Cross ventilation with small openings: Measurements in a multi-zone test building

Designing for wind driven cross ventilation is challenging due to the dynamic characteristics of wind. While numerous studies have used wind tunnels and computational fluid dynamics to study cross ventilation, few have utilized a full scale experimental approach. Thus, this paper provides measurements of wind properties, façade pressures, airflow rates through small window openings, and tracer gas concentrations for a multi-zone test building located in Austin, TX. This experimental data connects outdoor and indoor environments and demonstrates the dynamic nature of wind driven cross ventilation flow. Several interesting observations were made: (1) cross ventilation rate can be correlated to the velocity component of the approaching wind that is normal to the inlet openings; (2) obstructions that are far upwind of a building (e.g., kilometers) can have significant impacts on cross ventilation flows; (3) wind pressures on building façades are highly dynamic that a steady state assumption may not be appropriate; and (4) locations of openings that are leeward have a small impact on the overall flow rate, but significantly impact a building’s internal flow distribution. This paper provides the summary of the collected data, while the detailed dataset is available upon request. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.