Research Article Optimization of Wind Driven Rain Barrier for Tropical Natural Ventilated Building

Wind Driven Rain (WDR) is an inherent problem especially on open corridors and open areas like courtyard, balconies and terraces of naturally ventilated tropical buildings. The WDR can cause the building floor to be slippery and even flooding during heavy rain and strong wind. It can also eventually caused damages on building materials if exposed over a long period of time. Unfortunately, until to date there are not many researches conducted on WDR in tropical natural ventilated buildings. An experimental and CFD simulation analyses were taken into consideration to predict the percentage of water on a floor of case study building. Different types of rain barrier designs have been proposed to reduce the amount of wind driven rain entering the building. The CFD simulation results showed that the water percentage on the floor caused by the wind driven rain can be reduced from 78% of the floor area to about 42% using titled overhang rain barrier design.