Computational fluid dynamics assessment for the thermal performance of double-skin facades in office buildings under hot climatic condition

In general, a double-skin facade has been used to reduce energy consumption as well as to improve thermal performance in buildings as a buffer space between indoors and outdoors. The goal of this study is to undertake pre-normative research to provide information for developing a comprehensive double-skin facade system under the climatic condition in Saudi Arabia. To pursue this goal, the characteristics associated with the double-skin facade system are identified. In addition, the impact of various configurations on the thermal performance of the double-skin facades is evaluated under the weather situation in Saudi Arabia. Computational double-skin facade models are created by computational fluid dnamics simulation to assess the thermal performance of the various configurations such as cavity geometry and the use of a shading device. As a result, the variation of the opening size has a significant impact on the temperature in the cavity of the double-skin facade. For the air velocity in the cavity, the variation of the opening size and cavity depth is less sensitive. Moreover, the use of a shading device has an impact on the temperature drop in the cavity of the double-skin facade.