Convective heat transfer in buildings: Recent research results

Small scale water filled enclosures were used to study convective heat transfer in buildings. The convective processes investigated are: (1) natural convective heat transfer between room surfaces and the adjacent air; (2) natural convective heat transfer between adjacent rooms through a doorway or other openings; and (3) forced convection between the building and its external environment (such as, wind driven ventilation through windows, doors, or other openings). Results for surface convection coefficients are compared with existing ASHRAE coorelations and differences of as much as 20% are observed. Numerical simulations of wind driven natural ventilation exhibit good qualitative agreement with published wind tunnel data.