A laboratory experiment on natural ventilation through a roof cavity for reduction of solar heat gain

The study targets the reduction of roof solar heat gain through the use of natural ventilation in a roof cavity. This study is mainly concerned with factory buildings. Experimental outcomes were obtained from an inclined cavity model which was heated on the upper surface to mimic solar radiation on a roof. The dimensions of the cavity were 4882 mm× 400 mm × 78 mm. The two opposing smallest sides were allotted as the inlet and outlet, and narrowed to simulate resistance of the air flow in practical applications. Temperature and velocity measuring facilities were prepared in the experimental model. A number of measurements were carried out by varying the combinations of different heat production, inclination angles, and opening ratios. It was found that resistance to heat and air flow in the cavity was strongly influenced by the opening size. When the Reynolds number was examined, it showed that the flow belonged to the laminar region. The average velocity reached to 0.25 m/s at the highest in the examined cases. In other words, the cavity air was turned over 184 times in an hour. Natural ventilation in the roof cavity seemed to be effectively applicable to solar incidence discharges in factory buildings.