Nik Lukman Nik Ibrahim

Computational Analysis of Wind-Driven Natural Ventilation in a Two Sided Rectangular Wind Catcher

Abstract Wind catchers are natural ventilation systems attached to buildings in order to ventilate the indoor air. In order to design and evaluate the performance of wind catchers, as a natural ventilation system, an accurate CFD simulation of indoor airflow and outdoor wind flow is fundamental. It is widely known that there are a large number of computational parameters influencing CFD simulations. Consequently, comprehensive sensitivity analyses of the effect of these parameters on the simulation results are essential to provide guidance for the evaluation of a CFD study. According to the literature review carried out, a wide generic sensitivity study for the CFD simulation of natural ventilation in wind catchers is highly required. This paper presents a series of 3D steady RANS simulations for a generic isolated two-sided wind catcher attached to a room subjected to wind directions ranging from 0° to 90° with an interval of 15°. The CFD simulations are validated with detailed wind tunnel experiments. The influence of an extensive range of computational parameters is explored in this paper, including the resolution of the computational grid, the size of the computational domain, the turbulence model and the order of the discretization scheme.

A typological approach to daylighting analysis

A typological approach to daylighting has been an unconscious feature of past daylighting research with the production of daylight performance diagrams and graphs in a manner similar to traditional typological exercises such as Ruskins categorical analysis of architectural elements. The main objective of this article is to highlight this latent connection between daylight design study and typological analysis and provide a validation method. Taking a cue from recent work by Baker and Steemer, it is proposed that daylighting rules of thumb can be effectively studied by means of a typological approach. As a result, some of the inconsistencies in current daylighting rules, found in architectural literature, can be explained promoting improved application in design.

Review of Building Energy Efficiency in the Hot and Humid Climate of Malaysia

Globally, environmental concerns and the progressively increasing high cost of energy have resulted in renewed interest in alternative forms of energy conservation and efficiency. The aim of this study is to describe various energy policies that the government of Malaysia has been adopted in order to ensure long-term reliability and security of energy supply for sustainable social economic development in the country. Improved living standards in developing nations have led to higher demand for energy, which requires nations to review their energy efficient strategies. While a significant portion of the total primary energy is consumed by buildings in developed nations, developing nations like Malaysia are proactively addressing the energy consumption issue. This review describes the standards and energy efficient codes for buildings, introduces low-energy building concepts and provides information on energy consumption of buildings in Malaysia. Alternative energy options like biomass, solar, wind and mini-hydro energy to ensure reliable, sustainable and secure supplies of energy in this country are considered.

The effects of different depth of floor towards internal daylighting and rules of thumb for office room

Rules of thumb in daylighting have been expressed in a variety of modes in architectural. It can be divided into categories based on the parameters which constitute them. One of the categories is floor depth. This paper presents the impact of different floor depth on daylighting performance of the simulated office room using 1 meter shading device. Several parameters such as shading device, ceiling height, and material reflectance have been appointed. Overcast sky was chosen as tropical-compatible sky types. Models then were simulated and analyzed using an application of IES_VE software called RADIANCE. Existing daylighting rules of thumb has been modified and thus create new formula for Kuala Lumpur sky based on the smallest academic office room in public university.