On-site measurement and ventilation improvement of an aquatics center using double ETFE cushion structure

Thermal environment in a building with an ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) cushion structure is significantly different from that in a common building. An aquatics center with double ETFE cushion structure is researched in this paper. On-site measurements are carried out to investigate the building thermal environment. Air temperature in the cavity increases along the vertical direction due to solar radiation and natural convection. It reaches up to 60 ℃ near the roof in summer. As a result, indoor heat load is increased to a great extent. Natural ventilation with elevated ETFE cushions in the roof is treated as the most appropriate solution for improving the indoor thermal environment. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results show that setting 10-15 elevated ETFE cushions with air outlets will lead to a ventilation rate of about 600,000-800,000 m3/h. The inner surface temperature of the building envelope is significantly reduced with the help of natural ventilation.