Effects of roof shapes on wind-induced air motion inside buildings

The effects of roof shape on wind-induced air motion inside buildings were analysed by using a numerical simulation: computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The average indoor velocity coefficient, a non-dimensional indoor air motion parameter; was used to calculate the relative strength of the interior air movement in the horizontal plane representative of the occupied space of the room. The distribution of average velocity between inlet and outlet, which enabled observation of the interior air motion behaviour, was analysed. The coefficient of spatial variation was used to investigate the uniformity of airflow inside the building. It was observed that the shape of the roof directly affected the airflow pattern, especially the velocity magnitude. The importance of wind direction, building overhang and roof height was also investigated. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.