Effects of ancient Egypt hypostyle halls on the thermal environment

Abstract

Abstract In this study, the effects of ancient Egyptian hypostyle hall columns on the thermal environment are quantitatively evaluated. Accordingly, a model was developed to predict the annual changes in indoor temperature. The results reveal that the thermal environment significantly improves with the installation of the columns. The fluctuations owing to daily temperature variations are minimized and the indoor temperature is reduced, even during summers. The results of the sensitivity analysis indicate that such a reduction in the temperature variation cannot be achieved by simply increasing the thermal capacity of the wall, instead, the thermal capacity and surface area must also be simultaneously enhanced by increasing the number of columns.

Keywords

• hypostyle hall
• Karnak Temple
• simulation
• thermal environment
• thermal storage