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In this paper, the outside cabin heat exchanger based on the porous media approach was established. The effects of altitude, viscous resistance coefficient, inertial resistance coefficient, and core thickness on the naturally captured air volume of the heat exchanger were investigated by numerical simulation. Results showed that the naturally captured air volume of the heat exchanger tends to be larger on both sides and smaller in the middle, and there is a quasi-linear increase proportional to the incoming wind velocity. With the increment of altitude, viscous resistance coefficient, and inertial resistance coefficient, the average naturally captured air volume of the heat exchangers shows a downward trend. The trend would be clear with the increment of the incoming wind velocity, nevertheless, the effect of core thickness is weak. In addition, the design values of the viscous resistance coefficient and the inertial resistance coefficient should be restricted in the order of 106 and below 500, respectively. Based on the weak effect of the naturally captured air volume of the heat exchanger, the thickness of the core can be appropriately increased to ensure the heat transfer area of the heat exchanger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]