Impact of fluid dynamic behavior of natural convection in vertical air cavities of double-skin façades

Naturally ventilated double skin façade absorbs solar radiation to introduce natural ventilation. It has been proved with significant importance in building energy-saving, so design and construction of internal ventilated air layers have become a popular way to improve the thermal performance of exterior envelopes in modern buildings. DSFs need to be properly designed and operated, or their potential benefits might vanish. For this reason, the physical processes occurring in a DSF should be well understood and predicted. The results indicate that the flow transition, velocity promotion and temperature increase mainly occur in the near-wall regions. For vertical air layers with the height of ۲.۸ m, the width of ۰.۱۵–۰.۶ m, and the input heat flux of ۱۸۰ ۲ w/m a validated CFD model was used to solve the solar radiation and natural ventilation coupling problem between two semi-transparent façades.