Experimental Validation of a Numerical Model of a Ventilated Façade with Horizontal and Vertical Open Joints

María Nuria Sánchez, Emanuela Giancola, Eduardo Blanco, Silvia Soutullo and María José Suárez
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María Nuria Sánchez: Department of Energy, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Emanuela Giancola: Department of Energy, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Eduardo Blanco: EDZE (Department of Energy), Universidad de Oviedo, 33271 Gijón (Asturias), Spain
Silvia Soutullo: Department of Energy, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, 28040 Madrid, Spain
María José Suárez: EDZE (Department of Energy), Universidad de Oviedo, 33271 Gijón (Asturias), Spain

Energies, 2019, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Commercial and residential building is one of the four major final energy consumption and end-use sectors. In this sector, cooling loads represent an important part of the energy consumption, and therefore, they must be minimized, improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Ventilated façades are one of the most widely used passive elements that are integrated into buildings, precisely with the aim of reducing these loads. This reduction is due to the airflow induced in the air cavity by the buoyancy forces, when the solar radiation heats the outer layer of the façade. In the open joint ventilated facades (OJVF), ventilation is attained through the open joints between the panels composing the outer layer. Despite the steadily growing research in the characterization of this type of system, few studies combine the numerical modelling of OJVF with experimental results for the assessment of the airflow in the ventilated cavities. This paper experimentally validates a numerical simulation model of an OJVF. Firstly, the façade performance has been experimentally assessed in a laboratory model determining the temperatures in the panels and air gap and measuring the flow field at the gap using particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques. Secondly, a numerical model has been developed using advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation tools. Finally, an experimental validation of the numerical model has been done. Experimental and numerical results are compared in different planes inside the ventilated cavity. The discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model and the k-ε renormalisation group (RNG) turbulence model better adjust the simulated results to the experimental ones.

Keywords: building envelope; ventilated façades; natural convection; PIV; CFD simulation; experimental validation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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