Topic : Heat & Light [Course Guest presenter: Mehmoush Latifi, ‘Heat/Light’]
A school building in Damascus – Lycee Charles de Gaulle triggers my in interests in the subject of Solar Chimney, and further links to the Theory Topic of ‘Heat and Light’
Case Study : Lycee Charles de Gaulle Damascus
Introductions
The Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in Damascus, a school that houses 900 students from kindergarten up to baccalaureate level, is a garden-like school with classrooms integrated into an intricate system of courtyards and green patios. The main aim of the design was to set a precedent: a design in full respect of the environment that aspires to sustainability.
Consequently it sets out eliminate air conditioning and uses only natural ventilation, cooling, light/shadows and so economises also on running costs. The result is a project that fully reflects its aims and translates them into a special architectural language of forms with rhythms of alternating spaces, masses, gardens and a dramatic skyline rendered by the distinct vertical elements of the proposed solar chimneys.
Ref Data:
altitude: 733 m (2,405 ft);
• the average temperature in Damascus is 17.6°C (64°F);
• the range of average monthly temperatures is 20°C;
• the warmest average max/high temperature is 37°C (99°F) in August;
• the coolest average min/low temperature is 2°C (36°F) in January;
• Damascus receives on average 234 mm (9.2 in) of precipitation annually or 20mm (0.8 in) each month
Methodology
The small “garden” is the spatial building block of the design scheme, intended to create a microclimate of cool air feeding into the ventilation system through PVC pipes made to circulate by means of the updraft created by solar chimneys. The walls enclosing this garden are double-block for its thermal properties: solid concrete on the inside and concrete breeze-blocks on the outside, all separated by an air pocket.
The solar chimneys, consisting of a vertical polycarbonate element built in front of a dark-coloured wall, draw air up naturally from the patios after it has been cooled by passing through PVC pipes embedded in the slab on the ground floor. The architects’ main premise is that inertia, controlled solar energy and a garden to create a microclimate provide a solution to the need for consistently pleasant temperatures
Performance
The project proved problematic in its functioning within this particular scheme and the new manner that the architects proposed, in other words, the detached units, open-air corridors and alternating courtyards system. At present the functional relationship scheme and circulation system hypothesis in its abstract form works well in moderate weather conditions only. During the winter and early spring, which constitute most of the academic year, it has proved hard to live in the proposed open air corridor system and courtyards.
Ancient Wisdoms
Vedio 1
Solar Chimney
The Case Study and Ancient Wisdoms chapter further induce the study into Solar Chimney, which finally not only affects the domestic application for families, individual institutes, but more importantly, relates to Clean Energy – the most imminent topics that we are all required to answer.
The following diagrammes further interpret the options and scientific basics of this application
Principles/Details
Figure 14
Figure 10 ~ Figure 17 illustrate sundries of applications and the principles behind.
Generally, the domestic application features a variety of options but they are all based on similar heat-light interactive relations.
Scientific Basics
A number of application methods can be found as well as calculation/formulas
It is also noticed that applications are subject to many conditions: geographical for example :
It can be also concluded that height of the chimney is critical: the higher the chimney, the better result of air movement and this leads to the following chapter: Clean Energy
State of the Art Applications: Clean Energy
The occupation of certain area and initial cost may damper someone on this Chimney application. However, it is becoming more and more popular in the field of Clean Energy.
The ever built / proposal of clean energy projects have demonstrated the great potential of solar chimney applications. More in-depth research/exploration on this is anticipated.
Conclusion:
Solar chimney is a good example of how to incorporate heat and light principles into sophisticated applications. It is anticipated that its potential will be gradually uncovered and realized in the near feature. However, it is also useful to bear in mind that it is subject to social, economic, geographical and technological conditions.
References //
- https://www.german-architects.com/en/transsolar-klimaengineering-stuttgart/project/lycee-charles-de-gaulle, access on 20/12/2022
2. https://the.akdn/en/how-we-work/our-agencies/aga-khan-trust-culture/akaa/lyc%C3%A9e-fran%C3%A7ais-charles-de-gaulle, access on 20/12/2022
3. Wael Samhouri(2008), Lycée français Charles de Gaulle
4. Shiv Lal , S.C. Kaushik , P.K. Bhargav (2013), Solar chimney: A sustainable approach for ventilation and building space conditioning
5. Sheikh Saiful Azam Samsudin, Abdul Muin Shaari, Kamil Abdullah, Mohd Faizal Mohideen Batcha(2020), Potential of Utilizing Solar Chimney as an Energy Efficiency
Measure in Malaysian Hospitals
6. Manikandan Poomalai, S. Balamurugan, O.V. Ramana Murthy(2020), Design of a portable solar powered RO desalination plant Demand response from an energy
management system using Raspberry Pi AIP Conference Design of a Portable Solar Powered RO Desalination Plant
7. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/history/compare_revision/24740/-1 , access on 20/12/2022
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLIiGTZxH5s&t=2s, access on 20/12/2022
Image / Video credits //
- (Figure 1) Photo © Adria Goula, Transsolar KlimaEngineering,
https://www.german-architects.com/en/transsolar-klimaengineering-stuttgart/project/lycee-charles-de-gaulle, access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 2) © AKAA / Alhadi Albaridi, View of the high school, Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, Damascus, Syria.
https://the.akdn/en/how-we-work/our-agencies/aga-khan-trust-culture/akaa/lyc%C3%A9e-fran%C3%A7ais-charles-de-gaulle, access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 3) Drawing © Transsolar, Transsolar KlimaEngineering,
https://www.german-architects.com/en/transsolar-klimaengineering-stuttgart/project/lycee-charles-de-gaulle, access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 4) Google Map Image,
https://www.german-architects.com/en/transsolar-klimaengineering-stuttgart/project/lycee-charles-de-gaulle, access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 5) @Wael Samhouri, Lycée français Charles de Gaulle, 2013 On Site Review Report
https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.archnet.org/system/publications/contents/9458/original/DTP101941.pdf?1396864465, access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 6) ditto
- (Figure 7) Figure 2 © Ateliers Lion, Diagram showing integrated shading, cooling and ventilation strategies, Solar chimneys
https://dezzzme.wordpress.com/2012/09/30/a-damascus-school-revives-traditional-cooling-techniques/, access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 8) © AKAA / Alhadi Albaridi, View of the high school, Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, Damascus, Syria.
https://the.akdn/en/how-we-work/our-agencies/aga-khan-trust-culture/akaa/lyc%C3%A9e-fran%C3%A7ais-charles-de-gaulle, access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 9) Photo © Adria Goula, Transsolar KlimaEngineering,
https://www.german-architects.com/en/transsolar-klimaengineering-stuttgart/project/lycee-charles-de-gaulle, access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 10~12) © n/a,
https://gharpedia.com/blog/solar-chimney-sustainable-solution-for-homes/, access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 13) Figure 1, A schematic diagram of a solar chimney.© n/a, Solar Chimney Applications in Buildings
https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/history/compare_revision/24740/-1 , access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 14) Fig. 1. A typical inclined solar chimney cabin [16].© n/a, Potential of Utilizing Solar Chimney as an Energy Efficiency Measure in Malaysian Hospitals
https://www.akademiabaru.com/doc/CFDLV12_N4_P90_99.pdf , access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 15) Figure 10. Schematic of the solar house with solar chimney and adsorption cooling cavity (Sumathy et al., 2003), Solar chimney: A sustainable approach
for ventilation and building space conditioning
https://isdsnet.com/ijds-v2n1-20.pdf , access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 16) @n/a, Green Academy
https://www.behance.net/gallery/47925383/3rd-Prize-Young-Architects-Competition , access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 17) @n/a, http://www.constructioncivilengineering.com/solar-chimneys-in-buildings.html, access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 18) Table 2. Mathematical modelings for solar chimney calculations @ n/a, Solar chimney: A sustainable approach
for ventilation and building space conditioning
https://isdsnet.com/ijds-v2n1-20.pdf , access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 19) Table 4. Optimum Inclination of solar chimney at different latitudes (Mathur and Mathur, 2006) , Solar chimney: A sustainable approach
for ventilation and building space conditioning
https://isdsnet.com/ijds-v2n1-20.pdf , access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 20) Schematic presentation of a solar updraft tower @ n/a , wikipedia: Solar updraft tower
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_updraft_tower , access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 21) video printscript @ n/a , Solar Chimneys Can Convert Hot Air to Energy, But Is Funding a Mirage?
httpswww.nationalgeographic.comhistoryarticle140416-solar-updraft-towers-convert-hot-air-to-energy , access on 20/12/2022
- (Figure 22) Fig. 6. Schematics of the system proposed by Ming et al. (2017b, 2016). , An overview of the use of solar chimneys for desalination
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/An-overview-of-the-use-of-solar-chimneys-for-Maia-Silva/e277ed7ec8c46fde8346b6fe84d018c991bbd869, access on
20/12/2022
- (Video 1) @n/a Ancient Ice-Making Machines Found In Persian Desert, The Yakhch?l , Leaf of Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnJms_3Gbuk, access on 20/12/2022
- (Video 2) @n/a SOLAR CHIMNEY || passive heating and cooling system || how it works , Leaf of Life, ARCHI NOTES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEQjSaXtt9U, access on 20/12/2022
- (Video 3) @Brett Rodli EnviroMission’s Solar Tower animated demo of the proposed solar tower plant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLIiGTZxH5s&t=2s, access on 20/12/2022
