Wei Zhang

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Harvard University

Natural ventilation in buildings has the potential to reduce building energy consumption and the incidence of sick building syndrome. However, controlling natural ventilation is often challenging. For instance, natural ventilation through operable windows may cause cold draughts for the occupants in winter. This paper presents the key findings of a...

The thermally activated building system (TABS) is becoming a popular heating option in buildings in the US. A typical TABS heating control strategy uses an embedded slab temperature sensor or room air temperature sensor as the control reference. TABS control may be disturbed by heat gain in the room space, for example, the intense solar radiation,...

Natural ventilation is a promising passive technology to improve building energy performance and indoor air quality. However, the control of natural ventilation is a challenge in building technology and is often missing in building system advanced control design. This paper proposes the application of Model Predictive Control (MPC) and Reinforcemen...

Natural ventilation in buildings can potentially reduce building energy consumption and sick building syndrome. However, the control of natural ventilation is often challenging. For example, natural ventilation through operable windows may cause a cold draught for the occupants in winter and thermal discomfort in summer. This paper presents the key...

Natural ventilation reflects an emphasis on self-control in architecture: it is a crucial aim in the creation of healthy, comfortable indoor environments with low energy consumption. The design of naturally ventilated buildings and their control algorithms signifies the extension of design boundaries to stochastic elements in the natural environmen...

Although natural ventilation is applicable to most buildings, architects and engineers today struggle to integrate it as an alternative to mechanical ventilation systems due to its uncertainty. This paper presents the application of regression algorithms and identification methods to single-sided natural ventilation with two opening (SS2). The resu...

Although natural ventilation is applicable to most buildings, architects today struggle to integrate it as an alternative to mechanical ventilation systems. This paper presents the application of regression algorithms and identification methods to single-sided natural ventilation with 1 opening (SS1). The result of this work provides a predictive c...

This study critically reviews and evaluates state-of-the-art analytical models describing the heat transfer process in a thermally activated building system (TABS) that aims to reduce use of energy for space conditioning by using low-exergy renewable energy. An effective deployment of this system depends on the development of control strategies to...

This thesis presents the project of contemporary reconstruction of Nanjing Porcelain Tower and Bao'en temple in China. The construction/reconstruction of Buddhist temple is a regular activity since the third century; the ancient porcelain pagoda is also a reconstructed tower. However, the contemporary reconstruction project encounters several const...