Impacts of boundary walls on natural ventilation behavior in low-cost single-story residential buildings

Abstract

Natural ventilation is an important passive cooling strategy in regions of tropical climate. However, bulkheads present in the surroundings of buildings, such as boundary walls, can compromise the effectiveness of this resource. Few studies have focused on quantifying the influence of these elements on wind behavior. Thus, this study aimed to assess the impacts of boundary walls on natural ventilation in low-cost single-story residential buildings. Four scenarios were explored employing computational fluid dynamics (CFD): (1) buildings without boundary walls; (2 ) buildings with partial boundary walls; (3) buildings with total closure and solid front wall; and (4) buildings with total closure and air passages in the front wall. The results showed that the incorporation of boundary walls in the buildings worsened the existing ventilation conditions. The worst scenario for wind exploitation was total closure with solid front walls. The replacement of solid front walls with walls with air passages increased wind speed inside the building by 42%. Thus, the inclusion of air passages can combine the need to delimit the land with a lower impact on natural ventilation conditions.