Periodic approaching flows and pollutant dispersion of a single-sided generic building with natural ventilation

In real urban environments, wind velocities often exhibit significant time-dependent variations. However, the impact of these fluctuations on ventilation performance is not frequently addressed in the literature. To accurately predict the building ventilation performance, this paper intends to elucidate the influence of the unsteady approaching flow. Four distinct inflows, characterized by periodic sinusoidal fluctuations, are evaluated using large-eddy simulation (LES). A single-sided building model with natural ventilation is constructed and validated through a wind tunnel experiment. Four periodic inflows consist of combinations of two frequencies (f = 0.1 and 0.3 Hz) and two amplitudes (A = 0.06 and 0.09). This paper mainly compares the results of airflow patterns and ventilation performance with those of stable inflows. The results indicate that periodic inflows cause greater fluctuations in the velocity fields on the leeward side. At higher frequencies and lower amplitudes, the vertical distribution of indoor bottom vortices is relatively dispersed. It shows that periodic flows lead to noticeable changes in the ventilation rate, with a deviation between instantaneous and average Q* ranging from 13.8% to 16.5%. Compared to the stable inflow, the impacts of periodic inflows on ventilation performance vary over time; 6% and 9% variations in incoming velocities result in deviations of up to 17.5% in ventilation rates. The frequencies and amplitudes of the periodic inflows do not exhibit a linear relation with ventilation rate. Therefore, it is prudent to be cautious about adopting averaged incoming wind velocities in predicting ventilation performance. This study helps in the more accurate prediction of single-sided natural ventilation.