This paper is a description of a numerical method that aims at analysing three-dimensional natural convection in rooms with wide openings.A 3D CFD tool is proposed to predict the airflow pattern and the heat and mass transfer inside a heated office room connected to a corridor via a doorway.Results have been compared to experimental data obtained in full-scale : the CFD predictions agree with the experimentally observed features.

The effect of a solar chimney along with a solar screen on the effectiveness of natural ventilation is investigated in this paper.The benefit of the combination of both systems is that it enhances the natural ventilation flow through the building and improves the environmental comfort.

The study of buoyancy-driven natural ventilation in buildings requires windless conditions. It is difficult to conduct on-site measurements since the nature has few windless moments so a full-scale test room placed in a large laboratory environment can create artificially such conditions but it is an expensive method. CFD methods using two different models (RANS and LES) provide an alternative approach to study natural ventilation in buildings.

Due to the renewal of interest for solar chimneys (that convert thermal energy into the kinetic energy of air movement) , experiments were carried out in a controlled environment, with a full-scale chimney, where both air-velocity and air-temperature were measured.
The aim of the project was to get a better knowledge of :
- optimal gap to height ratio
- optimal gap to different heat input ratio
- optimal inclination angle
- methods to estimate the flow rate.

This paper sums up the developments in geophysical fluid dynamics and ocean currents related to dynamical phenomena. Examples from study of ocean flows are given, then several methods for studying nonlinear dynamical phenomena proposed. Those dynamical phenomena can be very significant for smoke control in naturally and hybrid ventilated buildings.

Experimental set-up and measurement procedures were carried out to evaluate the performance of a windcatcher, using an open working section wind tunnel. Then CFD simulations were made to be compared with experimental results.The performance of the windcatcher depends on the wind speed. The wind direction also has importance

In this paper, after theoretical considerations, two ventilation openings are analysed : an opening with top-hinged flap and a wall inlet with central flap. The analysis shows that it is possible to split artificial resistance coefficients from literature into pure resistance and pure contraction coefficients .

This paper is built on the hypothesis that, as the heated area increases from a point source, a displacement flow is maintained until the heated area reaches a critical fraction of the floor area, after which there is a transition to mixing flow.This hypothesis is tested in a series of laboratory experiments with the investigation of thermal stratification and flow patterns produced by a range of area heat sources located on the floor of a naturally ventilated enclosure.

This paper develops a simple analytical model for the air flow inside a room with different discrete heating and cooling sources, established by combined localised and distributed heat input. Results from experiments are compared to simple theoretical models of the flow pattern.

In this paper, cross ventilation is evaluated by the multi zone network airflow simulation and using CFD. The distribution of indoor wind velocity by cross ventilation is influenced by the weather condition, the location of the building and the form of he building. This paper takes into account those three indexes and proposes a new evaluation method of natural cross ventilation performance