Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction
Date of this Version
9-12-2012
Citation
JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT ISSN 1392-3730 / eISSN 1822-3605 2014 Volume 20(5): 674–685 doi:10.3846/13923730.2013.802738
Abstract
An unsteady computational fluid dynamics model is employed to simulate summer-time buoyancy-driven turbulent ventilation in gable-roof attics of residential buildings. The energy performance of vented attics is assessed by comparing their performance to sealed attics with the same geometry and insulation configurations. The simulated boundary conditions of the roof-top temperature ranging between 295.15 K and 345.15 K, coupled with an ambient temperature ranging between 295.15 K and 315.15 K, resemble the summer attic conditions with effects of solar irradiance on the roofs. Simulation results indicate that both the vented and sealed attics are dominated by thermal stratification. The cooling load of the sealed attic is predicted to be about 3 times greater than that of the vented attic for a roof-top temperature of 345.15 K and an ambient temperature of 305.15 K. Both the cooling load and ventilating air flow rate of the vented attic are sensitive to the ambient temperature variation.
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Comments
2014 Vilnius Gediminas Technical University