Enhancements of Roof Solar Chimney Performance for Building Ventilation

Pornsawan Tongbai^*, Tawit Chitsomboon

School of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

DOI: 10.4236/jpee.2014.26003                

Abstract

A roof solar chimney (RSC) is inclined in the roof of a building wherein solar radiation is employed to heat the air the channel. The hot air flows up the channel which can be used to induce flow out of the building in order to ventilate it. In this study, parameters that affect the performance of this natural ventilation system were investigated numerically, namely: inclination angles, channel gaps, solar intensities, vertical chimney attachment heights and channel expanding angles. The two last parameters were new concepts that seem to have never been studied before. All of the mentioned parameters were found to exhibit positive effects on the ventilation. Relative merits of these techniques were compared and discussed.

Keywords

Natural Ventilation, Natural Ventilation Enhancement, Solar Attic, Solar Chimney, Expanding Channel

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Chitsomboon, T. (2000) A Validated Analytical Model for Flow in Solar Chimney. International Journal of Renewable Energy Engineering, 3, 339-346.
[2]	Chitsomboon, T. and Tongbai, P. (1998) A Mathematical Model of Solar Chimney for Electrical Energy Production. Proceedings of the 12th National Mechanical Engineering Conference, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, 14-20.
[3]	Chitsomboon, T. and Tongbai, P. (1999) The Effect of Chimney-Top Convergence on Efficiency of a Solar Chimney. Proceedings of the 13th National Mechanical Engineering Conference, Pataya, Thailand, 263-268.
[4]	Bansal, N.K., Mathur, R. and Bhandari, M.S. (1993) Solar Chimney Stack Ventilation. Building and Environment, 28, 373-377. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0360-1323(93)90042-2
[5]	Bansal, N.K., Mathur, J., Mathur, S. and Jane, M. (2005) Modeling of Window-Sized Solar Chimneys for Ventilation. Building and Environment, 40, 1302-1308. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2004.10.011
[6]	Gan, G. (1998) A Parametric Study of Trombe Walls for Passive Cooling of Buildings. Energy and Buildings, 27, 37- 43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7788(97)00024-8
[7]	Bouchair, A. (1994) Solar Chimney for Promoting Cooling Ventilation in Southern Algeria. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 15, 81-93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/014362449401500203
[8]	Burek, S.A.M. and Habeb, A. (2007) Air Flow and Thermal Ef-ficiency Characteristics in Solar Chimneys and Trombe Walls. Energy and Buildings, 3, 128-135. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2006.04.015
[9]	Afonso, C. and Oliviera, A. (2000) Solar Chimneys: Simulation and Experiment. Energy and Buildings, 32, 71-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7788(99)00038-9
[10]	Hamdy, L.F. and Fikry, M.A. (1998) Passive Solar Ventilation. Renewable Energy, 14, 381-386.
[11]	Zhai, X.Q., Dai, Y.J. and Wang, R.Z. (2005) Comparison of Heating and Natural Ventilation in a Solar House Induced by Two Roof Solar Collectors. Applied Thermal Engineering, 25, 741-757. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2004.08.001
[12]	Hirunlabh, J., Washirapuwadon, S., Pratinthong, N. and Khedari, J. (2001) New Configurations of a Roof Solar Collector Maximizing Natural Ventilation. Building and Environment, 36, 383-391. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0360-1323(00)00016-0
[13]	Khedari, J., Hirunlabh, J. and Bunnag, T. (1997) Experimental Study of a Roof Solar Collector towards the Natural Ventilation of New Houses. Energy and Buildings, 26, 159-164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7788(96)01030-4
[14]	Khedari, J., Mansirisub, W., Chaima, S., Pratinthong, N. and Hirunlabh, J. (2000) Field Measurements of Performance of Roof Solar Collector. Energy and Buildings, 31, 171-178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7788(99)00003-1
[15]	Khedari, J., Ingkawanich, S., Waewsak, J. and Hirunlabh, J. (2002) A PV System Enhanced the Performance of Roof Solar Collector. Building and Environment, 37, 1317-1320. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0360-1323(01)00119-6
[16]	Khedari, J., Yimsamerjit, P. and Hirunlabh, J. (2002) Experimental Investigation of Free Convection in Roof Solar Collector. Building and Environment, 37, 455-459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0360-1323(01)00054-3
[17]	Tongbai, P. and Chitsomboon, T. (2004) The Use of Attic and Chimney to Enhance Air Ventilation: A Numerical Analysis. Proceedings of the 18th National Mechanical Engineering Conference, Khonkaen, Thailand, 263-268.
[18]	Tongbai, P. and Chitsomboon, T. (2008) Enhancements of Solar Chimney for Building Ventilation. The 4th Conference on Energy Network of Thailand, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
[19]	Tongbai, P. and Chitsomboon, T. (2008) Parameters Affecting Ventilation in Building using Solar Chimney. Proceedings of the 22th National Mechanical Engineering Conference, Thailand.
[20]	Koonsrisuk, A. and Chitsomboon, T. (2006) Effect of Tower Area Change on the Potential of Solar Tower. The 2nd Join International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment, Bangkok, Thailand.
[21]	ANSYS CFX, Release 11.0. ANSYS, Inc.
[22]	Kays, W.M. and Crawford, M.E. (1993) Convective Heat and Mass Transfer. 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill, Singapore.