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Rakesh Khanal

Rakesh Khanal photo

BE, MSME
Postgraduate Research Student
Fluids and Environment Group




School of Civil Engineering, Room 360
Phone: +61 2 9351 5155
Fax: +61 2 9351 3343
Email:

Research project - Natural Ventilation

Supervisor: A/Prof Chengwang Lei

Natural ventilation is a sustainable design strategy for buildings known to mankind for centuries; however the interest in natural ventilation has been reawakened in the late 1990s because of its potential benefits over mechanical ventilation in terms of energy requirement, operational cost and environmental impact. Much of the earlier work on natural ventilation is concerned with wind driven ventilation (e.g. Linden, 1999). Over the past two decades research in this area has been focused more on buoyancy driven natural ventilation. For building ventilation systems, solar energy could be used directly as the driving force, and Australia has great potential for applying such passive ventilation design since on average, Australia receives more solar radiation per square meter than any other continent (CSIRO, 2010).

The heat transfer process and fluid mechanics involved in such passive technology is very complex and has not been fully understood. This will be the focus of the research project. The ultimate purpose of this research is to obtain better design solutions for enhancing natural ventilation and maximizing thermal comfort for the dwellers.

Publications

  • Khanal, R., and Lei, C., “ Solar Chimney – A Passive Ventilation Strategy”. (under preparation)
  • Khanal, R., 2008, “Research Methodology-An Introduction,” The Management Journal, Management Association of Nepal, Vol. 2, pp. 30-35.
  • Khanal, R., 2003, “Effect of Sugar on Hydration of Portland Cement,” Concrete Construction Research Centre, Southern Illinois University, Illinois.
  • Khanal, R., 2002, “Numerical Simulation of Vortex Shedding Past a Circular Cylinder,” Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southern Illinois University, Illinois.
  • Bhattarai, S., and Khanal, R., 2000, “Status of Environmental Pollution in Kathmandu Valley,” DANIDA and Radio Sagarmatha, Kathmandu.

Learning & Teaching

  • CIVIL4615: Water Resources and Hydrology
  • CIVIL2611: Introductory Fluid Mechanics