Natural ventilation inside constructions allows both favorable conditions for thermal comfort to the occupants and quality improvement of the internal air. The efficiency of natural ventilation in a building is associated to the number, position, type and size of the existing openings for the passage of air. It is also associated to the combined action of wind forces and temperature differences. In the case of building industrial hangars and commercial facilities, it is usual to construct openings in the roofs (skylight with an entrance and an exit), besides openings in the facades. This work focuses on the natural ventilation in hangars through the use of skylights in the roofs. It presents a mathematical modeling, associated with the concept of the natural ventilation index. A numerical simulation was used to analyse both the air flow inside the hangar and the internal temperature profile. The airflow and the temperature profile were obtained by simulation. The obtained results took into account the degree of necessary thermal comfort inside the hangar. The results present the necessary size of the opening to obtain adequate internal conditions of comfort.
natural ventilation; skylights; numerical simulation; thermal comfort
