Exciting news, the Thermal Mass and Buoyancy Ventilation Research Project Team have published their Chimney Experiment data onto an online data repository! The team has uploaded data to the Craig Research Group Dataverse through Salmaan Craig at McGill University. Great thanks to the team’s collaborators at McGill, without which this would not be possible.
The team will continually update and upload data as new data is gathered and past data is analyzed. From there, anyone can download and review the raw and analyzed data for both the concrete and pine experiments. This data is a citable source for any publication investigating the passive cooling strategy. There is also an experiment guide available to download which details the design of the experiments. Using this guide others can replicate or improve upon the experimental setup. This process is great practice for the team as they start writing a scientific paper about their experiments for a peer-reviewed journal. Now for some good ole design talk!
The TMBVRP team decided the experiment is best served as a free-standing structure although they loved utilizing the SuperShed as a super roof and a superstructure. The experiment needs a little extra room to breathe and ventilate than the Supershed can provide. The question remains, where do you place a giant occupiable cooling chimney so it sticks out just enough? Not quite a sore thumb, but definitely not a wallflower.
Along with possible sites for the pods, the team is investigating the use of berms. Why berms? The cooling porch will likely be an excavated area so cool air from the chimneys will sink and collect. This space needs some sort of semi-enclosure to help trap the cool air. Therefore the excavated dirt can create berms, trapping the cool air while providing shade and seating. The berms can also divert water so the cool air pool does not become a catfish pond. The team is analyzing sites in proximity to other pods and Supershed while giving each location a fitting suburb names. Right now they are considering two design schemes: Two Trees and East End.
Two Trees would address the “other side of the street” created by the Supershed and the row of original pods. This site is most appealing due to the natural shade provided by the, you guessed it, two trees. Thanks to team collaborator and Auburn professor, David Kennedy, for introducing the team to shading and solar radiation software. This software, through Rhino, will show exactly how much solar blocking the trees provide. While the trees are a bonus, the water is not. Water from all of Morrisette Campus drains right through Two Trees. This is also why the team has steered away from a site at the west end, the lowest point on campus. At this location, the team also thinks the pods compete with the Supershed in a strange manner. For these reasons, the team decided to take a look at the East End. East End could serve as a continuation or cap to the Supershed. However, there is no hiding from the sun in this location. Thankfully it is more beneficial to the experiment that the pods receive equal solar exposure rather than partial but inconsistent exposure. The team will continue to evaluate both sites.
Greensboro Boys & Girls Club image by Timothy Hursley 
20K Ree’s Home image by Timothy Hursley 
Lions Park Concession Stand image by Timothy Hursley 
Morrisette House Kitchen
The team is currently exploring high albedo, ventilated cladding systems. Albedo refers to the amount of energy that is reflected by a surface. A high albedo means the surface reflects most of the solar radiation that hits it and absorbs the rest. A shading or reflective cladding system, when coupled with the use of SIPs, will allow for the interior system to work unaffected by exterior solar heat gain. Metal cladding is an easy way to reflect radiation. A light-colored timber rainscreen can also reflect heat and shade the structure behind it. The team is exploring both options.
The Thermal Mass and Buoyancy Ventilation Research Project Team is also getting into the structure needed to support the pods, 8′ above ground. To start the team looked at a local precedent: silos. In Hale county, silos for holding catfish and cattle feed are aplenty. They can support up to 30 tons with a light-weight steel structure. Steel manual in hand, the team has been investigating how they could apply a similar structure to lift the pods. This allows for an open space beneath for the cooling porch. Next, the team will investigate the possible benefits of using a wood structure.
The team will keep pushing their citing, siting, and siding ventures forward while living it up in Hale County. They’ve been utilizing the great outdoors for grilling and being grilled in reviews. Livia sometimes misses out on the fun as she is dedicated to the landscaping at Morrisette. For more research graduate student shenanigans make sure you stay tuned!