Wind tunnel investigation on influence of fluctuating wind direction on cross natural ventilation

The performance of wind driven natural ventilation is influenced significantly by the boundary conditions set for the wind. In real conditions the wind direction is fluctuating constantly so it is important to consider this fluctuation in experiments and simulations. This paper investigates the influence of fluctuating wind direction on cross-ventilation using wind tunnel experiments with the aim of improving the evaluation accuracy for natural ventilation. A periodically fluctuating wind direction was designed and reproduced in the experiment. Rapid Response FIDs (Flame Ionization Detector) were used to monitor the concentration of tracer gas. An index named diluting flow rate (DFR) is introduced to evaluate the ventilation performance of this kind of experiment. The results indicate that the DFRs of fluctuating cases are approximately 65–100% of the maximum airflow rate and DFR is influenced by the wind speed, the opening size and the wind direction fluctuation. Informed by the experimental data the mechanism of this combined influence is discussed in this paper.

► We design wind tunnel experiment with fluctuating wind direction.
► Use fast response FID to measure transient decaying rate of indoor contaminant.
► Use diluting flow rate to indicate equivalent ventilation performance.
► Fluctuating wind direction supplies better ventilation performance.
► We explain the mechanism of ventilation when wind direction is fluctuating.