Parametric study of airflow and heat transfer characteristics of mosque indoor cooling with windcatcher

Windcatchers can increase the energy efficiency of buildings such as mosques, given the huge number of these particular buildings worldwide. This numerical investigation deals with the thermal performance of a windcatcher used for cooling mosque buildings in arid climate conditions (Laghouat City, Algeria). Heat transfer and fluid flow modelling in the building are performed using Ansys-Fluent software for various configurations. The numerical findings are compared with experimental data available in the literature, and good agreement is obtained. This study examines the impact of design features on thermal performance, focusing specifically on inlet size, height, outlet position, and width for various air inlet velocities. Outcomes show that increasing the inlet velocity and size enhances the airflow within the mosque, thereby contributing to a reduction in the indoor temperature. Moreover, the simultaneous window openings (Ho1 = 1.5 m and Ho2 = 0.4 m) at the same time provide the best thermal comfort for the worshippers inside the mosque. In addition, a windcatcher with a height of H = 10 m and a width of W = 2 m shows the best thermal performance, which has the highest impact on reducing the cooling load as well as emissions.