| Author(s) | Nasser A. M. Al-Hemiddi |
| Affiliation | Associate Professor, College of Architecture and Planning, King Saud University, P.O. Box 57448, Riyadh 11574, Saudi Arabia. |
| Title | An Experimental Study of the Thermal Performance of Cooling Towers in Al-Jouf Region |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Architecture & Planning. Volume 18, No 2. (2006/1426) |
| Abstract | This experimental research presents the effect of natural cooling towers and shows their effective performance to cool internal spaces in the desert environment. The experiment was conducted during summer period of 1999 at the Al-Nuzl Hotel, Skaka, Al-Jouf desert region, Saudi Arabia. The objective of the study is to investigate the effective performance of those towers by determining the exit flow rate, exit air speed inside of the tower, the rate of cooling, the coefficient of performance “COP”, and humidifying efficiency. The study results conclude that the cooling towers are very effective and ideal in their performance. They can provide thermal comfort for human beings in internal courtyards and surrounding rooms. It was found that the courtyard and indoor dry bulb temperatures were lower than the outdoor temperature by 17 °C and 15 °C, respectively. The study also showed that forty-three persons out of fifty were satisfied in the courtyard environment during hot summer evening time. The study concludes with some appropriate architectural recommendations for applying natural cooling towers that can be integrated to courtyard buildings in desert regions. |
