Numerical Study of Wind-Driven Natural Ventilation in Lagos

Natural ventilation improves thermal comfort when it is caused by temperature differences among the openings on the building façade and ensures the delivery of fresh air into space when it is wind-driven. This research utilizes a validated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to explore how geometrical parameters affect wind-driven ventilation within a building. The research investigates around 30 scenarios that illustrate differences in parameters for both single-sided (SV) and cross-ventilation (CV) systems. In the CV scenarios, five unique categories of airflow patterns can be distinguished: (1) without a weak zone (WZ), (2) featuring a dominant WZ, (3) with a WZ positioned at the bottom, (4) with a WZ at the top, and (5) with WZs present on both the upper and lower sides. A consistent airflow pattern is seldom seen in SV cases. Moreover, the dimensions of the room also affect the flow pattern and velocity for both <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$S V$</tex> and <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$C V$</tex>.