Quantitative Reduction Method of Draft in High-Rise Buildings, Using Revolving Doors

Abstract

Drafts in high-rise buildings caused by the stack effect can cause noise and reduce the performances of ventilation, cooling and heating systems as well as the building’s energy efficiency. Revolving doors are generally used as a method to reduce drafts; however, the effect would only be limited to the main entrance on the lobby floor. Revolving doors have two main advantages; that their opening areas are seldom changed by people passing through the doors, and the doors do not have the pressure-related functional problems. Considering these advantages, this study examined a quantitative draft reduction method using revolving doors in high-rise buildings. This method would contribute to the design process to install revolving doors to buildings and consists of 10 steps with two key steps of selecting the installation locations of revolving doors and to calculate the air leakage area of revolving doors. Verification through simulations showed that, based on this process, the use of revolving doors could reduce the drafts in buildings by a quantified target value. Furthermore, the possibility of problems due to the stack effect in the other walls of buildings would decrease due to the pressure sharing of the additional walls fitted to revolving doors.