An analytical and numerical study of solar chimney use for room natural ventilation

The solar chimney concept used for improving room natural ventilation was analytically and numerically studied. The study considered some geometrical parameters such as chimney inlet size and width, which are believed to have a significant effect on space ventilation. The numerical analysis was intended to predict the flow pattern in the room as well as in the chimney. This would help optimizing design parameters. The results were compared with available published experimental and theoretical data. There was an acceptable trend match between the present analytical results and the published data for the room air change per hour, ACH. Further, it was noticed that the chimney width has a more significant effect on ACH compared to the chimney inlet size. The results showed that the absorber average temperature could be correlated to the intensity as: (T-w = 3.51I(0.461)) with an accepted range of approximation error. In addition the average air exit velocity was found to vary with the intensity as (nu(cx) = 0.013I(0.4)). (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.