are 18 points being carefully selected for the CFD model to record the
parametric results in order to compute the thermal comfort indices generated.
Thermal comfort parameters (e.g. air temperature, air velocity, relative
humidity, air pressure, radiant temperature, etc) are recorded for 1
st
, 3
rd
and 5
th
floors of the internal office spaces and three points at the double-skin faade
itself, namely at the bottom, middle and top parts. Figure 9.6 shows all the
location points selected for the simulation results.
S
H
A
F
T
H
E
I
G
H
T
1
.
5
m
,
2
.
5
m
o
r
3
.
6
m
WIND - 0m/s to 3m/s
V
E
N
T
S
I
Z
E
3
0
0
x
6
0
0
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
3
0
0
AIR GAP SIZE
300
External Temperature - 26C to 30C
Relative Humidity - 70% to 100%
DSF FACING SOUTH / NORTH
WIND - 0m/s to 3m/s
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
OFFICE SPACE
3
0
0
Figure 9.5 Model configurations for simulations
201
Figure 9.6 Location points for monitoring the simulation results (for the
extended shaft model)
P1a P2a
P3a
P4a
P5a
P16a
P17a
P18a
P6a P7a
P8a
P9a
P10a
P11a P12a
P13a
P14a
P15a
202
Figure 9.7 Isometric view 3.6m shaft with openings at outer pane of DSF
Figure 9.7 showing the Airpak modelling screen plot of the isometric view for
the model under investigation. The model is constructed with a 6-storey block
office building with extended DSF shaft above the roof level.
Figures 9.8 to 9.11 are the screen plots of one of the simulation results
obtained. From the velocity vectors plot (Figure 9.8) one could observe that the
airflow patterns within the office spaces for all the floors are similar. It is
flowing in a clock-wise direction from the top of the room to the bottom part
with a strong velocity at the high level. The flow does not create a cross
ventilation effect within the room space.
203
Figure 9.8 Velocity vectors study of air velocity magnitudes and its moving
directions
Figure 9.9 Temperature contours study of temperature distribution within
the office spaces
204
Figure 9.10 Velocity particle traces study of air flow patterns within the
office spaces
Figure 9.11 Pressure contours study of external and internal pressures acted
onto the building
205
Temperature contour study from Figure 9.9 has shown that the lower floor of
the office space has lower internal temperatures compared to higher floor. Top
floor would be the hottest and it might require some sort of mechanical means
to provide a better thermal comfort environment. It is interesting to find out
that the back portion of the office for all the floors are having higher
temperatures compare to the front part. This could be due to the warm air has
been brought to the back part of the office space caused by the airflow pattern
generated.
The velocity particle traces plot in Figure 9.10 shows that the wind velocity has
been slowed down when it approaches the faade system of the building block.
This has created a strong upturn force when the wind hitting the wall surface
and created a drastic and irregular turbulence patterns over and above the
extended shaft of the DSF system.
The pressure contour plot in Figure 9.11 showing higher pressure is inserted at
the faade system at the lower floor of the building. It created a cone shape
pattern in front of the faade. The pressure inside the air gap of the DSF system
is also higher at lower level and gradually decreases while it goes higher. This
is also true for the pressure within the office space for different floors.
26.5
27
27.5
28
28.5
29
29.5
30
30.5
Level 1 Level 3 Level 5
1.5m Shaft
2.5m Shaft
3.6m Shaft
4m Shaft
Graph 9.3 Indoor Operative Temperatures (
o
C) taken at locations P1a, P6a
and P11a (various shaft heights)
206
26.5
27
27.5
28
28.5
29
29.5
30
Level 1 Level 3 Level 5
1.5m Shaft
2.5m Shaft
3.6m Shaft
4m Shaft
Graph 9.4 Indoor Operative Temperatures (
o
C) taken at locations P2a, P7a
and P12a (various shaft heights)
Both of the graphs 9.3 and 9.4 show that the 3.6m-shaft is the optimum
solution and gives better indoor operative temperatures for offices at all the
floors. The height of the shaft is about the same as one-storey high and this will
be a better solution in terms of construction cost and architectural aesthetic of
the building design. Some of the selected shaft heights investigation results are
presented in Appendix B with comparison of thermal comfort profiles for two
selected simulations that show the 3.6m-shaft is the better solution.
9.1.5 Investigation of different air gap sizes with optimum shaft height
After establishing the optimum shaft height for the new type of DSF system,
the next parameter to look into is the effect of different air gap sizes on the
indoor thermal comfort. Different air gap sizes of 300mm, 600mm, 900mm and
1200mm will be introduced to the DSF system with the optimum outer skin
opening size of 300mm, inner pane opening size of 300mm, and the shaft
height of 3.6m. Figure 9.12 shows the configurations of the CFD model for
simulations with specific conditions.
207
Tables 9.2 and 9.3 show the simulation results for one particular case with
external wind velocity of 3m/s, relative humidity of 80% and external
temperature of 26
o
C. The results were taken at 10am in July for South facing
DSF system at locations P1a, P6a, P11a, P2a, P7a and P12a (Figure 9.6). The
first group of results (P1a, P6a and P11a) is taken next to the occupant located
near to the DSF system and the second group of results (P2a, P7a and P12a) is
taken next to the other occupant in the office away from the faade system. The
results show that the optimum air gap sizes are between 300mm and 900mm as
presented in Graphs 9.5 and 9.6. These findings are agreeing with the results
found by Gan (2006) in the investigation of buoyancy-induced flow in open
cavities for natural ventilation. The research found that the optimum cavity
width for maximizing the buoyancy-induced flow rate was between 0.55m and
0.6m for a solar chimney of 6m high. It also found that the ventilation rate in a
double-skin faade of four-storey high building increased with the cavity width
but the increase was small when the width was larger than 0.7m.
300, 600, 900, 1200
OFFICE SPACE
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
3
0
0
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
3
0
0
x
6
0
0
V
E
N
T
S
I
Z
E
WIND - 0m/s to 3m/s
Relative Humidity - 70% to 100%
External Temperature - 26C to 30C
WIND - 0m/s to 3m/s
DSF FACING SOUTH / NORTH
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
D
S
F
O
P
E
N
I
N
G
3
0
0
3
.
6
m
S
H
A
F
T
H
E
I
G
H
T
AIR GAP SIZE
Figure 9.12 Configurations of the model for simulations
208
Air Gap
Size
Floor
Level
Temp
(
o
C)
Air Vel
(m/s)
Radiant
Temp
(
o
C)
RH
(%)
PMV OT
(
o
C)
300mm Level 1 26.74 0.09 29.04 76.56 1.42 27.89
Level 3 26.79 0.08 29.2 76.33 1.46 28
Level 5 26.94 0.08 29.34 75.68 1.48 28.14
600mm Level 1 26.76 0.1 28.98 76.48 1.41 27.87
Level 3 26.79 0.09 29.05 76.32 1.42 27.92
Level 5 27.01 0.07 29.55 75.35 1.52 28.28
900mm Level 1 26.78 0.1 29 76.38 1.41 27.89
Level 3 26.87 0.09 28.89 75.98 1.41 27.88
Level 5 27.07 0.07 29.33 75.1 1.51 28.2
1200mm Level 1 26.72 0.1 28.95 76.67 1.4 27.84
Level 3 26.9 0.1 29.16 75.86 1.44 28.03
Level 5 27.12 0.07 29.8 74.87 1.56 28.46
Table 9.2 Simulation results at locations P1a, P6a and P11a (various air gap
sizes)
Air Gap
Size
Floor
Level
Temp
(
o
C)
Air Vel
(m/s)
Radiant
Temp
(
o
C)
RH
(%)
PMV OT
(
o
C)
300mm Level 1 26.65 0.3 28.69 76.94 1.17 27.67
Level 3 26.82 0.3 28.92 76.18 1.21 27.87
Level 5 26.96 0.3 29.1 75.58 1.25 28.03
600mm Level 1 26.67 0.33 28.61 76.87 1.14 27.64
Level 3 26.76 0.32 28.76 76.45 1.17 27.76
Level 5 27 0.27 29.29 75.37 1.29 28.15
900mm Level 1 26.69 0.33 28.61 76.79 1.15 27.65
Level 3 26.74 0.3 29.28 76.56 1.24 28.01
Level 5 27.13 0.27 29.27 74.83 1.31 28.2
1200mm Level 1 26.72 0.33 28.61 76.65 1.15 27.67
Level 3 26.74 0.3 29.45 76.57 1.24 28.1
Level 5 27.15 0.26 29.64 74.73 1.35 28.4
Table 9.3 Simulation results at locations P2a, P7a and P12a (various air gap
sizes)
209
27.5
27.75
28
28.25
28.5
Level 1 Level 3 Level 5
300mm Air Gap
600mm Air Gap
900mm Air Gap
1200mm Air
Gap
Graph 9.5 Indoor Operative Temperatures (
o
C) taken at locations P1a, P6a
and P11a (various air gap sizes)
27.5
27.75
28
28.25
28.5
Level 1 Level 3 Level 5
300mm Air
Gap
600mm Air
Gap
900mm Air
Gap
1200mm Air
Gap
Graph 9.6 Indoor Operative Temperatures (
o
C) taken at locations P2a, P7a
and P12a (various air gap sizes)
9.1.6 Comparison of Fan and Shaft ventilation methods
The Fan ventilation configuration (Figure 9.13) uses a fan to extract the air
within the air gap of the double-skin faade in order to improve the ventilation
rates of the internal office space of different levels. The extraction flow rate of
the fan used is 3.5m
3
/s with a wind velocity of 3m/s.
210
The Shaft ventilation configuration (Figure 9.13) uses an extended shaft of
3.5m above the roof level of the building concerned. This method is purely
using the stack effect to extract the air out of the air gap of the double-skin
faade.
Both of the configurations are having double-skin faade of 300mm wide air
gap with openings to the outer skin of the faade. Figure 9.14 shows the
locations (L1, L2, L3 and L4) selected for tabulating the thermal comfort
parameters for the simulations.
Figure 9.13 CFD models for Shaft and Fan configurations
211
Figure 9.14 Locations of record for thermal comfort parameters (example for
the mechanical fan at the top of the double-skin faade)
The comparisons for both Fan and Shaft configurations in relation to
thermal comfort parameters are presented in Graph 9.7 below:
L1 L2 L3 L4
L1 L2 L3 L4
L1 L2 L3 L4
212
Air Temperature Profile for
Different Levels
25.00
25.50
26.00
26.50
27.00
27.50
28.00
28.50
29.00
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
(
C
)
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Air Temperature Profile for
Different Levels
25.00
25.50
26.00
26.50
27.00
27.50
28.00
28.50
29.00
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
(
C
)
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Fan ventilation method Shaft ventilation method
Air Velocity Profile for Different
Levels
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
1.10
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
V
e
l
o
c
i
t
y
(
m
/
s
)
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Air Velocity Profile for Different
Levels
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
V
e
l
o
c
i
t
y
(
m
/
s
)
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Fan ventilation method Shaft ventilation method
Radiant Temperature Profile for
Different Levels
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
(
C
)
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Radiant Temperature Profile for
Different Levels
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
(
C
)
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Fan ventilation method Shaft ventilation method
213
Relative Humidity Profile for
Different Levels
69
71
73
75
77
79
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
%
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Relative Humidity Profile for
Different Levels
69
71
73
75
77
79
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
%
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Fan ventilation method Shaft ventilation method
PMV Profile for Different Levels
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
P
M
V
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
PMV Profile for Different Levels
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
P
M
V
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Fan ventilation method Shaft ventilation method
Operative Temperature Profile
for Different Levels
26.00
27.00
28.00
29.00
30.00
31.00
32.00
33.00
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
(
C
)
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Operative Temperature Profile for
Different Levels
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
1 2 3 4
Locations of Measurement
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
(
C
)
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
Fan ventilation method Shaft ventilation method
Graph 9.7 Comparison of Fan and Shaft configurations in relation to
thermal comfort parameters
214
9.1.6.1 Analysis of Fan and Shaft ventilation methods
In comparison of values of air temperature, air velocity, radiant temperature,
relative humidity, PMV and operative temperature profiles shown in the graphs
above, the Shaft ventilation method gave a better result as compared to the
mechanical fan method and the configuration of the double-skin faade is much
energy efficient as it doesnt use any mechanical means for the improvement of
the internal ventilation rate of the office spaces.
9.1.7 Investigation of sun shading device to the DSF system
In this investigation, sun shading devices are placed at the centre within the air
gap of the DSF system in front of the office space as shown in Figure 9.15.
This is the most efficient position for the shading devices to be located within a
DSF system as found by Gratia and Herde (2007). In their research they found
that shading device that placed at the middle of the DSF cavity uses the least
cooling load (-20%), followed by shading device placed against the windows
of the outer pane (-6%), then shading device that placed against the windows of
the inner pane of the DSF system. These results applied to either the DSF
system is closed or opened.
The results of different DSF system shaft heights are compared with and
without the installation of sun shading devices as shown in Graphs 9.8, 9.9,
9.10 and 9.11 in order to investigate the effects of sun shading on the indoor
comfort with the faade system. The results had shown that the installation of
sun shading devices might not help in the indoor thermal comfort for a
naturally ventilated building using the DSF system. The sun shading devices
absorbed the heat from the sun and caused the temperature within the air gap to
rise even further as compared to the DSF system without the sun shading being
installed. The increased temperature within the air gap has further heated up the
interior spaces of the office and the effect is quite substantial for lower
ventilating shaft (the 1.5m shaft) as seen in Graphs 9.8 and 9.10.
215
Figure 9.15 Study of the effects of sun shading device within the DSF air gap
27.5
28
28.5
29
29.5
30
30.5
31
31.5
Level 1 Level 3 Level 5
1.5m Shaft -
No Sun
Shading
1.5m Shaft -
Sun Shading
Graph 9.8 Indoor Operative Temperatures (
o
C) taken at locations P1a, P6a and P11a
(1.5m shaft)
P1a P2a
P6a P7a
P11a P12a
216
27.5
28
28.5
29
29.5
30
30.5
Level 1 Level 3 Level 5
2.5m Shaft
- No Sun
Shading
2.5m Shaft
- Sun
Shading
Graph 9.9 Indoor Operative Temperatures (
o
C) taken at locations P1a, P6a and P11a
(2.5 shaft)
27.5
28
28.5
29
29.5
30
30.5
31
31.5
Level 1 Level 3 Level 5
1.5m Shaft
- No Sun
Shading
1.5m Shaft
- Sun
Shading
Graph 9.10 Indoor Operative Temperatures (
o
C) taken at locations P2a, P7a and P12a
(1.5 m shaft)
27.5
28
28.5
29
29.5
30
30.5
Level 1 Level 3 Level 5
2.5m Shaft
- No Sun
Shading
2.5m Shaft
- Sun
Shading
Graph 9.11 Indoor Operative Temperatures (
o
C) taken at locations P2a, P7a and P12a
(2.5m shaft)
217
9.1.8 Summarizing of results and findings for optimization
After numerous attempts and comparisons in optimizing the DSF
configurations in order to find out the window periods for acceptable indoor
thermal comfort conditions for office workers in the Singapore context, there
are a numbers of positive findings observed. These results and findings will be
of outmost important as an indication whether double-skin faade is possible to
be used as a mean to introduce natural ventilation to the high-rise buildings in
the tropics.
The findings for the optimization are summarized below:
a) The optimum location for the opening at the outer pane of the DSF
system is midway between the ceiling and the ground level of the next
floor.
b) The optimum opening size for the outer pane of the DSF system is
300mm.
c) The optimum shaft height above the roof level for the DSF system is
3.6m.
d) The optimum air gap sizes for the DSF system with the optimum shaft
height of 3.6m are in the range between 300mm and 900mm.
e) The use of the DSF system as a ventilated shaft will provide a better
result and is more energy efficient as compared to merely using a
mechanical fan for air extraction purposes. The optimum shaft height of
3.6m has improved the thermal comfort of the high floor levels to meet
the 80% thermal comfort acceptability limits.
218
f) The introducing of sun shading devices within the air gap of the DSF
system do not seems to improve the indoor thermal comfort of the
working spaces.
9.2 An improved DSF system for the tropics
The parametric studies in optimizing the configurations of the DSF system
have lead to the construct of an improved DSF system for use in the tropics.
This improved system (Figure 9.16) is also able to produce a better result as
compared to the typical DSF system with no opening at the outer pane, as
indicated in Graph 9.12. Some of the important findings are tabulated below:
a) DSF system with no openings at external fenestration
Introduction of shaft at the top of the system does not improve much
the indoor thermal comfort conditions.
Installation of fan at the top of the system has improved the comfort
conditions at the lower and middle floors to comfort level (80%
acceptability limits).
Combination of shaft and sun shading device has only improved the
thermal comfort slightly at lower floor.
b) DSF system with openings at external fenestration - Fan with openings vs.
shaft with openings
Both have improved the indoor thermal comfort for lower and middle
floors compared to DSF system with no external openings (90%
acceptability limits).
Shaft with openings combination has improved the high floors
thermal comfort to 80% acceptability limits.
219
27.5
28
28.5
29
29.5
30
30.5
31
31.5
32
32.5
Level 1 Level 3 Level 5
DSF - No
opening
DSF -
Opening
DSF -
Opening with
3.6m Shaft
Graph 9.12 Comparison of indoor Operative Temperatures (
o
C) for
different DSF systems
1st FLOOR
2nd FLOOR
GROUND FLOOR
2
8
0
0
WIND
WIND
4
0
0
0
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
6
3
5
0
0
16th FLOOR
17th FLOOR
DSF
WIND
WIND
3500
WIND
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
E 1
E 2
E 15
E 17
E 16
C 17
V 17
C 16
V 16
C 15
V 3
C 2
V 2
C 1
V 1
Figure 9.16 An improved new type of double-skin faade model for hot and
humid climate
220
9.3 Limitations of the research
The research work has covered extensively a number of the important aspects
of the DSF system that will affect the thermal comfort of the internal spaces of
an office building in the tropical conditions. In view of the complexity of the
issues, there are a few assumptions made and limitations are acknowledged
before the problem could be effectively investigate into without losing the
focus of the whole research work. Firstly is the lack of existing built examples
of DSF high-rise buildings in the tropical region. This has made it quite
difficult to validate the results and findings from the research directly with any
known field experimental results. This shortcoming could be overcame to
certain extend by installing full size experimental model in a tropical region
and monitor the experimental results for a sufficient period of time. This will
certainly need enough funding, sufficient technical knowledge for constructing
the system and selection of a suitable site for erecting the experimental model.
In view of the time and cost limitation for this research, the next optimum
choice of using simulations technology to investigate the issues for the research
has been chosen together with using the summer period experimental results
from DSF system in temperate countries for validation purposes.
Secondly is the complexity of thermal comfort issues associated with the mere
scale of the high-rise office buildings. The research attempting to introduce
natural ventilation concepts onto high-rise buildings has further diversify the
problem even though it is a challenging and important issue that one needs to
face if reduction of energy usage for built environment in the city is to be
addressed. Therefore this research work has to define a manageable scope and
yet produce a conclusive outcome in order to have satisfactory contribution to
the knowledge. The scope of the research is then defined to investigate a high-
rise building up to 18-storey in height, which is a manageable scale both in
terms of its complexity and the capability of computer facilities available at the
time. The internal office size under investigation is controlled to small office
area with a shallow office plan. This will avoid much more complex issues
221
associated with the effects internal partitions may have on the internal airflow
patterns for large office plan.
The research has looked into all the parameters that affected the human thermal
comfort like air temperature, air velocity, radiant temperature, relative
humidity, PMV vote, etc and by investigating various parametric variables of
the DSF system to achieve the required indoor conditions. There are others
issue associated with the technical part of the DSF system, the day lighting and
condensation issues of the faade system and the building regulations required
for the construction of the faade system in a particular country are not within
the scope of this research.
This research work has achieved to propose a new configuration of DSF
system for the used in tropical countries and developed a series of nomograms
as guideline for used in the initial design of DSF system in those region.
9.4 Nomograms for natural ventilation designs with DSF
system
9.4.1 Formulation of the nomograms
The simplest form of nomogram is a scale such as a Fahrenheit vs. Celsius
scale seen on an analog thermometer or a conversion chart. Nomograms could
be designed from straight scales with a range of interesting formations through
the analyzing of their geometric properties and these seem to be the most
common types. The nomogram design for this research has been formulated
with these advantages in mind.
The reasons and a simple way of reading off the nomograms formed in this
research to help designer in selecting the appropriate DSF system during the
222
design stage of projects have been presented in Chapter 7, Section 7.6.1. The
formulation of the nomogram will be presented in the few simple steps below:
a) Formulation of the Axis of the nomogram
There are three main thermal comfort parameters that determine the
human comfort in the environment, namely the air temperature, air
velocity and relative humidity. These three parameters will also
determine the required Operative Temperature (OT) needed for human
comfort according to the latest ASHREA Standard (2004). Therefore
these three parameters will form the main Axis of the nomogram.
Relative Humidity (%)
Axis
Air Velocity (m/s)
Air Temp. ( C)
Figure 9.17 Three Axis of the nomogram
223
b) Formulation of the Limits and Linear Spacing on the straight scales
of the nomogram
The Limits on the straight scales of the nomogram are determined
from the simulation results that provide the extent of thermal comfort
obtained with various boundary conditions and DSF system
configurations. The determination of the Linear Spacing on the
nomogram scales will then be only a matter of simple division into
appropriate increment.
Limits / Linear Spacing
Relative Humidity (%)
1.0
2.0
1.5
80
0.5
0
20
60
70
25
30
90
100
Air Temp. ( C)
Air Velocity (m/s)
Figure 9.18 Limits and Linear Spacing of the nomogram
c) Determination of the Non-comfort Zone
The Non-comfort Zone is determined from simulation results with
Operative Temperature (OT) that is not acceptable to bring about
thermal comfort to the occupant. The boundary limits of the Non-
224
comfort Zone are formed by just simply joining the three parameters
limits obtained (through simulation results) by means of projection.
Non-comfort Zone
Relative Humidity (%)
1.0
2.0
1.5
80
0.5
0
20
60
70
25
30
90
100
Air Temp. ( C)
Air Velocity (m/s)
Figure 9.19 Non-comfort Zone of the nomogram
d) Determination of the Comfort Zone
The Comfort Zone is determined from simulation results with
Operative Temperature (OT) that is acceptable to bring about thermal
comfort to the occupant. The boundary limits are formed similar to the
method used in forming the Non-comfort Zone.
225
1.0
Comfort Zone
1.5
2.0
60
0
80
0.5
70
Relative Humidity (%)
90
100
20
25
30
Air Temp. ( C)
Air Velocity (m/s)
Figure 9.20 Comfort Zone of the nomogram
9.4.2 The application of the nomograms
A set of 9 nomograms has been developed below in Figure 9.21 for the new
type of DSF system to be used in the tropics. They are coded for easy reference
as Nomogram-S-300, Nomogram-S-600, Nomogram-S-900, Nomogram-N-
300, Nomogram-N-600, Nomogram-N-900, Nomogram-EW-300, Nomogram-
EW-600 and Nomogram-EW-900 respectively. Each of the nomogram consists
of three axes with the most important parameters that affect the human thermal
comfort, namely air temperature, air velocity and relative humidity. Two
triangles are constructed using these three axes, which indicate the acceptable
Operative Temperature of 80% acceptability for human comfort in a natural
ventilated space. The table used to calculate the acceptable Operative
Temperature (OT) and how to use the nomogram have been discussed in depth
in Sections 7.5 and 7.6.1.
226
There are three nomograms constructed for each orientation of the DSF system,
namely the South, North and East/West facing. Each orientation is further
indicated with three different air gap sizes (300mm, 600mm and 900mm) of the
faade system in which will produce different indoor thermal comfort with
various values of the comfort parameters. Earlier finding in the optimization of
the parametric studies show that the air gap size of 1200mm is not an optimum
configuration for the faade system to be used.
Only shaft height of 3.6m is being considered because the shaft heights of 1.5m
and 2.5m will not be able to provide satisfactory indoor thermal conditions. In
fact both of the 1.5m and 2.5m shaft heights gave a higher Operative
Temperature value of 12% and 10% respectively as compared to the optimum
3.6m shaft height.
The shaded area between the two triangles is the acceptable comfort condition
with 80% acceptability. Any combination of the different values of air
temperature, air velocity and relative humidity that fall within the shaded area
will indicate that the condition is acceptable for human comfort. Take an
example if a designer wants to design a South-facing DSF system with 300mm
air gap and 3.6m height shaft, the designer would refer to the Nomogram-S-
300 for an initial idea whether the faade system will give an acceptable indoor
condition in relation to the known air temperature, air velocity and relative
humidity of where the building to be designed is located.
Nomogram-S-300
Application of nomogram
Outdoor thermal conditions:
External air temp. = 25
o
C
External air velocity = 2m/s
Relative humidity = 69%
Intersection point (outdoor
thermal conditions) shown on
the nomogram at the left hand
side will provide an acceptable
indoor thermal condition, with a
South-facing DSF system of
300mm air gap and a 3.6m shaft
height.
227
Nomogram-S-300
Nomogram-S-600
228
Nomogram-S-900
Nomogram-N-300
229
Nomogram-N-600
Nomogram-N-900
230
Nomogram-EW-300
Nomogram-EW-600
231
Nomogram-EW-900
Figure 9.21 Nomograms for DSF design in the tropics
9.4.3 The limitations of the nomograms
All design guidelines and indicators had their limitations and most of them are
limited to the domain and boundary conditions that one has set out during the
initial formulation of those guidelines. Similarly the nomograms that presented
in this research have their limitations. Firstly, the extent of the application of
the nomograms is very much limited by the scope of the research discussed in
Section 9.3. The user would need to find out the three thermal comfort
parameters, namely external air temperature, air velocity and relative humidity,
of where the building is to be designed in order to use the nomograms for
design guides. The nomograms also only applied to external thermal comfort
conditions falling within 20
o
C to 30
o
C of external temperature, 0 to 4 m/s of
external wind velocity and 60 to 100% of relative humidity even though these
232
ranges are believed to produce most acceptable thermal comfort conditions in a
hot and humid region.
Secondly, the nomograms only cover naturally ventilated double-skin faade
systems with 300mm, 600mm and 900mm air gap constructed with a 3.6m
high shaft. The selection of these particular air gap sizes and the height of the
shaft are the results of the optimisation studies carried out in the research,
which will provide optimum internal thermal comfort conditions for the
designed building in the tropic region.
Thirdly, there are only nine nomograms formulated covering four major
orientations. The user will need to make certain assumptions for building
faade that is not facing exactly the major orientations of North, East, South or
West in selecting which nomogram to use for design purposes. These will
certainly has effect on the thermal comfort conditions expected as indicated by
the nomogram when the actual double-skin faade system is constructed.
Even though the nomograms formulated present certain limitations to the user
and they only cover buildings up to 18-storey high, but they still provide a very
useful tool for designers who needed a quick reference and guide to whether
the double-skin faade system that chosen for the new building will be able to
provide satisfactory indoor thermal conditions. These guides also encourage
the designers to first look at the possibilities of using natural ventilation for
their buildings and changing the mind set that only mechanical means are
possible for high-rise buildings ventilation purposes.
9.5 Conclusion
A revised and optimised double-skin faade configuration has been presented
and a careful formulated set of nomograms is proposed to be used for designing
double-skin faade in the tropic. The formulation of the nomograms helped to
233
answer the third research questions set out in Section 1.11 for providing some
useful guidelines for designing high-rise buildings with double-skin facade in
the tropics. These nomograms covered all four orientations of building faade
and applied to optimum air gap sizes of 300mm, 600mm and 900mm with a
roof shaft height of 3.6m. These would certainly help the designers to reduce
design time by just referring to the easy understandable nomograms and
provide an encouragement to those who would like to consider in reducing
energy usage for high-rise office buildings in the tropic.
234
Chapter 10 Contributions and Future Works
10.1 Contributions of the research work
The research work has bridged the gap of investigating in substantial details the
possibility of using the double-skin faade system as a mean to provide natural
ventilation to the high-rise office building in the tropical region. As there are
not much comprehensive experimental works done on the subject and the lack
of existing double-skin faade buildings built in the tropical region, this
research work will help to provide an overall insight to the use of natural
ventilation strategies together with current building technology of double-skin
faade in the possibility of reducing energy usage for high energy consumption
human built environment like the cities.
The research work found that the double-skin faade system has an advantage
over typical curtain wall system used in high-rise buildings in terms of
reducing cooling loads by allowing passive solar design to be introduced to the
building design. The use of the double-skin faade as a ventilating stack
system has further enhanced the passive design of natural ventilating the
internal spaces of the high-rise building. During the process in attempting to
find out the possibilities and limitations of using the double-skin faade
technology in the tropics, a new type of double-skin faade configuration was
developed which will better respond to the hot and humid climatic conditions.
This new type of faade system is a combination of typical multi-storey faade,
as described in Chapter 4, with certain opening sizes and positioned at specific
locations at the outer and inner panes of the faade systems. The findings have
concluded that this new type of faade system provides a better result as
compared to the typical system by as much as 10% for every storey of the high-
rise building in terms of energy reduction. The results are further improved by
another 5% per storey when an extended shaft of 3.6m is introduced to the new
system. This has constituted a substantial energy saving for a high-rise
building.
235
A set of nine nomograms has been developed to help the designers who wish to
use double-skin faades in their building design in the tropics. The designers
would decide which elevation of their building would be installed with double-
skin faade system and by referring to the nomograms the designers could
obtain the period of time natural ventilation might be introduced to their
building and when secondary mean of ventilation mode like mechanical
ventilation would require. The designers could quickly work out roughly the
viability of using double-skin faade system for that particular project and
advise the client accordingly before any detail planning and commitment are
being made. This is a very handy tool for any designers in saving time and
money before the design is being realized into construction.
10.2 Viability of natural ventilation for office buildings in the
tropics
From the studies of the proposed nomograms constructed from this research,
the opening window period for possible natural ventilation is from 8am to
10am in the morning and from 4pm to 6pm in the evening. A window period of
total four hours out of a ten hours working period (with 1 hour break in
between), which is a quite common daily working hours for office workers in
major tropical city like Singapore. This is a 40% per working hour/day
opportunity for using passive cooling for the building and could reduce
enormous energy usage each day.
The research work has shown that there are great opportunities and possibilities
for introducing passive design to high-rise buildings in the tropics, especially
combining the passive design strategies with cutting edge building
technologies available. Others researcher like Gan (2006) has found also that it
is possible to use a double faade not only for ventilation cooling of the faade
cavity but also enhancing natural ventilation of the building it is incorporated
236
with. Gratia and Herde (2007) further confirmed that double-skin faade could
be considered for building design with the application of natural cooling
strategies. Even though expert understanding of each of the fields mentioned is
important to make things work and the well integration of the two are not easy,
this should not prevent us from venture into helping to reduce the usage of
natural resources of the world.
10.3 Conclusion
The research has achieved the objectives set out in the beginning of this long
process of mentally challenging work. The research question of the viability of
double-skin faade to be used in high-rise buildings in the tropics has been
answered. Natural ventilation strategies could be used together with this unique
faade system to provide satisfactory indoor thermal conditions for high-rise
building in particular periods during a typical hot and humid climatic
condition.
CFD is a feasible tool to be used in early design stage in testing out uncertainty
in building design and it is an economical way to study possibility of solutions
and options for a particular problem. With continuous research works being
carried out in the field of CFD, there will be further cost and time saving in
using this technology for built environment designs.
10.4 Recommendations for future works
This research work has attempted to cover an appropriate scope to produce a
beneficial outcome for the research questions that were asked in the earlier
chapters. The areas of natural ventilation, double-skin faade and high-rise
237
buildings combined are very complex issues that some important parts of the
problem are worth further investigations.
Following are some of the areas of research that could further contribute to the
understanding of the used of the double-skin faade system in the tropics and
helping in reducing energy usage by high-rise buildings:
a) Large office configurations
Large office configurations would have very different effect onto
natural ventilation strategies especially due to the large volume of space
and different internal partitions positions. The internal airflow patterns
would be diversified in which would affect the human thermal
sensation that caused satisfactory in thermal comfort conditions.
b) Mixed mode ventilation strategies
Natural ventilated design building required careful planning at the early
stage of the design process and it will need to incorporate and integrate
with the building structures design and other building services design.
Sometime this optimum design process is not available. Therefore, a
mixed mode ventilation strategy is always good to be put in place in
designing a natural ventilated building.
Mixed mode ventilation strategies would have very different criteria as
to a pure natural ventilated building. Much research have been carried
out in investigating the mixed mode ventilation strategies in buildings
with double-skin faade system in the temperate countries but it is only
at the early stage for research in high-rise buildings in the tropical
region.
238
c) Integration of PV with DSF system
PV technologies are maturing and this could be incorporated with
double-skin technologies to further enhanced energy saving. There are
some positive initial research findings that could support this argument.
Gan (2006) found that integration of photovoltaics (PV) into a double-
skin faade could further enhance natural ventilation of the building and
meanwhile reduce the variation of the flow rate with floor level. Using
indoor air with a lower temperature than that of outdoor air in summer
to ventilate the PV faade would be beneficial to the electrical
performance of PV resulting from the reduced cell temperature and
increased electricity conversion efficiency. This research was carried
out with low-rise building and further works need to be done for high-
rise buildings especially in the tropics.
d) Night ventilation
Night ventilation is a compliment to the natural ventilation strategies
and double-skin faade system has provided the opportunity for it to be
implemented. Night ventilation strategy could further reduce the indoor
temperature over night and help to extend the window period for natural
ventilation.
10.5 Final note
Many new technologies are invented through times and they are continuous to
help in improving the quality of human lives. Wise and appropriate mastering
of these technologies will benefit and prosper the human race. Technology and
architecture are like brother and sister and together they could face the future
of the world. I would like to finish with a quote from the Master Architect of
239
all time, Le Corbusier, whom have acknowledged the importance of the used of
technology in creating beautiful architecture!
You employ stone, wood and concrete, and with these materials you
build houses and palaces; that is construction.
Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good,
I am happy and I say: This is beautiful.
That is architecture. Art enters in.
- Le Corbusier, 1927
240
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257
Appendix A
Selected benchmarking simulation results.
General parameters
Time variation = Steady
Solar loading = 10am, 1 July.
Diffuse solar intensity = 500 W/m
2
Flow regime = Turbulent Two Equation
Room size = 3.6m x 5m x 2.6m (46.8m
3
)
Opening area = 1.08 m
2
Vent area = 0.36 m
2
DSF Glazing = 6mm (outer pane) and 6mm x 8mm x 6mm (inner pane)
Abbreviation used
Temp = Temperature
Vel = Velocity
RT = Radiant temperature
RH = Relative humidity
PMV = Predicted mean vote
OT = Operative temperature
TC = Thermal comfort
Std Dev = Standard deviation
N = Thermal comfort condition not acceptable
Y = Thermal comfort condition acceptable
258
Simulation Cases Table
The following selected simulation results (ss-1 to ss-27) are for double-skin
system. If there is an N indicated under the TC (thermal comfort) column
means the indoor condition is not acceptable, where else if there is a Y
indicated thats mean the indoor condition is within the acceptable limit
according to the ASHREA Standard 55-2004.
ss-1
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 0 m/s RH = 85%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.45 0.05 33.85 77.32 2.55 32.65 N
P2 31.38 0.05 34.97 77.59 2.68 33.18 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.85715, Max=3, Mean=2.05961, Std Dev=0.165451
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
Cases
Wind
Velocity
Relative
Humidity
Temperature
Curt ain
Wall
Opening
(High
Level)
Vent Size
(Low Level)
Double -
Skin
Faade
Width
of air
gap
Double -
Skin
Faade
Inlet
opening
size
Double -
Skin
Faade
Outlet
opening
size
Room Size
Benchmarking
0m/s -
1.5m/s
60% -
100%
22
0
C - 30
0
C
3.6mx0.3m
= 1.08m
2
2x(0.6mx0.3m)
= 0.36m
2
-
-
-
3.6mx5mx2.6m
Double - Skin
0m/s -
1.5m/s
60% -
100%
22
0
C - 30
0
C
3.6mx0.3m
= 1.08m
2
2x(0.6mx0.3m)
= 0.36m
2
0.3m
0.3mx3.6m
= 1.08m
2
0.3mx3.6m
= 1.08m
2
3.6mx5mx2.6m
259
ss-2
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 0.5 m/s RH = 85%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 32.83 0.07 34.48 71.57 2.74 33.66 N
P2 32.11 0.05 35.62 74.49 2.83 33.86 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.80065, Max=3, Mean=2.0209, Std Dev=0.218831
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
ss-3
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 1.0m/s RH = 85%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.78 0.01 32.72 75.85 2.47 32.25 N
P2 32.17 0.04 33.41 74.19 2.58 32.79 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.76256, Max=3, Mean=1.90133, Std Dev=0.148305
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
260
ss-4
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 85%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.61 0.04 32.64 76.61 2.44 32.12 N
P2 31.49 0.02 32.77 77.13 2.45 32.13 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.72711, Max=3, Mean=1.8748, Std Dev=0.149356
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
ss-5
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 1.0m/s RH = 85%
Solutions = Not Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.72 0.11 33.58 76.12 2.51 32.65 N
P2 31.55 0.15 33.05 76.85 2.42 32.30 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.72691, Max=3, Mean=1.87011, Std Dev=0.147357
Normal under-relaxation used
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
261
ss-6
Temperature = 34
o
C Velocity = 0 m/s RH = 85%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 34.18 0.10 35.90 70.10 2.95 35.04 N
P2 33.79 0.04 36.82 71.15 3.00 35.30 N
Notes:
PMV Min=2.09, Max=3, Mean=2.7278, Std Dev=0.26179
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
ss-7
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 60%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.62 0.04 32.65 76.55 2.44 32.14 N
P2 31.50 0.02 32.79 77.05 2.45 32.14 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.72706, Max=3, Mean=1.82436, Std Dev=0.11536
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
262
ss-8
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 65%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.62 0.04 32.66 76.53 2.44 32.14 N
P2 31.50 0.02 32.79 77.06 2.45 32.14 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.72698, Max=3, Mean=1.83482, Std Dev=0.120114
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
ss-9
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 70%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.62 0.04 32.66 76.54 2.44 32.14 N
P2 31.50 0.02 32.79 77.07 2.45 32.14 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.727, Max=3, Mean=1.84533, Std Dev=0.126258
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
263
ss-10
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 75%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.62 0.04 32.66 76.55 2.44 32.14 N
P2 31.50 0.02 32.79 77.09 2.45 32.14 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.727, Max=3, Mean=1.85584, Std Dev=0.133617
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
ss-11
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.59 0.04 32.63 76.66 2.44 32.11 N
P2 31.47 0.02 32.76 77.19 2.44 32.12 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.72689, Max=3, Mean=1.90866, Std Dev=0.183096
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
264
ss-12
Temperature = 34
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 34.69 0.01 35.17 80.80 3.00 34.96 N
P2 34.54 0.02 35.01 81.46 3.00 34.78 N
Notes:
PMV Min=2.2445, Max=3, Mean=2.69621, Std Dev=0.318578
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
ss-13
Temperature = 22
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 60%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 24.84 0.10 28.14 70.76 1.06 26.49 Y
P2 24.19 0.18 28.16 73.56 0.85 26.18 Y
Notes:
PMV Min=-0.656184, Max=3, Mean=0.360306, Std Dev=1.06217
No solar loading night time
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
265
ss-14
Temperature = 22
o
C Velocity = 0 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Not Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 30.61 0.08 32.93 81.12 2.36 31.77 N
P2 30.54 0.08 32.81 81.41 2.33 31.68 N
Notes:
PMV Min=-0.541333, Max=3, Mean=0.683009, Std Dev=1.08609
No solar loading night time
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
ss-15
Temperature = 24
o
C Velocity = 0 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Not Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 30.59 0.08 33.16 81.19 2.38 31.84 N
P2 30.40 0.06 33.06 82.04 2.37 31.73 N
Notes:
PMV Min=0.0379054, Max=3, Mean=1.05121, Std Dev=0.90066
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
266
ss-16
Temperature = 22
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 24.94 0.09 27.99 70.33 1.07 26.46 Y
P2 24.36 0.19 28.48 72.82 0.89 26.42 Y
Notes:
PMV Min=0.660857, Max=3, Mean=0.413299, Std Dev=1.12843
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
ss-17
Temperature = 24
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 26.78 0.08 29.24 71.18 1.44 28.01 Y
P2 26.25 0.08 29.42 73.44 1.42 27.84 Y
Notes:
PMV Min=-0.0686469, Max=3, Mean=0.777555, Std Dev=0.888892
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
267
ss-18
Temperature = 26
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 28.27 0.07 30.18 73.48 1.75 29.22 Y
P2 28.17 0.03 30.54 73.93 1.78 29.36 Y
Notes:
PMV Min=0.526193, Max=3, Mean=1.1483, Std Dev=0.651454
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
ss-19
Temperature = 28
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 29.94 0.04 31.29 75.05 2.09 30.62 N
P2 29.89 0.03 31.63 75.26 2.12 30.76 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.02475, Max=3, Mean=1.5258, Std Dev=0.414738
Temp at back wall = 30
o
C
268
ss-20
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.15 0.05 31.88 78.60 2.31 31.52 N
P2 31.00 0.01 31.86 79.27 2.30 31.43 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.02475, Max=3, Mean=1.5258, Std Dev=0.414738
Temp at back wall = 28
o
C
ss-21
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 0 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Not Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 30.85 0.05 32.79 80.02 2.38 31.82 N
P2 30.73 0.03 34.11 80.53 2.53 32.42 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.69504, Max=3, Mean=1.89521, Std Dev=0.132062
Temp at back wall = 28
o
C
269
ss-22
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 0.5 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.97 0.05 32.77 75.03 2.48 32.37 N
P2 31.97 0.05 32.95 75.04 2.50 32.46 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.6891, Max=3, Mean=1.86642, Std Dev=0.105374
Temp at back wall = 28
o
C
ss-23
Temperature = 30
o
C Velocity = 1.0 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 31.47 0.03 31.98 77.18 2.36 31.72 N
P2 31.47 0.04 32.36 77.18 2.39 31.92 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.66715, Max=3, Mean=1.78357, Std Dev=0.105544
Temp at back wall = 28
o
C
270
ss-24
Temperature = 28
o
C Velocity = 0 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Not Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 30.34 0.08 31.33 82.15 2.15 30.84 N
P2 30.42 0.11 32.04 81.92 2.21 31.23 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.22895, Max=3, Mean=1.40816, Std Dev=0.171451
Temp at back wall = 26
o
C
ss-25
Temperature = 28
o
C Velocity = 0.5 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 30.47 0.06 30.95 79.33 2.12 30.71 N
P2 30.36 0.06 31.25 80.65 2.16 30.80 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.24848, Max=3, Mean=1.36056, Std Dev=0.143109
Temp at back wall = 26
o
C
271
ss-26
Temperature = 28
o
C Velocity = 1 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 29.46 0.03 29.96 77.15 1.89 29.71 N
P2 29.46 0.04 30.33 77.14 1.93 29.90 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.13598, Max=3, Mean=1.25979, Std Dev=0.118216
Temp at back wall = 26
o
C
ss-27
Temperature = 28
o
C Velocity = 1.5 m/s RH = 100%
Solutions = Converged
Temp
o
C
Vel.
m/s
RT
o
C
RH
%
PMV OT
o
C
TC
P1 29.26 0.05 29.77 78.04 1.85 29.52 N
P2 29.01 0.01 29.86 79.19 1.84 29.44 N
Notes:
PMV Min=1.06875, Max=3, Mean=1.22331, Std Dev=0.112814
Temp at back wall = 26
o
C
272
Appendix B
Selected optimization simulation results for different shaft heights.
Table B-1 Boundary conditions and thermal comfort parameters
273
Table B-2 Simulation results for locations P1 and P2
Table B-1 and Table B-2 above show some of the selected simulation results
for different shaft heights. The shaded areas represent acceptable indoor
thermal comfort conditions for that particular DSF system configuration, which
the OT (Operative Temperature) is within the acceptable ranges for naturally
conditioned spaces according to ASHRAE Standard 55-2004.
274
Graphs B-1 Thermal comfort profiles for simulation results dsf-1n
Graphs B-1 above shows the thermal comfort parameters profiles for dsf-1n
simulation with Operative Temperatures for Levels 1, 3 and 5 which are within
the acceptable ranges of indoor thermal comfort conditions, except for Level 5.
275
Graphs B-2 Thermal comfort profiles for simulation results dsf-1q
Graphs B-2 above shows the thermal comfort parameters profiles for dsf-1q
simulation with Operative Temperatures for Levels 1, 3 and 5 which are all
within the acceptable ranges of indoor thermal comfort conditions.
276
Appendix C
Selected referred papers submitted to International Conferences and
International Journals.
A) Energy efficiency in double-skin facade design for high-rise buildings
of glass-metal facade systems in the tropics - published in the
proceedings of the 1st International Tropical Architecture (iNTA),
organised by the National University of Singapore, Singapore, February
2004.
Energy Efficiency In Double-Skin Faade Design For High-Rise
Buildings Of Glass-Metal Faade Systems In The Tropics
Pow Chew WONG
1
, Deo PRASAD
2
and Masud BEHNIA
3
1
RC 1019 Postgraduate Research Centre, Faculty of Built Environment, University of New
South Wales, Australia
2
Centre for Sustainable Built Environment (Solarch), Faculty of Built Environment, University
of New South Wales, Australia
3
The University of Sydney, Australia
Keywords: Tropical, high-rise office buildings, double-skin facade, natural ventilation, heat transfer,
computational fluid dynamic simulation, sustainability
Abstract: The natural resources of the world have been reduced tremendously for the past half a century since
the close of the WWII. The energy used and spent in the modern world has been escalating in an
alarming way. The call for energy efficient building design is increasing and the situation is even more
critical for designing high-rise buildings because the energy consumed by those building type is
constituted for the major part of all the energy used in building industry. The viability of double-skin
faade is studied to provide natural ventilation as an energy efficient solution for the high-rise office
buildings in a hot and humid environment. The behaviour of airflow and thermal transfer through the
double-skin faade and the internal thermal comfort are analysed through the use of computational
fluid dynamic simulations.
1 INTRODUCTION
Double-skin faade is not a new concept as it started centuries ago and the first double-skin
curtain wall appears in 1903, in the Steiff Factory in Giengen, Germany. (Internet page of
BuildingEnvelopes.org, History of Double-skin Facades) Until recently the use of double-skin
facades had became more popular in many high-rise buildings in Europe and most recently the
technology has been demonstrated in the Armoury Tower in Shanghai, China. (Yeang 1996)
Double-skin facades are multiple layer skins construction with an external skin, an
intermediate space and an inner skin. The external and internal skins could be of either single
glaze or double glazed glass panes of float glass or safety glass. An adjustable sun-shading
device is usually installed at the intermediate space for thermal controls. Types of double-skin
constructions include Box Window faade, Shaft-box faade, Corridor faade and Multi-story
277
faade. (Oesterle et al. 2001)
The performance of the double-skin faade depends closely on the chosen ventilation means
within its intermediate space. The modes of ventilation could be natural (buoyancy driven),
forced (mechanically driven) or mixed (both natural and forced). Since the temperature
difference between outside air and the heated air within the intermediate space must be
significant enough for the natural ventilation wall to work, this faade system is not suitable to
be used in the hot climates. Both the forced (e.g. active wall) and mixed (e.g. interactive wall)
systems could be used in the hot climate condition but the latter has the advantage of
introducing natural ventilation even for the high-rise buildings.
The issue of thermal transfer through an active wall like the double-skin faade is a complex
one. The heat transfer occurred simultaneously for all the component layers of the double-skin
faade with the influence from the surrounding environmental conditions, the properties of the
layers of the faade and the ventilation system introduced to the double-skin faade. The
overheating of the air gap between the double-skin faade is more evidence during high
ambient temperature and it could be reduced by manipulating the openings of the glazing
faade, a well positioned shading device and the optimisation of the width of the air gap
between the glazing panes. (Oesterle et al. 2001) Figure 1 below shows an example of heat
transfer through double-skin faade.
Figure 1 Heat Transfer Through Double-Skin Faade
A number of interesting investigations and findings are reported in the literature pertaining to
passive ventilation in buildings and the thermal performance of double-skin facades. Even
though most of the researches are done mainly in temperate countries conditions but they have
revealed close link between natural ventilation design and the function of double-skin faade.
Grabe et al. (Grabe et al. 2001) developed a simulation algorithm to investigate the temperature
behaviour and the flow characteristics of double facades with natural convection through solar
radiation. Similar works on natural convection ventilation also reported by Ziskind et al.
(Ziskind et al. 2002, 2003), Bansal et al. (Bansal et al. 1994), Hamdy and Fikry (Hamdy and
Fikry 1998), and Priyadarsini et al. (Priyadarsini et al. 2003). Most of them are using the idea
of stack effect or the solar chimney concept and found that passive ventilation in summer is
possible even for multi-storey buildings. In particular Priyadarsini et al. (Priyadarsini et al.
2003) have concluded the energy efficiency of stack system used in residential of a hot and
humid climate region. Yuguo Li and Delsante (Li and Delsante 2001) went a step further to
investigate the effects of natural ventilation caused by wind and thermal forces in a single zone
building with two openings. Ventilation graphs are plotted using the air change parameters
(thermal air change, wind air change and the heat loss air change) for design purposes. Gratia
and Herde (Gratia and Herde 2004) attempted to look at the impact of double-skin faade
facing southern direction in a temperate climatic condition. Thermal analysis using simulation
software of different seasons of a year was done for a low-rise office building with and without
double-skin faade. It was found that significant energy saving is possible if natural ventilation
could be exploited through the use of double-skin faade.
This paper attempts to bridge the gap of looking into the possibilities of natural ventilation in
high-rise office buildings specifically in the hot and humid climate region with the use of
double-skin faade. The unique faade construction is thought to be able to act as a stack in
providing required ventilation for the internal space. It is the intent of the research to analyse
Outside
Inside
278
the airflow patterns induced by the wind & thermal forces through the double-skin faade into
the interior office space and their effects onto the thermal comfort within the space. Computer
simulation is used to analyse the results obtained through the different opening sizes of the
glazing and the size of the air gap of the double-skin faade with variation of vent sizes to
generate an acceptable cross ventilation rate within the office space.
2 METHOD
2.1 Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulation
Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) has become a useful tool for designers in the study of
indoor and outdoor environment conditions in building designs. The parameters such as air
velocity and relative humidity solved by CFD are critical for designing an acceptable indoor
comfort environment. CFD technique has been applied with considerable success in building
design and the advantages in analysing ventilation performance have been reported by
Murakami (Murakami 1992) and Liddament (Liddament 1992). Papakonstantinou et al.
(Papakonstantinou et al. 2000) has demonstrated that numerical solutions for ventilation
problems can be obtained quickly and in good agreement with the experimental measurements.
2.2 The Airpak CFD Software
Airpak is an easy-to-use design tool for the design and analysis of ventilation systems which
are required to provide acceptable thermal comfort and indoor air quality solutions. It is a
virtual prototyping software that allows for accurate modelling of airflow, heat transfer,
contaminant transport and thermal comfort. Computer models could be easily built and tested
for variety of design options to find the best solution. Full colour animations, pictures and plots
help to effectively analyse the results obtained.
Airpak uses object-based model building and libraries coupled with automatic unstructured
meshing that enables complex models building. It uses the FLUENT CFD solver engine for
thermal and fluid-flow calculations which provides robust and quick calculations. It post-
processing features also allow fast and comprehensive results for the ventilation problems at
hand. (Airpak Users Manual)
In view of the capabilities and good interface of the Airpak software, it is selected to be used in
this research to model the complex energy transfer through the component layers of the
multiplayer faade through the optimisation of the appropriate opening sizes on the glazing, the
width of the intermediate space and the ventilation rate through the internal office space.
2.3 The Model
The final goal of this research is to look into the possibilities of natural ventilation in a high-
rise office building in a hot and humid climate condition using double-skin faade. In order to
realise this complex problem, several stages of different levels of complexity modelling are
introduced. Airflow effects induced by wind and thermal forces onto a single storey office
model constructed are to be observed for the first stage before a complex multi-storey office
with all the thermal comfort parameters included are to be analysed. Therefore it is the
intention of this paper to report on the findings of the first stage of the problem at hand.
The single storey office module in 3D is constructed in Airpak and the geometrical dimensions
of the office are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The simplified double-skin faade of the model has
openings on each of the external and internal panes. Heat sources of two computers, four
ceiling lights and two persons are introduced in the office space for future thermal comfort
analysis. The office space also has two vents at the rear wall to introduce cross ventilation to
the space. For the first stage of the analysis which this paper is going to report on the findings,
combination of different opening sizes and its locations of the openings together with the
different sizes of the vents are looked at and their effects onto the airflow patterns within the
double-skin and the internal office space are observed and analysed.
279
7000 W 3500
3
5
0
0
V
1
H
1
H
3
H
2
3
5
0
3
5
0
EXTERNAL
WIND
V
DIRECTION
OFFICE
Figure 2 Section Through The Model (With External Space)
H
3
3500
V
1
V2
3
5
0
0
H
1
H
2
Figure 3 Rear Elevation Of The Model
The simulations are performed under steady state condition using k-epsilon equation turbulent
model. The simulated wind speeds of 1.5m/s and 3.0m/s are used to model expected ground
level wind velocities with ambient temperature of 30 degree C. The external temperature at the
rear wall is set at 23 degree C to simulate an internal air-conditioning space like internal
corridor. Only wind direction which perpendicular to the double-skin faade has been looked
at. The upwind distance from the outer pane of the double-skin faade is set at 7m to simulate
half the distance between office buildings at the city centre. The results of the airflow
velocities, temperatures and the airflow patterns are recorded and observed with different
combinations of glass opening sizes of the double-skin faade and the vents in Tables 1 to 3.
3 SIMULATION RESULTS
There are total 20 simulations generated with different combinations of wind velocities (V),
glass opening sizes (H1, H2, H3), width of air gaps (W) and vent sizes (V1 & V2). The
variables of the parameters are indicated in Figs 2 & 3. The difference between the simulations
generated in Table 1 and Table 2 is the vents area has increased 100% for the models in Table
2. Simulations 15 and 16 are generated with a narrower air gap of 300mm to investigate if there
is any influence to the indoor comfort level. Simulations 17 to 20 are computed with two
openings at the outer pane of the double-skin faade with 300mm air gap.
Figure 4 Location Points For Taking The Simulation Results (Section of Model)
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
280
Table 1 Simulation Results - A
Simulation 1 2 3 4 5 6
V (m/s) 1.5 1.5 1.5 3.0 3.0 3.0
H1 (mm) 0 0 300 0 0 300
H2 (mm) 200 300 0 200 300 0
H3 (mm) 200 300 300 200 300 300
W (mm) 450 450 450 450 450 450
V1 (mm) 300 300 300 300 300 300
V2 (mm) 600 600 600 600 600 600
P1 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.83
30
0.86
30
0.97
30.02
1.55
30
1.63
30
1.88
29.99
P2 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.25
30.12
0.41
30.08
0.51
30.05
0.39
30.02
0.71
30.02
0.97
29.97
P3 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.12
30.58
0.22
30.40
0.08
30.37
0.21
30.10
0.40
30.09
0.15
29.69
P4 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.05
31.70
0.05
31.74
0.05
31.11
0.01
30.75
0.01
30.86
0.02
30.13
P5 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.11
24.19
0.11
24.21
0.17
23.82
0.03
24.08
0.03
24.16
0.27
23.66
P6 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.22
30
0.40
30
0.11
30.12
0.40
30
0.75
30
0.22
29.92
Table 2 Simulation Results - B
Simulation 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
V (m/s) 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
H1 (mm) 0 200 0 300 0 200 0 300
H2 (mm) 200 0 300 0 200 0 300 0
H3 (mm) 200 200 300 300 200 200 300 300
W (mm) 450 450 450 450 450 450 450 450
V1 (mm) 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300
V2 (mm) 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200
P1 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.86
30
0.94
30
0.90
30
0.97
30
1.59
30
1.83
29.90
1.68
30
1.88
29.96
P2 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.24
30.03
0.39
29.97
0.40
30.03
0.54
30.01
0.39
29.99
0.75
29.72
0.71
30
1.05
29.90
P3 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.14
30.21
0.08
29.81
0.24
30.14
0.07
30.01
0.25
29.92
0.18
28.70
0.43
29.97
0.15
29.22
P4 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.05
31.17
0.05
30.50
0.05
31.19
0.05
30.66
0.01
30.33
0.01
29.08
0.01
30.46
0.02
29.48
P5 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.04
24.36
0.09
23.88
0.04
24.36
0.07
23.95
0.02
25.15
0.19
23.55
0.03
26.06
0.13
23.68
P6 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.20
30
0.05
29.96
0.36
30
0.12
30.02
0.36
30
0.07
29.59
0.68
30
0.22
29.80
281
Table 3 Simulation Results - C
Simulation 15 16 17 18 19 20
V (m/s) 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 3.0 3.0
H1 (mm) 0 200 200 300 200 300
H2 (mm) 200 0 200 300 200 300
H3 (mm) 200 200 200 300 200 300
W (mm) 300 300 300 300 300 300
V1 (mm) 300 300 300 300 300 300
V2 (mm) 600 600 600 600 600 600
P1 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.78
30
0.48
30
0.90
30
0.93
30
1.77
30
1.83
30
P2 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.36
30.04
0.47
30
0.74
30
0.67
30
1.40
30
1.28
30
P3 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.21
30.27
0.08
29.96
0.73
30.07
0.90
30.03
1.35
30.01
1.74
30.01
P4 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.05
31.35
0.05
30.63
0.20
30.77
0.29
30.22
0.41
30.18
0.54
30.08
P5 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.07
24.32
0.14
23.87
0.06
32.48
0.06
32.14
0.01
31.35
0.01
31.18
P6 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
0.34
30
0.07
30
0.06
29.97
0.29
30.86
0.29
30.24
0.71
30.18
P7 (Vel, m/s)
(Temp, C)
-
-
-
-
0.31
30
0.42
30
0.58
30
0.80
30
4 DISCUSSIONS
It was observed that by just changing the glass opening sizes of the double-skin faade with
similar external wind velocity would not contribute much to the indoor thermal quality of the
office. This could due to the indoor airflow velocities are almost similar for each case. (e.g.
Simulations 7 & 9)
The locations of the glass opening on the outer pane of the double-skin faade will have effect
onto the indoor thermal and airflow velocity. It was found that the higher the opening is located
from the floor level it will generate a stronger stack effect within the air gap which in turn will
pull more air out from the office space through the vents at the rear wall. The temperature
generated within the office space is much desirable and closer to human comfort requirement.
The airflow pattern created will be a good cross ventilation effect with cool air coming into the
office space from the vents and right across and above the internal space and discharge out
through the high level opening at the inner pane. (e.g. Simulations 7-14)
A narrower air gap between the double-skin faade construction will provide a more desirable
indoor thermal level as it generates stronger stack effect which pull more air out from the
internal office space. (e.g. Simulations 1 and 15)
There is not much of an advantage to provide larger vents at the rear of the space in order to
provide cross ventilation to the internal space. The resultant air movement and temperature of
the internal space are not much better as compare to smaller vent sizes. This might give a
slightly better condition if the external wind velocity is stronger but it will not be able to justify
the cost in providing a larger vent opening. It might also not be feasible for some construction
constrains with big vents. (e.g. Tables 1 & 2)
Simulations 17-20 shown that the indoor airflow velocities are the most desirable with 2
282
openings on the outer pane of the double-skin faade. The indoor temperatures are also lower
as compared to only one opening at the outer pane. The internal airflow pattern is different
from the outer pane with 1 opening on the faade. The warm air from the air gap is passing
through the opening of the inner pane right across the office space and exit through the rear
vents. This will have an undesirable mixing of warm air to the internal cool air at the rear of the
office.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Thermal sensation plays a major role in the perception of comfort and the comfort parameters
are highly subjective. Some of such parameters are air temperature, the relative humidity of the
air, the local air velocity and human activity. A comprehensive explanation of thermal comfort
is listed in Chapter 8 of ASHRAE Fundamentals. (ASHRAE Fundamentals 1993)
Air movements determine the convective heat and mass exchange of the human body with the
surrounding air. In hot and humid climate, high air velocities will increase the evaporation rate
at the skin surface and results in cooling sensation. The recommended upper limit of indoor air
movement is usually 0.8m/s for human comfort and such air velocity permits the interior space
to be 1-2 degree higher than the human comfort temperature to maintain desirable comfort
level. (Hien and Tanamas 2002)
This paper has found that a high level single opening at the outer pane of the double-skin
faade will create a desirable cross ventilation airflow pattern at the internal office space. The
cross ventilation effect will bring the cool air from the internal air-conditioned space across the
internal space and prevent the warm air from the air gap entering the office space. The internal
temperatures are still considered a bit high (as the model constructed for this paper is only
considering a one storey space) but the situation will be expected to improve when multi-storey
spaces are linked together in a high-rise building when the stack effect of the air gap will
increase tremendously. The other option could be using wind turbine to increase the air
velocity at the air gap to give effective airflow speed within the internal space. This will be
looked at and analysed further in the coming development of the research.
The design of two openings (one at high and one at low levels) on the outer pane of the faade
by far is the best solution as found by this paper. The internal air velocities between 0.2-0.5 m/s
observed could provide more than 80% of human satisfaction for comfort, as shown in Figure
5. Due care should be given to deal with the warm air coming into the internal space through
the air gap especially for higher wind velocity experienced at the high level of a high-rise
building. The testing and finding of more and better solutions are not of the scope of this paper
but it is the goal of the research to find out the viability of double-skin faade in providing
natural ventilation as an energy efficient solution for the high-rise office buildings in a hot and
humid environment.
Figure 5 Ventilation Comfort Chart of Singapore
283
REFERENCES
Airpak Users Manual. 2002. Fluent Inc. and ICEM-CFD Engineering.
ASHRAE Fundamentals. 1993. American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air
Conditioning, Atlanta.
Bansal NK, Mathur R, and Bhandari MS. 1994. A Study Of Solar Chimney Assisted Wind
Tower System For Natural Ventilation In Buildings. Building and Environment,
29(4):495-500.
Grabe J, Lorenz R, and Croxford, B. 2001. Ventilation Of Double Facades. Building
Simulation, 229-236.
Gratia E and Herde A. 2004. Optimal Operation Of A South Double-Skin Faade. Energy and
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Hamdy IF and Fikry MA. 1998. Passive Solar Ventilation. Renewable Energy, 14(1-4):381-
386.
Hien WN and Tanamas J. 2002. The Effect Of Wind On Thermal Comfort In The Tropical
Environment. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Building Research and the
Sustainability of Built Environment in the Tropics, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Internet page of BuildingEnvelopes.org, History of Double-skin Facades,
http://envelopes.cdi.harvard.edu/envelopes/web_pages/home/home.cfm
Letan R, Dubovsky V, and Ziskind G. 2003. Passive Ventilation and Heating By Natural
Convection In A Multi-Storey Building. Building and Environment, 38:197-208.
Li Y and Delsante A. 2001. Natural Ventilation Induced By Combined Wind and Thermal
Forces. Building and Environment, 36:59-71.
Liddament MW 1992. The Role and Application Of Ventilation Effectiveness In Design.
Proceedings of International Symposium on Room Air Convection and Ventilation
Effectiveness, University of Tokyo, 59-75.
Murakami S. 1992. New Scales For Ventilation Efficiency and Their Application Based On
Numerical Simulation Of Room Airflow. Proceedings of International Symposium on
Room Air Convection and Ventilation Effectiveness, University of Tokyo, 22-38.
Oesterle, Lieb, Lutz, and Heusler. 2001. Double-Skin Facades Integrated Planning.
Germany: Prestel Verlag.
Papakonstantinou KA, Kiranoudis CT, and Markatos NC. 2000. Numerical Simulation Of
Airflow Field In Single-Sided Ventilated Buildings. Energy and Buildings, 33:41-48.
Priyadarsini R, Cheong KW, and Wong NH. 2004. Enhancement Of Natural Ventilation In
High-Rise Buildings Using Stack System. Energy and Buildings, 36(1):61-71.
Yeang, Ken. 1996. The Skyscraper, Bio-climatically considered; A design primer. London:
Academy Editions.
Ziskind G, Dubovsky V, and Letan R. 2002. Ventilation By Convection Of A One-Storey
Building. Energy and Buildings, 34:91-102.
284
B) Methodology for natural ventilation design for high-rise buildings in
hot and humid climate - published in the proceedings of The 2005
World Sustainable Building Conference (SB05) in Tokyo, Japan,
September 2005.
METHODOLOGY FOR NATURAL VENTILATION DESIGN
FOR HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS IN HOT AND HUMID
CLIMATE
P C Wong
1
D Prasad
2
M Behnia
3
1
Faculty of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Australia,
jwongpc@hotmail.com
2
Centre for Sustainable Built Environment (CSBE), Faculty of Built
Environment, University of New South Wales, Australia
3
The University of Sydney, Australia
Keywords: thermal comfort, double-skin faade, computational fluid dynamic,
natural ventilation
Summary
The research attempts to look into the viability of double-skin faade in
providing natural ventilation for the high-rise office buildings in hot and humid
environment. The behaviour of airflow patterns induced by wind and thermal
forces through the double-skin faade into the interior office space and their
effects onto the thermal comfort within the space are analysed with the use of
computational fluid dynamic simulations and to identify the possible window
periods for natural ventilation to be introduced to the office space.
1. Introduction
Extensive research has been carried in defining what is thermal comfort and the
parameters that affecting it. All those findings had confirmed the importance of
human factors and human influence towards the creation of a thermally
comfortable indoor environment (Fanger 1970 and Ruck 1989). In more recent
experimental studies concerning the effects of some human factors on the
comfort conditions in particular geographical location, Dear, Leow and Foo
(1991) found that people working in naturally ventilated buildings in hot and
humid country could accept a temperature value of up to 3
0
C warmer than
Fangers values. This with other similar findings especially the newly
published ASHRAE standard 55-2004 (2004) have given the opportunity in
285
introducing natural ventilation for commercial buildings in the hot and humid
region.
1.1 Double-skin Faade and Thermal Comfort
A number of interesting investigations and findings are reported in the
literature pertaining to passive ventilation in buildings and the thermal
performance of double-skin facades. Even though most of the researches are
done mainly in temperate countries conditions but they have revealed close link
between natural ventilation design and the function of double-skin faade.
Grabe et al. (2001) developed a simulation algorithm to investigate the
temperature behaviour and the flow characteristics of double facades with
natural convection through solar radiation. Similar works on natural convection
ventilation also reported by Ziskind et al. (2002, 2003), Bansal et al. (1994),
Hamdy and Fikry (1998), and Priyadarsini et al. (2003). Most of them are using
the idea of stack effect or the solar chimney concept and found that passive
ventilation in summer is possible even for multi-storey buildings. In particular
Priyadarsini et al. (2003) have concluded the energy efficiency of stack system
used in residential of a hot and humid climate region.
Li Y and Delsante (2001) went a step further to investigate the effects of
natural ventilation caused by wind and thermal forces in a single zone building
with two openings. Ventilation graphs are plotted using the air change
parameters (thermal air change, wind air change and the heat loss air change)
for design purposes. Gratia and Herde (2004) attempted to look at the impact of
double-skin faade facing southern direction in a temperate climatic condition.
Thermal analysis using simulation software of different seasons of a year was
done for a low-rise office building with and without double-skin faade. It was
found that significant energy saving is possible if natural ventilation could be
exploited through the use of double-skin faade.
This paper attempts to bridge the gap of looking into the possibilities of natural
ventilation in high-rise office buildings specifically in the hot and humid
climate region with the use of double-skin faade. The unique faade
construction is thought to be able to act as a stack in providing required
ventilation for the thermal comfort of the internal space. Airflow effects
induced by wind and thermal forces onto a single office module constructed are
to be observed for the first stage before a complex multi-storey office with all
the thermal comfort parameters included are to be analysed. Therefore it is the
intention of this paper to report on the findings of the first stage of the problem
at hand.
2. Methodology
2.1 Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulation
Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) has become a useful tool for designers in
the study of indoor and outdoor environment conditions in building designs.
286
The parameters such as air velocity and relative humidity solved by CFD are
critical for designing an acceptable indoor comfort environment. CFD
technique has been applied with considerable success in building design and
the advantages in analysing ventilation performance have been reported by
Murakami (1992). Papakonstantinou et al. (2000) has demonstrated that
numerical solutions for ventilation problems can be obtained quickly and in
good agreement with the experimental measurements.
2.2 Validation of the CFD Software
A virtual prototyping simulation software called Airpak (2002) is used in this
research to model the complex energy transfer through the component layers of
the multiplayer faade through the optimisation of the appropriate opening
sizes on the glazing, the width of the intermediate space and the ventilation rate
through the internal office space. The validation of the software has been
carried out by comparing the experimental and simulation results from another
commercial simulation software called FloVent which was carried out by Manz
H (2003). The measured hourly outdoor air temperature shown in Figure 1 are
used for piecewise linear interpolation for the transient simulations. The
simulation model for the validation is shown in Figure 2 and one of the
comparison results are shown in Figure 3 below. Series 1 are the measured
surface temperatures for the inner pane in the experimental results and Series 2
are the simulation results from Airpak. Both of the results are compared and
analyzed and it was found that the variation is within 5% of the acceptable
error tolerance.
Figure 1 Measured hourly outdoor air
temperature
Figure 2 Simulation model for the validation
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25
Time (h)
A
i
r
T
e
m
p
(
C
)
Outdoor
Temp
287
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Time (h)
I
n
n
e
r
P
a
n
e
S
u
r
f
a
c
e
T
e
m
p
(
C
)
Series1
Series2
Figure 3 Comparison between the measured and CFD results
2.3 The CFD Models
The single office module in 3D is constructed with the geometrical dimensions
of 3.5m x 5.0m x 2.6m height (Figure 4). Numerous of simulation runs have
been carried out for the benchmarking purposes in which a typical curtain
walling office module was observed and a simplified nomogram has been
established to define the initial parameters for thermal comfort in the tropic
region. These results are compared with the simulation runs from the office
module with double-skin faade construction.
The simplified double-skin faade of the office module has openings on each
of the external and internal panes with 6mm thick glass used at the external
pane and 6/12/6mm double glazed used for the inner pane (Figure 5). Internal
heat sources of two computers, four ceiling lights and two persons are
introduced in the office space for thermal comfort analysis. The office module
has two vents at the rear wall to introduce cross ventilation from the internal
a/c space across the internal office space.
288
Figure 4 Standard curtain walling for office module
Figure 5 Double-skin faade for office module
289
2.3 The CFD Simulation
In view of the complexity of the problem at hand, the modeling of the
computer model has been broken down into different levels. The initial
simulation was concentrated onto a single office space within a high-rise office
building. The commercial office spaces could be grouped under three different
sizes, namely small (~20m
2
), medium (~50m
2
) and large (>100m
2
). This paper
is focusing on the first office group, which is the small office space.
The simulations are performed under steady state condition using k-epsilon
turbulent model. The simulated wind speeds of 0m/s to 3.0m/s are used to
model expected ground level wind velocities with ambient temperature of 30
0
C and relative humidity of 60% to 100%. The external temperature at the rear
wall is set at 30
0
C to simulate a corridor area open to the external space. Only
wind direction which perpendicular to the double-skin faade has been looked
at for this stage. The upwind distance from the outer pane of the double-skin
faade is set at 3 times the length of the office module.
3. Discussion
3.1 The Analysis of the Simulation Results
For the first stage of the analysis which this paper is going to report on, all
simulations, be it the benchmarking cases or the double-skin scenarios,
generated a cross ventilation effects from the internal naturally ventilated space
across the office and discharged out through the internal pane opening into the
intermediate space of the double faade. The strength of the cross ventilation
will mainly depends on the airflow resistances within the intermediate space
and the internal office space, together with the pressure differences between
them. The magnitude of the internal ventilation will depend on the summation
of the airflow resistances and in turn control by the smallest cross section area
of the opening within the space.
The locations of the glass openings on the outer pane of the double-skin faade
in relation to the inner pane will have effect onto the indoor thermal and
airflow velocity. It was found that the higher the opening is located from the
floor level it will generate a stronger stack effect within the air gap which in
turn will pull more air out from the office space through the vents at the rear
wall. The temperature generated within the office space is much desirable and
closer to human comfort requirement. The airflow pattern created will be a
good cross ventilation effect with cool air coming into the office space from the
vents and right across and above the internal space and discharged out through
the high level opening at the inner pane. This has lead to the selection of
specific type of the double-skin construction, namely the Multi-storey Faade,
which will create the strongest stack effect to pull maximum amount of air
from the internal office space (Oesterle 2001).
290
3.2 Formulation of the Nomogram
The results obtained from the benchmarking simulations, which is a typical
curtain walling system faade, are compared to the results from the proposed
prototype double-skin faade. The nomogram is formed by three axis which
represent the three important parameters in thermal comfort analysis,
temperature, air velocity and relative humidity. Boundaries of thermal comfort
are plotted onto the nomograms from the analysis of the simulation results and
they are compared to see whether there are any advantages for using double-
skin construction for an office building in the tropical climate. Figure 6 has
shown that there are positive points in using the double-skin construction, as
the shaded area for the double-skin faade is larger than the normal curtain
walling construction (left side nomogram), even though this finding is only
represent the low level results for the high-rise office building in study.
Figure 6 Nomograms for benchmarking (left side) and double-skin facade
4. Conclusion
This paper has found that a high level single opening at the outer pane of the
double-skin faade will create a desirable cross ventilation airflow pattern at
the internal office space. It was also found that double-skin faade did improve
the thermal comfort of an internal office space by reducing the temperature
from 1.0
0
C to 1.5
0
C, with the external wind velocity to be around 1.5m/s. The
internal temperatures are still considered a bit high (as the model constructed
for this paper is only considering the low level of a high-rise office building)
but the situation will be expected to improve when multi-storey spaces are
linked together in a high-rise building when the stack effect of the air gap will
increase tremendously. The results could be improved by using wind turbine at
the top of the faade to increase the airflow velocity at the intermediate space
to give effective airflow speed within the internal space. This will be looked at
and analysed further in the coming development of the research.
291
References
Airpak Users Manual. 2002, Fluent Inc. and ICEM-CFD Engineering.
ASHRAE. 2004, ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2004. Thermal Environmental
Conditions for Human Occupancy, Atlanta: American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
Bansal NK, Mathur R, and Bhandari MS. 1994, A Study Of Solar Chimney
Assisted Wind Tower System For Natural Ventilation In Buildings. Building
and Environment 29(4): 495-500.
Dear RJ de, Leow KG and Foo SC. 1991, Thermal Comfort in the Humid
Tropics. International Journal of Biometeorology 34: 259-265.
Fanger P.O. 1970, Thermal Comfort. Copenhagen: Danish Technical Press.
Grabe J, Lorenz R, and Croxford, B. 2001, Ventilation Of Double Facades.
Building Simulation, pp 229-236.
Gratia E and Herde A. 2004, Optimal Operation Of A South Double-Skin
Faade. Energy and Buildings 36:41-60.
Haase M, Wong F, and Amato A. 2004, Double-Skin Facades For Hong Kong.
Proceedings of International Conference on Building Envelope Systems and
Technology, pp 243-250.
Hamdy IF and Fikry MA. 1998, Passive Solar Ventilation. Renewable Energy
14(1-4):381-386.
Li Y and Delsante A. 2001, Natural Ventilation Induced By Combined Wind
and Thermal Forces. Building and Environment 36:59-71.
Manz H. 2003, Total Solar Energy Transmittance of Glass Double Facades
With Free Convection. Energy and Buildings 36: 127-136.
Murakami S. 1992, New Scales For Ventilation Efficiency and Their
Application Based On Numerical Simulation Of Room Airflow. Proceedings of
International Symposium on Room Air Convection and Ventilation
Effectiveness, University of Tokyo, pp 22-38.
Oesterle, Lieb, Lutz, and Heusler. 2001, Double-Skin Facades Integrated
Planning. Germany: Prestel Verlag.
Papakonstantinou KA, Kiranoudis CT, and Markatos NC. 2000, Numerical
Simulation Of Airflow Field In Single-Sided Ventilated Buildings. Energy and
Buildings 33:41-48.
292
Priyadarsini R, Cheong KW, and Wong NH. 2004, Enhancement Of Natural
Ventilation In High-Rise Buildings Using Stack System. Energy and Buildings
36(1):61-71.
Ruck NC. 1989, Building Design and Human Performance. New York: Van
Nostrand Reinhold.
Yeang, Ken. 1996, The Skyscraper, Bio-climatically considered; A design
primer. London: Academy Editions.
Ziskind G, Dubovsky V, and Letan R. 2002, Ventilation By Convection Of A
One-Storey Building. Energy and Buildings 34:91-102.
293
C) Simulation methodology for high-rise office buildings with double-
skin faade in the hot and humid climate published in the
proceedings of The 2008 World Sustainable Building Conference (SB08)
in Melbourne, Australia, September 2008.
SIMULATION METHODOLOGY FOR HIGH-RISE OFFICE
BUILDINGS WITH DOUBLE-SKIN FAADE IN THE HOT AND
HUMID CLIMATE
Pow Chew WONG Ph.D
1
Deo PRASAD Dr. Arch.
2
Masud BEHNIA Dr. Eng.
3
1
Faculty of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,
jwongpc@hotmail.com
2
Faculty of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,
d.prasad@unsw.edu.au
3
The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, m.behnia@usyd.edu.au
Keywords: simulation methodology, high-rise office building, double-skin faade,
computational fluid dynamic
Summary
A number of recent investigations and findings are reported in the literature
pertaining to the used of double-skin faade for passive ventilation in buildings
and the researches have revealed close link between natural ventilation design
and the design of double-skin faade. It was found that significant energy
saving is possible if natural ventilation strategy could be exploited with the use
of double-skin faade. In this research, CFD was used to analyse the
correlation between thermal comfort parameters and different double-skin
faade orientations to be used in high-rise office buildings in hot and humid
climate. A comprehensive methodology is proposed and results were presented.
1. Introduction
Extensive research has been carried in defining what is thermal comfort and the
parameters that affecting it. All those findings had confirmed the importance of
human factors and human influence towards the creation of a thermally
comfortable indoor environment (Fanger 1970 and Ruck 1989). In more recent
experimental studies concerning the effects of some human factors on the
comfort conditions in particular geographical location, Dear, Leow and Foo
(1991) found that people working in naturally ventilated buildings in hot and
humid country could accept a temperature value of up to 3
o
C warmer than
Fangers values. This with other similar findings especially the newly
published ASHRAE standard 55-2004 (2004) have given the opportunity in
294
introducing natural ventilation for commercial buildings in the hot and humid
region.
A number of interesting investigations and findings are reported in the
literature pertaining to passive ventilation in buildings and the thermal
performance of double-skin facades. Even though most of the researches are
done mainly in temperate countries conditions but they have revealed close link
between natural ventilation design and the function of double-skin faade.
Grabe et al. (2001) developed a simulation algorithm to investigate the
temperature behaviour and the flow characteristics of double facades with
natural convection through solar radiation. Similar works on natural convection
ventilation also reported by Ziskind et al. (2002, 2003), Bansal et al. (1994),
Hamdy and Fikry (1998), and Priyadarsini et al. (2003). Most of them are using
the idea of stack effect or the solar chimney concept and found that passive
ventilation in summer is possible even for multi-storey buildings. In particular
Priyadarsini et al. (2003) have concluded the energy efficiency of stack system
used in residential of a hot and humid climate region.
Li Y and Delsante (2001) went a step further to investigate the effects of
natural ventilation caused by wind and thermal forces in a single zone building
with two openings. Ventilation graphs are plotted using the air change
parameters (thermal air change, wind air change and the heat loss air change)
for design purposes. Gratia and Herde (2004) attempted to look at the impact of
double-skin faade facing southern direction in a temperate climatic condition.
Thermal analysis using simulation software of different seasons of a year was
done for a low-rise office building with and without double-skin faade. It was
found that significant energy saving is possible if natural ventilation could be
exploited through the use of double-skin faade.
This paper attempts to bridge the gap of looking into the possibilities of natural
ventilation in high-rise office buildings specifically in the hot and humid
climate region with the use of double-skin faade. The unique faade
construction is thought to be able to act as a stack in providing required
ventilation for the thermal comfort of the internal space. Airflow effects
induced by wind and thermal forces on a high-rise office building are observed
with all the thermal comfort parameters included are analysed.
2. Research Methodology
A virtual prototyping computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation software
called Airpak (2003) is used in this research to model the complex energy
transfer through the component layers of the multiplayer faade through the
optimisation of the appropriate opening sizes on the glazing, the width of the
intermediate space and the ventilation rate through the internal office space.
The validation of the software has been carried out by comparing the
experimental and simulation results from another commercial simulation
software called FloVent which carried out by Manz H (2003). Both of the
295
results are compared and analysed and it was found that the variation is within
5% of the acceptable error tolerance.
In view of the complexity of the problem at hand, the modelling of the
computer model has been broken down into different levels. The initial single
office module in 3D is constructed with the geometrical dimensions of 3.5m x
5.0m x 3.5m in height. Numerous simulation runs have been carried out for the
benchmarking purposes in which a typical curtain walling office module was
observed and a simplified nomogram has been established to define the initial
parameters for thermal comfort in the tropical region. These results are
compared with the simulation runs from the office module with double-skin
faade construction. Following-up with the simulations analysis of a single
office module discussed above, the computer model is extended vertically to
incorporate a concealed ground floor space which usually used as shop front
space for most high-rise office buildings. The office space is only starting at 1
st
level. Two different groups of modelling are constructed at this stage. First
group is the benchmarking model with standard curtain walling system
generally used in most modern high-rise office buildings (Figure 1). The other
group is replaced with a standard vertically vented double-skin faade
construction (Figure 2).
The strategy is to break-down a very complex problem of simulating a multi-
storey high-rise building into a 6-storey building block. Simulations will be
run for the 1
st
building block of 6-storey for the modelling of the office
building from ground floor to 6-storey. Subsequently another 6-storey building
block of the model will be constructed for modelling of the office building
from 7-storey to 12-storey. The last building block will be the modelling of the
office building from 13-storey to 18-storey. The building height of 18-storey or
about 60m high will constitute the majority of the office buildings height in a
medium to medium-dense modern city. This will give a good representation for
investigating the problem at hand.
Figure 1 Standard curtain Figure 2 Double-skin faade
walling model. model.
Concealed
Ground Floor
Space
Concealed
Ground Floor
Space
296
3. CFD Modelling
The first block (Stage 1) of the six-storey building (Figure 3) consists of a
ground floor (which is not served by the double-skin faade, as this will be the
typical design for any high-rise building) and 5 stories of office spaces above.
The double-skin faade is a ventilated-shaft design that is 2.8m from ground
level. In earlier findings it is a practical and economical option to introduce a
shaft to improve the stack effect of the natural ventilation and in turn will
improve the airflow rates required to reach thermal comfort level within the
interior office space.
The heat sources for the CFD model will only be introduced at alternate floor,
starting from 1
st
-storey. This was done to reduce the complexity of the model
and computing time, but at the same time will be able to give a comprehensive
view of the indoor thermal comfort of the office spaces. Each alternate floor
will have two occupants, two computers and four ceiling lights, which are the
same as the initial single office model. Each human model is assigned with 75
W/m
2
of heat generation with clothing value (clo) of 1.0 and metabolic rate
(met) of 1.2 for sedentary office activities. Heat generated for the computers
are 108 W/m
2
and 173 W/m
2
respectively and the heat flux of the lighting
fixture is assumed to be 38 W/m
2
each.
Boundary conditions for wind velocity, external temperature and relative
humidity were set to the ranges similar to the climatic conditions for
Singapore. The ambient temperature in Singapore is hot with high humidity
and relatively low wind velocity throughout most of the year. Only the
optimum opening sizes on the inner pane and the air gap sizes of the double-
skin faade (DSF) are being considered (as shown in Figure 4) for this stage of
simulations, based on the findings from the preliminary modelling. The
optimum vent size at the rear wall was found to be 300mm by 600mm from
previous findings. The scope of the problem in investigation has been
narrowed down and carefully controlled to find the optimum DSF
configuration for use in Singapore climatic conditions.
297
WIND
GROUND FLOOR
VENT
2
8
0
04
0
0
0
WIND
3
5
0
0
1st FLOOR
2nd FLOOR
3
5
0
0
VENT
DSF
3rd FLOOR
2
1
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
WIND
WIND
VENT
4th FLOOR
3
5
0
0
5th FLOOR
3500
3
5
0
0
Figure 3 Model geometry of Stage 1 of the 6-storey office building.
4. Results
4.1 Comparison of results for single-skin and double-skin facades
The results obtained from the benchmarking simulations, which is a typical
curtain walling system faade, are compared to the results from the proposed
prototype double-skin faade.
Figure 5 Nomogram showing the acceptable thermal comfort conditions
(shaded area) for standard curtain wall system.
298
Figure 6 Nomogram showing the acceptable thermal comfort conditions
(shaded area) for double-skin facade system.
The nomograms are formed by three axes, which represent the three important
parameters in thermal comfort analysis, temperature, air velocity and relative
humidity. Boundaries of thermal comfort are plotted onto the nomograms from
the analysis of the simulation results and they are compared to see whether
there are any advantages for using double-skin construction for an office
building in the tropical climate.
Figures 5 & 6 above have shown that there are positive points in using the
double-skin construction, as the shaded area for the double-skin faade is
larger than the normal curtain walling construction, even though this finding is
only representing the low level results for the high-rise office building in study.
The findings are encouraging as the double-skin faade construction does
improve the internal thermal comfort for a naturally ventilated office space by
as much as 10%, as compared to conventional curtain wall system.
4.2 Simulation results for South facing DSF system (Stage 1)
The first group of simulations is generated with the DSF system constructed at
the south facing faade of the building only. The simulation periods are at 10
a.m. or 2 p.m. on either 15 January or 1 July of the month with wind direction
perpendicular to the DSF wall and with wind velocities of 0.5 m/s, 1.5 m/s and
3 m/s. The external ambient temperatures were set from 26
o
C to 30
o
C with
relative humidity ranging from 70% to 100%. The opening size for the inner
pane of the DSF system used is 300mm. The air gap sizes used for the DSF are
300mm, 600mm, 900mm and 1200mm. The air vent size at the rear office wall
is fixed at 300mm x 600mm.
299
There are a total of 18 location points being identified to record the simulation
results on thermal comfort parameters. Six of those location points which are
0.8m above the office floor level and 0.2m away from the two human figures.
These six points are chosen to monitor the thermal comfort conditions
experienced by the occupants. Table 1 shows some of the comparative results
for the simulation with different parameters used for the boundary conditions
and DSF configurations taken at strategic locations. The indoor Operative
Temperature (OT) calculated in the above table was using the formula stated in
Figure 7 and the value was used to identify acceptable thermal comfort for
naturally ventilated spaces in hot and humid climate using the graph given in
the same figure.
Table 1 Simulation results for different boundary conditions
(Note: Shaded results are acceptable thermal comfort conditions)
Simulation Orientation Date Time Air Temp.
o
C
Wind Vel.
m/s
Air RH
%
Air Gap Size
mm
S1-1
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
300
S1-2
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
600
S1-3
South
15 Jan
2pm
28
1.5
80
900
S1-4
South
15 Jan
2pm
26
1.5
80
300
S1-5
South
15 Jan
10am
26
1.5
80
300
S1-6
South
15 Jan
10am
28
1.5
80
300
Simulation
Floor Level Temp.
0
C
Air Vel.
m/s
Radiant
Temp.
0
C
RH
%
PMV OT
0
C
S1-1
1 28 0.04 30 70 1.99 29
3 29 0.01 30 77 1.8 29
5 29 0.01 30 76 1.85 30
S1-2
1 30 0.02 33 71 2.41 31
3 31 0.04 32 77 1.97 31
5 31 0.03 31 75 2.13 31
S1-3
1 30 0.03 32 71 2.38 31
3 30 0.06 32 77 2.04 31
5 30 0.04 32 76 1.9 31
300
Air speed < 0.2m/s
Difference between radiant & air temp < 4C
Top = Ata + (1-A)Tr
V <0.2m/s 0.2-0.6m/s 0.6-1m/s
A 0.5 0.6 0.7
S1-4
1 27 0.04 29 71 1.8 28
3 28 0.05 29 76 1.66 29
5 27 0.03 29 75 1.6 28
S1-5
1 27 0.02 29 70 1.97 28
3 28 0.04 30 76 1.62 29
5 28 0.03 29 75 1.59 28
S1-6
1 28 0.03 30 70 1.92 29
3 29 0.01 29 77 1.78 29
5 29 0.01 30 75 1.84 29
Figure 7 Thermal environment conditions for human occupancy from
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 552004.
4.3 Analysis of results and findings for Stage 1
Selected results for South facing DSF with external wind velocity of 1.5m/s
and air humidity of 80% respectively are tabulated in Table 1. The variable
parameters in consideration for this instance are external air temperature, the
DSF air gap size and the time of the day. Results for S1-1, S1-2 and S1-3
(South facing DSF) as shown in Table 1 and Figure 8 indicated that the DSF
air gap size of 300mm gives the best result for the particular conditions in a
natural ventilated space. The findings are the same for the Northern orientation
faade as presented in Figure 9. In most cases the lower floor of the office
space would generate the lowest operative temperature due to the stack effect
provided by the DSF configuration. This has enhanced the natural ventilation
strategy to provide better internal thermal comfort condition for the office
spaces.
There is not much of a difference in terms of the internal thermal comfort
conditions for either period of time in a given day (morning or afternoon) as
seen in the results for S1-4 and S1-5 for South facing DSF. There is an internal
301
temperature difference of 0.5
o
C for the mid-floor of North facing DSF and this
could be due to the slower internal air velocity generated (Figure 9).
The South facing DSF configuration has produced an 80% Acceptability Limit
for the 300mm air gap size for external temperatures between 26
o
C and 28
o
C,
according to the Thermal Environment Conditions for Human Occupancy from
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 as indicated in Figure 7. This is tabulated in
accordance with the context that the office building is located in the Northern
Hemisphere of tropical climate like the country of Singapore. The North facing
DSF configuration did not produce any acceptable internal thermal comfort
condition for the office space (Figure 9) as the operative temperatures for all
the floors are above 30
o
C. This has again confirmed that the southern
orientation is the best facing for buildings in the Northern Hemisphere.
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
1st Floor 3rd Floor 5th Floor
S1-1a
S1-2a
S1-3a
S1-4a
S1-5a
S1-6a
Figure 8 Comparison of Operative Figure 9 Comparison of Operative
Temperatures (
o
C) for Temperatures (
o
C ) for
South facing DSF. North facing DSF.
4.4 Analysis of results and findings for Stage 2
The selected results for both South and North facing DSF configurations are
having similar parameters as Stage 1 for direct comparison. The external wind
velocity is 1.5m/s and air humidity is 80% respectively and the variable
parameters in consideration for this Stage are external air temperature, the DSF
air gap size and the time of the day. South facing DSF with a DSF air gap size
of 300mm gives the best result. The findings are the same for the Northern
orientation faade. In most cases the lower floor of the office space would
generate the lowest operative temperature due to the stack effect provided by
the DSF configuration.
There is not much of a difference in terms of the internal thermal comfort
conditions for either period of time in a given day (morning or afternoon) as
seen in the results for South facing DSF but for North facing DSF morning
period has a higher operative temperatures compare to afternoon period. This
could be due to the higher internal radiant temperatures generated during this
particular period of time.
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
1st Floor 3rd Floor 5th Floor
S1-1
S1-2
S1-3
S1-4
S1-5
S1-6
302
The South facing DSF configuration has produced an 80% Acceptability Limit
for the 300mm air gap size for external temperature of 26
o
C up to 9
th
Floor.
The North facing DSF configuration did not produce any acceptable internal
thermal comfort condition for the office space as the operative temperatures for
all the floors are above 31
o
C.
4.5 Analysis of results and findings for Stage 3
The selected results for both South and North facing DSF configurations are
having similar parameters as Stages 1 and 2 for direct comparison. The external
wind velocity is 1.5m/s and air humidity is 80% respectively and the variable
parameters in consideration for this Stage are also external air temperature, the
DSF air gap size and the time of the day. Results for South facing DSF
indicated that the DSF air gap size of 300mm gives the best result for the
particular conditions in a natural ventilated space, as in Stages 1 and 2. The
findings are the same for the Northern orientation faade. In most cases the
lower floor of the office space would generate the lowest operative temperature
due to the stack effect provided by the DSF configuration, as in Stages 1 and
2 also.
There is not much of a difference in terms of the internal thermal comfort
conditions for either period of time in a given day (morning or afternoon) as
seen in the results for South facing DSF.
The South facing DSF configuration has produced an 80% Acceptability Limit
for the 300mm air gap size for external temperatures between 26
o
C and 28
o
C.
The North facing DSF configuration did not produce any acceptable internal
thermal comfort condition for the office space except for the lower floor for
300mm air gap configuration with external air temperature of 26
o
C during
morning period.
4.6 Comparison results for different orientations
The simulation results for the three stages of the modelling have shown that the
South-facing orientation provide a better outcome compared to the North-
facing direction. The optimum air gap size for the double-skin faade
construction is found to be 300mm and the best results were obtained during
the morning period.
Figure 10 below recorded the comparison of selective results between the four
major orientations for a double-skin faade installation for a typical high-rise
office building. The results show that the South-facing faade has the best
outcome followed by the East-facing faade during the morning period in the
month of January. The North-facing and the West-facing faades do not
provide an acceptable indoor thermal comfort for the purposes of office
function in a high-rise building.
303
Figure 10 Comparison of Operative Temperatures (
o
C) for four major
orientations.
5. Conclusion
Figure 11 below shows the complete 18-storey office building with typical
multi-storey double-skin faade configuration. The proposed DSF starts from
1
st
storey at 2.8 meters from ground level up to the 17
th
storey with 1-meter
parapet above the roof level. The office spaces are assumed to be divided into a
number of small office usages and are tenanted out to various occupants. All
office spaces are assumed to face the DSF at the front and facing open corridor
at the rear.
With the completion of the three stages of simulations, numerous simulation
runs had been carried out with various ambient temperatures, different external
air velocities, different orientations of the double-skin faade, different periods
of time during the day, etc in order to find out the appropriate window periods
for acceptable indoor conditions for office workers in the Singapore context.
These findings will be of outmost important as an indication whether double-
skin faade is really possible to be used as a mean to introduce natural
ventilation to the high-rise buildings in the tropics. The results and findings
will also bear an important decision in how to carry out the optimization of the
faade system for the whole high-rise office building.
The simulation methodology proposed is comprehensive in simulating a rather
complex high-rise office building with accurate results. Further works could be
carried out in developing a methodology to simulate office building with
different combination of office sizes and usages in an efficient and accurate
way.
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
13th Floor 15th Floor 17th Floor
South
North
East
West
304
2
8
0
0
WIND
4
0
0
0
1st FLOOR
GROUND FLOOR
VENT
WIND
WIND
WIND
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
2nd FLOOR
DSF
VENT
6
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
3
5
0
0
16th FLOOR
17th FLOOR
VENT
3500
1
0
0
0
Figure 11 The model of the complete 18-storey office building.
References
Airpak Users Manual. 2003, Fluent Inc. and ICEM-CFD Engineering.
ASHRAE. 2004, ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2004. Thermal Environmental
Conditions for Human Occupancy, Atlanta: American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
Bansal NK, Mathur R, and Bhandari MS. 1994, A Study Of Solar Chimney
Assisted Wind Tower System For Natural Ventilation In Buildings. Building
and Environment, 29(4): 495-500.
de Dear RJ, Leow KG and Foo SC. 1991, Thermal Comfort in the Humid
Tropics. International Journal of Biometeorology, 34: 259-265.
Fanger P.O. 1970, Thermal Comfort. Copenhagen: Danish Technical Press.
Grabe J, Lorenz R, and Croxford, B. 2001, Ventilation of Double Faades.
Building Simulation, pp 229-236.
305
Gratia E and Herde A. 2004, Optimal Operation of A South Double-Skin
Faade. Energy and Buildings, 36:41-60.
Haase M, Wong F, and Amato A. 2004, Double-Skin Faades For Hong Kong.
Proceedings of International Conference on Building Envelope Systems and
Technology, pp 243-250.
Hamdy IF and Fikry MA. 1998, Passive Solar Ventilation. Renewable Energy,
14(1-4):381-386.
Li Y and Delsante A. 2001, Natural Ventilation Induced by Combined Wind
and Thermal Forces. Building and Environment, 36:59-71.
Manz H. 2003, Total Solar Energy Transmittance of Glass Double Faades
with Free Convection. Energy and Buildings, 36: 127-136.
Murakami S. 1992, New Scales For Ventilation Efficiency and Their
Application Based On Numerical Simulation Of Room Airflow. Proceedings
of International Symposium on Room Air Convection and Ventilation
Effectiveness, University of Tokyo, pp 22-38.
Oesterle, Lieb, Lutz, and Heusler. 2001, Double-Skin Facades Integrated
Planning. Germany: Prestel Verlag.
Papakonstantinou KA, Kiranoudis CT, and Markatos NC. 2000, Numerical
Simulation Of Airflow Field In Single-Sided Ventilated Buildings. Energy and
Buildings, 33:41-48.
Priyadarsini R, Cheong KW, and Wong NH. 2004, Enhancement Of Natural
Ventilation In High-Rise Buildings Using Stack System. Energy and Buildings,
36(1):61-71.
306
D) A new type of double-skin faade configurations for the hot and
humid climate published in International Journal on Energy and
Buildings, v.40, pp. 1941-1945, 2008.
A new type of double-skin faade configuration for the hot and humid
climate
P. C. Wong
a,*
, D. Prasad
a
, M. Behnia
b
a
The Red Centre West Wing, Faculty of the Built Environment, The University of New South Wales
UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
b
H04, Merewether Building, The University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
____________________________________________________________________________
Abstract
The performance of the double-skin faade depends closely on the chosen ventilation means within its
intermediate space. The modes of ventilation could be natural (buoyancy driven), forced (mechanically
driven) or mixed (both natural and forced). Oesterle et al has attempted to classify the double-skin
constructions into four different types, namely box window faade, shaft-box faade, corridor faade and
multi-story faade. A number of interesting investigations and findings are reported in the literature
pertaining to passive ventilation in buildings and the thermal performance of double-skin facades. The
researches have revealed close link between natural ventilation design and the function of double-skin
faade. Most of them are using the idea of stack effect or the solar chimney concept and found that
passive ventilation in summer is possible even for multi-storey buildings. It was found that significant
energy saving is possible if natural ventilation could be exploited through the use of double-skin faade.
In this research, CFD was used to analyse various thermal comfort parameters with different double
faade configurations to determine a new type of double-skin faade configurations which will provide a
better indoor thermal comfort in the hot and humid climate through natural ventilation strategies for the
high-rise buildings.
Keywords: Double-skin faade; Natural ventilation; CFD; Energy efficiency; High-rise Buildings; Hot and humid
climate
____________________________________________________________________________
1. Introduction
Double-skin facades are multiple layer skins
construction with an external skin, an
intermediate space and an inner skin. The
external and internal skins could be of either
single glaze or double glazed glass panes of
float glass or safety glass. An adjustable sun-
shading device is usually installed at the
intermediate space for thermal controls. The
double-skin constructions generally could be
grouped under Box Window faade, Shaft-box
faade, Corridor faade and Multi-story faade
[1].
Double-skin faade is not a new concept as
it started centuries ago and the first double-
skin curtain wall appears in 1903, in the Steiff
Factory in Giengen, Germany [2]. Until
recently the use of double-skin facades had
became more popular in many high-rise
buildings in Europe and most recently the
technology has been demonstrated in the
Armoury Tower in Shanghai, China [3], No.1
Peking Road and the Dragon Air Office which
both are located in Hong Kong [4]. The
performance of the double-skin faade depends
closely on the chosen ventilation means within
_________
* Corresponding author: Tel: +61 2 93855259; fax: +61 2
93856374.
E-mail address: jwongpc@hotmail.com (P.C. Wong).
its intermediate space. The modes of
ventilation could be natural (buoyancy driven),
forced (mechanically driven) or mixed (both
natural and forced).
2. Passive Ventilation and Double-skin
Faade
A number of interesting investigations and
findings are reported in the literature
pertaining to passive ventilation in buildings
and the thermal performance of double-skin
facades. Even though most of the researches
are done mainly in temperate countries
conditions but they have revealed close link
between natural ventilation design and the
function of double-skin faade. Grabe et al. [5]
developed a simulation algorithm to
investigate the temperature behaviour and the
flow characteristics of double facades with
natural convection through solar radiation.
Similar works on natural convection
ventilation also reported by Ziskind et al. [6,7],
307
Bansal et al. [8], Hamdy and Fikry [9], and
Priyadarsini et al. [10]. Most of them are using
the idea of stack effect or the solar chimney
concept and found that passive ventilation in
summer is possible even for multi-storey
buildings. In particular Priyadarsini et al. [10]
have concluded the energy efficiency of stack
system used in residential of a hot and humid
climate region. Yuguo Li and Delsante [11]
went a step further to investigate the effects of
natural ventilation caused by wind and thermal
forces in a single zone building with two
openings. Ventilation graphs are plotted using
the air change parameters (thermal air change,
wind air change and the heat loss air change)
for design purposes. Gratia and Herde [12]
attempted to look at the impact of double-skin
faade facing southern direction in a temperate
climatic condition. Thermal analysis using
simulation software of different seasons of a
year was done for a low-rise office building
with and without double-skin faade. It was
found that significant energy saving is possible
if natural ventilation could be exploited
through the use of double-skin faade.
3. Computational Fluid Dynamic
Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) has
become a useful tool for designers in the study
of indoor and outdoor environment conditions
in building designs. The parameters such as air
velocity and relative humidity solved by CFD
are critical for designing an acceptable indoor
comfort environment. CFD technique has been
applied with considerable success in building
design and the advantages in analysing
ventilation performance have been reported by
Murakami [13] and Liddament [14].
Papakonstantinou et al. [15] has demonstrated
that numerical solutions for ventilation
problems can be obtained quickly and in good
agreement with the experimental
measurements.
Airpak is an easy-to-use design tool for the
design and analysis of ventilation systems
which are required to provide acceptable
thermal comfort and indoor air quality
solutions. It is a virtual prototyping software
that allows for accurate modeling of airflow,
heat transfer, contaminant transport and
thermal comfort. Computer models could be
easily built and tested for variety of design
options to find the best solution. Full colour
animations, pictures and plots help to
effectively analyse the results obtained. This
specific CFD software uses object-based
model building and libraries coupled with
automatic unstructured meshing that enables
complex models building. It uses the FLUENT
CFD solver engine for thermal and fluid-flow
calculations in which provides robust and
quick calculations. It post-processing features
also allow fast and comprehensive results for
the ventilation problems at hand [16].
In view of the capabilities and good
interface of the Airpak software, it is selected
to be used in this research to model the
complex energy transfer through the
component layers of the multiplayer faade
through the optimisation of the appropriate
opening sizes on the glazing, the width of the
intermediate space and the ventilation rate
through the internal office space.
4. Methodology
The final goal of the research is to look into
the possibilities of natural ventilation in a 18-
storey high-rise office building in a hot and
humid climate condition using double-skin
faade. In order to realise this complex
problem, several stages of different levels of
complexity modeling are introduced. Airflow
effects induced by wind and thermal forces
onto a single storey office model constructed
are to be observed for the first stage before a
complex multi-storey office with all the
thermal comfort parameters included are to be
analysed.
The single storey office module in 3D is
constructed in Airpak with the geometrical
dimensions of 3.5mx3.5mx3.5m, with 2.6m
ceiling height. The simplified double-skin
faade of the model has openings on each of
the external and internal panes with 6mm thick
glass used at the external pane and 6/12/6mm
double glazed used for the inner pane (Fig. 1).
Internal heat sources of two computers, four
ceiling lights and two persons are introduced in
the office space for thermal comfort analysis.
The office module has two vents at the rear
wall to introduce cross ventilation from the
internal a/c space across the internal office
space.
The simulations are performed under steady
state condition using k-epsilon turbulent
model. The simulated wind speeds of 1.5m/s
and 3.0m/s are used to model expected ground
level wind velocities with ambient temperature
of 30
0
C and relative humidity of 70%. The
external temperature at the rear wall is set at 23
degree C to simulate an internal air-
conditioning space like internal corridor. Only
wind direction which perpendicular to the
double-skin faade has been looked at for this
stage. The upwind distance from the outer
pane of the double-skin faade is set at 7m to
simulate half the distance between office
buildings at the city centre.
308
The thermal performance in using natural
means for ventilation of the single-room
model was compared to typical single-skin
curtain wall system. It was found that double-
skin faade does perform better compared to
single-skin curtain wall system as natural
ventilation mean to ventilate the internal office
space. The positive finding has confirmed the
possibility of introducing double-skin faade to
the hot and humid climatic condition and
brought us to the next stage of the modeling by
extending the numerical model to a six-
storey building block. The choice of
implementing a six-storey high building block
for the next stage for analysis is because the
height of the overall building will give a
sufficient complexity to study the problem at
hand.
Due to more efficient used of computing
time and better control of the modeling
process, the 18-storey high-rise building was
broken down to three stacks of 6-storey
building blocks. The first block (Stage 1) of
the six-storey building (Fig. 2) consists of a
ground floor (which is not served by the
double-skin faade, as this will be the typical
design for any high-rise building) and 5 stories
of office spaces above. The double-skin faade
is a ventilated-shaft design which is 2.8m from
ground level. In earlier findings it is a practical
and economical option to introduce a shaft to
improve the stack effect of the natural
ventilation and in turn will improve the airflow
rates required to reach thermal comfort level
within the interior office space.
The Stage 2 of the simulation model consists
of a 6-story office spaces. A fan is introduced
at the bottom portion of the ventilated-shaft
design of the DSF to simulate the continuity
of the airflow from the stage 1 model. The
flow rate of the fan is calculated to be 5.57m
3
/s
from simulation results from Stage 1. The
Stage 3 of the simulation model also consists
of a 6-story office spaces. A fan is also
introduced at the bottom portion of the
ventilated-shaft design of the DSF to simulate
the continuity of the airflow from the stage 2
model. The flow rate of the fan is 17.7m
3
/s and
it was calculated from Stage 2 simulations.
There is a 1m high parapet at the roof top of
the office building model.
The boundary conditions for all stages of the
modeling are:
Simulations run for 2 periods of time =>
morning (10 am) and afternoon (2 pm)
Wind direction => Perpendicular to the wall
system
Wind speed => 0.5m/s to 3m/s
External temperature => 26C to 30C
Relative humidity => 70% to 100%
DSF opening size for inner pane => 300mm
Air gap size => 300mm to 1200mm
Vent size => 300mm x 600mm
5. Simulation Results
Simulations were carried out for all four
orientations of north, south, east and west and
the first group of simulations is generated with
the DSF system constructed at the south facing
faade of the building. The simulation period
are at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. on either 15 January or
1 July of the month with wind direction
perpendicular to the DSF wall and with wind
velocities of 0.5 m/s, 1.5 m/s and 3 m/s. The
external ambient temperatures were set from
26
0
C to 30
0
C with relative humidity ranging
from 70% to 100%. The opening size for the
inner pane of the DSF system used is 300mm.
The air gap sizes used for the DSF are 300mm,
600mm, 900mm and 1200mm. The air vent
size at the rear office wall is fixed at 300mm x
600mm.
There are a total of 18 location points being
identified to record the simulation results on
thermal comfort parameters. Six of those
location points are positioned at 0.8m above
the office floor level and 0.2m away from the
two human figures. These six points are
chosen to monitor the thermal comfort
conditions experienced by the occupants.
Table 1 below shows some of the comparative
results for the simulation with different
parameters used for the boundary conditions
and different DSF configurations. The indoor
Operative Temperature (OT) calculated in
Table 1 was using the formula stated in Fig. 3
[17] and the value was used to identify
acceptable thermal comfort for naturally
ventilated spaces in hot and humid climate
using the graph given in the same figure.
6. Discussion
Selected results for South facing DSF with
external wind velocity of 1.5m/s and air
humidity of 80% respectively are tabulated in
Table 1. The variable parameters in
consideration for this instance are external air
temperature, the DSF air gap size and the time
of the day. Results for S1-1, S1-2 and S1-3
(South facing DSF) as shown in Table 1 and
Fig. 4 indicated that the DSF air gap size of
300mm gives the best result for the particular
conditions in a natural ventilated space. These
findings are the same for the Northern
orientation faade. In most cases the lower
floor of the office space would generate the
309
lowest operative temperature due to the stack
effect provided by the DSF configuration.
This has enhanced the natural ventilation
strategy to provide better internal thermal
comfort condition for the office spaces.
There is not much of a different in terms of
the internal thermal comfort conditions for
either period of time in a given day (morning
or afternoon) as seen in the results for S1-4 and
S1-5 for South facing DSF and also for North
facing DSF. There is an internal temperature
difference of 0.5
0
C for the mid-floor of North
facing DSF and this could be due to the slower
internal air velocity generated.
The South facing DSF configuration has
produced an 80% Acceptability Limit for the
300mm air gap size for external temperatures
between 26
0
C and 28
0
C, according to the
Thermal Environment Conditions for Human
Occupancy from ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-
2004 [17] as indicated in Fig. 3. This is
tabulated in accordance with the context that
the office building is located in the Northern
Hemisphere of tropical climate like the country
of Singapore. The North facing DSF
configuration did not produce any acceptable
internal thermal comfort condition for the
office space as the operative temperatures for
all the floors are above 300C. This has again
confirmed that the southern orientation is the
best facing for buildings in the Northern
Hemisphere.
For Stage 2 simulation results, there is not
much of a different in terms of the internal
thermal comfort conditions for either period of
time in a given day (morning or afternoon) for
South facing DSF but for North facing DSF
morning period has a higher operative
temperatures compare to afternoon period.
This could be due to the higher internal radiant
temperatures generated during this particular
period of time. The South facing DSF
configuration has produced an 80%
Acceptability Limit for the 300mm air gap size
for external temperature of 26
0
C up to 9
th
Floor. The North facing DSF configuration did
not produce any acceptable internal thermal
comfort condition for the office space as the
operative temperatures for all the floors are
above 310C. In most cases the lower floor of
the office space would generate the lowest
operative temperature due to the stack effect
provided by the DSF configuration.
Stage 3 results are very similar to Stage 2
mentioned above. The South facing DSF
configuration has produced an 80%
Acceptability Limit for the 300mm air gap size
for external temperatures between 26
0
C and
28
0
C. The North facing DSF configuration did
not produce any acceptable internal thermal
comfort condition for the office space except
for the lower floor for 300mm air gap
configuration with external air temperature of
260C during morning period. In most cases the
lower floor of the office space would generate
the lowest operative temperature due to the
stack effect provided by the DSF
configuration, as in Stages 1 and 2 also.
The results show that the South-facing
faade has the best outcome following by the
East-facing faade during the morning period
in the month of January. The North-facing and
the West-facing faades do not provide an
acceptable indoor thermal comfort for the
purposes of office function in a high-rise
building. The optimum air gap size for the
double-skin faade construction is found to be
300mm and the best results were obtained
during the morning period.
7. Conclusion
Fig.5 below shows the complete 18-storey
office building with typical multi-storey
double-skin faade configuration. The
proposed DSF starts from 1
st
storey at 2.8
meters from ground level up to the 17
th
storey
with 1-meter parapet above the roof level. The
office spaces are assumed to be divided into a
number of small office usages and are tenanted
out to various occupants. All office spaces are
assumed to face the DSF at the front and
facing open corridor at the rear.
With the completion of the three stages of
simulations, numerous simulation runs had
been carried out with various ambient
temperatures, different external air velocities,
different orientations of the double-skin
faade, different periods of time during the
day, etc in order to find out the appropriate
window periods for acceptable indoor
conditions for office workers in the Singapore
context. These findings will be of outmost
important as an indication whether double-skin
faade is really possible to be used as a mean
to introduce natural ventilation to the high-rise
buildings in the tropics.
References
[1] Oesterle, Lieb, Lutz, and Heusler, Double-
Skin Facades Integrated Planning,
Germany: Prestel Verlag, 2001.
[2] Internet page of BuildingEnvelopes.org,
History of Double-skin Facades,
http://envelopes.cdi.harvard.edu/envelopes/we
b_pages/home/home.cfm, accessed on 28 April
2006.
[3] Yeang, Ken, The Skyscraper, Bio-
climatically considered: A design primer,
310
London: Academy Editions, 1996.
[4] Haase M, Wong F, and Amato A., Double-
Skin Facades For Hong Kong, Proceedings
Of International Conference on Building
Envelope Systems and Technology, pp
243-250, 2004.
[5] Grabe J, Lorenz R, and Croxford, B.,
Ventilation Of Double Facades, Building
Simulation, 229-236, 2001.
[6] Ziskind G, Dubovsky V, and Letan R.,
Ventilation By Convection Of A One-
Storey Building, Energy and Buildings,
34:91-102, 2002.
[7] Letan R, Dubovsky V, and Ziskind G.,
Passive Ventilation and Heating By Natural
Convection In A Multi-Storey Building,
Building and Environment, 38:197-208,
2003.
[8] Bansal NK, Mathur R, and Bhandari MS.,
A Study Of Solar Chimney Assisted Wind
Tower System For Natural Ventilation In
Buildings, Building and Environment,
29(4):495-500, 1994.
[9] Hamdy IF and Fikry MA., Passive Solar
Ventilation, Renewable Energy, 14(1-
4):381-386, 1998.
[10] Priyadarsini R, Cheong KW, and Wong
NH., Enhancement Of Natural Ventilation
In High-Rise Buildings Using Stack
System, Energy and Buildings, 36(1):61-
71, 2004.
[11] Li Y and Delsante A., Natural Ventilation
Induced By Combined Wind and Thermal
Forces, Building and Environment, 36:59-
71, 2001.
[12] Gratia E and Herde A., Optimal Operation
Of A South Double-Skin Faade, Energy
and Buildings, 36:41-60, 2004.
[13] Murakami S., New Scales For Ventilation
Efficiency and Their Application Based
On Numerical Simulation Of Room
Airflow, Proceedings of International
Symposium on Room Air Convection
and Ventilation Effectiveness, University
of Tokyo, 22-38, 1992.
[14] Liddament MW., The Role and
Application Of Ventilation Effectiveness
In Design, Proceedings
of International Symposium on Room Air
Convection and Ventilation Effectiveness,
University of Tokyo, 59-75, 1992.
[15] Papakonstantinou KA, Kiranoudis CT,
and Markatos NC., Numerical Simulation
Of Airflow Field In Single-Sided
Ventilated Buildings, Energy and
Buildings, 33:41-48, 2000.
[16] Airpak Users Manual, Fluent Inc. and
ICEM-CFD Engineering, 2002.
[17] ASHRAE, ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-
2004. Thermal Environmental Conditions
for Human Occupancy, Atlanta:
American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning
Engineers, Inc., 2004.
Note:
Figures and Table for the article had
been submitted as a different file.
Full complete article could be accessed
from the journals homepage on
www.elsevier.com/locate/enbuild
311