A field study on effects of openings on thermal performance of natural cooling efficiency for atrium buildings

Introduction. In this paper, we investigate the temperature stratification of buoyancy-driven natural ventilation of the atrium of building at ULK-MGSU through field experiments. The process of ventilation with different openings ratios in the translucent roofing and ground floor entrance doors are analyzed to reveal the physical insights. With this aim, the main focus of the study is to consider the temperature fields during cooling the atrium premises that increase the thermal performance of the administrative building at ULK in the summer. An expensive ventilation solution by the optimum design of the inlet-to-outlet opening area ratio in the translucent roofing covering is utilized to improve thermal comfort without reducing the level of illumination. Materials and methods. In this study, field measurements were applied to investigate and compares temperature stratification by floors of naturally ventilated ULK atrium building with different outlet sizes and locations under hot period conditions. The results of field measurement was utilized to develop the baseline model for the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation in future work. Results. These results reveal that the sizes and locations of openings in the atrium building affect on modification of the indoor thermal condition. Moreover, energy efficiency is improved thanks to buoyancy-driven changes in air flow rate in an atrium with multiple openings. Conclusions. This study shows that it can be possible reduce indoor air temperatures by 5 °C during the summer period. In addition to the large inlet openings at different atrium levels, a high ratio of the outlet opening area (>10 %) is recommended. The existing atrium of the building was opened 5 % of the total top-glass roof area, which helps to improve the performance of buoyancy-driven ventilation in order to achieve better atrium cooling performance and prevent the detrimental reverse air movement.