The Windcatcher: A Renewable-Energy-Powered Device for Natural Ventilation—The Impact of Upper Wing Walls

Payam Nejat (), Yashar Fekri, Mohammadamin Sheikhshahrokhdehkordi, Fatemeh Jomehzadeh, Hayder Alsaad and Conrad Voelker
Additional contact information
Payam Nejat: Department of Building Physics, Bauhaus-University Weimar, 99423 Weimar, Germany
Yashar Fekri: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran 15614, Iran
Mohammadamin Sheikhshahrokhdehkordi: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Fatemeh Jomehzadeh: Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM, Skudai 81310, Malaysia
Hayder Alsaad: Department of Building Physics, Bauhaus-University Weimar, 99423 Weimar, Germany
Conrad Voelker: Department of Building Physics, Bauhaus-University Weimar, 99423 Weimar, Germany

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: In recent years, there has been increased interest in natural ventilation solutions as a means to achieve sustainable and energy-efficient building design. Windcatchers, ancient Middle Eastern architectural elements, have surfaced as viable passive cooling devices in modern architecture, thereby enhancing interior air quality and reducing the reliance on mechanical ventilation systems. Integrating upper wing walls (UWWs) is hypothesized to augment a windcatcher’s effectiveness by optimizing wind capture, air circulation, and thermal regulation. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the influence of incorporating a two-sided windcatcher with UWWs, with a particular emphasis on the effect of the UWW angle on ventilation performance within building spaces. To achieve this aim, a series of numerical simulations were conducted to assess the synergy between the windcatcher and the wing wall configuration with varying UWW angles and under varying wind speed conditions. As the first step of the research methodology, the CFD model was validated through a comparison between the numerical results and the experimental data. The findings showed good agreement between these methods. In the next phase, windcatchers with different UWW angles spanning the range of 0° to 90° were subjected to rigorous evaluation. The results revealed that the configuration with a 30° angle exhibited the optimal performance concerning critical ventilation parameters encompassing the airflow rate, air change rate, and mean age of air. Finally, the selected configuration underwent an evaluation under diverse wind speed conditions, which affirmed that even under low-wind-speed conditions, the windcatcher provides ventilation levels that align with the standard requirements.

Keywords: windcatcher; Badgir; natural ventilation; wing wall; CFD (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: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/3/611/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/3/611/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:3:p:611-:d:1327501

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().