Influence of Outlet/Inlet Area Ratio on Performance of a Vertical Solar Chimney for Natural Ventilation of Buildings

In this study, effects of the contractions of the inlet and outlet areas of a vertical solar chimney were examined with a Computational Fluid Dynamics. The results show that the flow rate decreased with both the inlet and outlet areas. The outlet area influenced more than the inlet area did. The flow rate decreased linearly with the outlet area, however, was affected significantly only when the inlet area was below half of the air gap.