Numerical study of solar-wind tower systems for ventilation of dwellings

Numerical study is carried out of a simplified system of solar-wind tower for ventilation of dwellings. The conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy for mixed convection in two-dimensional coordinates are solved by the control volume method and Simpler algorithm. The governing parameters of the problem are Rayleigh number Ra, Reynolds number, Re (or Richardson number, Ri), the dimensionless conductivity of the solid medium, kr and the geometrical parameters. Nusselt number Nu   and dimensionless volume flow rate V˙ are calculated as a function of the governing parameters, and streamlines and isotherms are produced. The results show that the important parameters affecting the ventilation performance are Ra, Re (or Ri), and the geometrical parameters, the aspect ratio A, the exit port size h1/L and to a lesser degree, the wall thickness ℓ1/L.