Scalar fluxes from urban street canyons. Part I: Laboratory simulation

Flow over urban surfaces depends on surface morphology and interaction with the boundary layer above. However, the effect of the flow on scalar fluxes is hard to quantify. The naphthalene sublimation technique was used to quantify scalar vertical fluxes out of a street canyon under neutral conditions. For an array of eight canyons with aspect ratio H/W=0.75 (here, H is building height and W is the street width), increased flux was observed in the first two or three canyons for moderate and low roughness upstream. This is consistent with predictions of the length scale for initial adjustment of flow to an urban canopy. The flux was constant after the initial adjustment region and thus dependent only on local geometry. For a street canyon in the equilibrium part of the array, each facet of the street canyon was coated with naphthalene to simulate scalar release from street, walls and roof, to evaluate the effect of street canyon geometry on fluxes for H/W=0.25, 0.6, 1 and 2. Fluxes from the roof and downstream wall were considerably larger than fluxes from the street and upstream wall, and only the flux from the downstream wall exhibited a simple decrease with H/W. For each H/W there was a monotonic decrease between downstream wall, street and upstream wall transfer. This suggests that flow decelerates around the recirculation region in the lee of the upstream building, i.e. a recirculating jet rather than a symmetrical vortex. The addition of a second source within the street canyon resulted in reduced fluxes from each facet for H/W>0.25, due to increased concentration of naphthalene in the canyon air.     

Transfer processes in a simulated urban street canyon

The transfer processes within and above a simulated urban street canyon were investigated in a generic manner. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to aid understanding and to produce some simple operational parameterisations. In this study we addressed specifically the commonly met situation where buoyancy effects arising from elevated surface temperatures are not important, i.e. when mechanical forces outweigh buoyancy forces. In a geophysical context this requires that some suitably defined Richardson number is small. From an engineering perspective this is interpreted as the important case when heat transfer within and above urban street canyons is by forced convection. Surprisingly, this particular scenario (for which the heat transfer coefficient between buildings and the flow is largest), has been less well studied than the situation where buoyancy effects are important. The CFD technique was compared against wind-tunnel experiments to provide model evaluation. The height-to-width ratio of the canyon was varied through the range 0.5–5 and the flow was normal to the canyon axis. By setting the canyon’s facets to have the same or different temperatures or to have a partial temperature distribution, simulations were carried out to investigate: (a) the influence of geometry on the flow and mixing within the canyon and (b) the exchange processes within the canyon and across the canyon top interface. Results showed that the vortex-type circulation and turbulence developed within the canyon produced a temperature distribution that was, essentially, spatially uniform (apart from a relatively thin near-wall thermal boundary layer) This allowed the temperatures within the street canyon to be specified by just one value T _can , the canyon temperature. The variation of T _can with wind speed, surface temperatures and geometry was extensively studied. Finally, the exchange velocity u _E across the interface between the canyon and the flow above was calculated based on a heat flux balance within the canyon and between the canyon and the flow above. Results showed that u _E was approximately 1% of a characteristic wind velocity above the street canyon. The problem of radiative exchange is not addressed but it can, of course, be introduced analytically, or computationally, when necessary.     

Numerical Study on the Impact of Ground Heating and Ambient Wind Speed on Flow Fields in Street Canyons

The impact of ground heating on flow fields in street canyons under different ambient wind speed conditions was studied based on numerical methods.A series of numerical tests were performed,and three factors including height-to-width(H/W) ratio,ambient wind speed and ground heating intensity were taken into account.Three types of street canyon with H/W ratios of 0.5,1.0 and 2.0,respectively,were used in the simulation and seven speed values ranging from 0.0 to 3.0 m s 1 were set for the ambient wind speed.The ground heating intensity,which was defined as the difference between the ground temperature and air temperature,ranged from 10 to 40 K with an increase of 10 K in the tests.The results showed that under calm conditions,ground heating could induce circulation with a wind speed of around 1.0 m s 1,which is enough to disperse pollutants in a street canyon.It was also found that an ambient wind speed threshold may exist for street canyons with a fixed H/W ratio.When ambient wind speed was lower than the threshold identified in this study,the impact of the thermal effect on the flow field was obvious,and there existed a multi-vortex flow pattern in the street canyon.When the ambient wind speed was higher than the threshold,the circulation pattern was basically determined by dynamic effects.The tests on the impact of heating intensity showed that a higher ground heating intensity could strengthen the vortical flow within the street canyon,which would help improve pollutant diffusion capability in street canyons.     

Radiative Exchange in an Urban Street Canyon

The influence of building geometry on the radiation terms ofthe surface energy balance is a principal reason for surfacetemperature differences between rural and urban areas.Methods exist to calculate the radiation balance in an urban area,but their validity across the range of urban geometries andmaterials has not been carefully considered.Here the exchange of diffuse radiation in an urban street canyon isinvestigated using a method incorporating all reflections of radiation.This exact solution is compared to two commonly used approximationsthat retain either no reflections, or just one reflection of radiation.The area-averaged net radiative flux density from the facets of the canyondecreases in magnitude monotonically as the canyon aspect ratio increases.The two approximate solutions possess unphysical differences from thismonotonic decrease for high canyon aspect ratios or low materialemissivities/high material albedos.The errors of the two approximate solutions are small for near blackbodymaterials and small canyon aspect ratios but can be an order ofmagnitude for intermediate material properties and deep street canyons.Urban street canyon models need to consider at least one reflectionof radiation and multiple reflections are desirable for full applicability.     

Thermal bioclimate in idealized urban street canyons in Campinas, Brazil

Among several urban design parameters, the height-to-width ratio (H/W) and orientation are important parameters strongly affecting thermal conditions in cities. This paper quantifies changes in thermal comfort due to typical urban canyon configurations in Campinas, Brazil, and presents urban guidelines concerning H/W ratios and green spaces to adapt urban climate change. The study focuses on thermal comfort issues of humans in urban areas and performs evaluation in terms of physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), based on long-term data. Meteorological data of air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation over a 7-year period (2003–2010) were used. A 3D street canyon model was designed with RayMan Pro software to simulate the influence of urban configuration on urban thermal climate. The following configurations and setups were used. The model canyon was 500 m in length, with widths 9, 21, and 44 m. Its height varied in steps of 2.5 m, from 5 to 40 m. The canyon could be rotated in steps of 15°. The results show that urban design parameters such as width, height, and orientation modify thermal conditions within street canyons. A northeast–southwest orientation can reduce PET during daytime more than other scenarios. Forestry management and green areas are recommended to promote shade on pedestrian areas and on façades, and to improve bioclimate thermal stress, in particular for H/W ratio less than 0.5. The method and results can be applied by architects and urban planners interested in developing responsive guidelines for urban climate issues.     

A Wind Tunnel Model for Quantifying Fluxes in the Urban Boundary Layer

Transport of pollution and heatout of streets into the boundary layer above is not currently understood and so fluxes cannot be quantified. Scalar concentration within the street is determined by the flux out of it and so quantifying fluxes for turbulent flow over a rough urban surface is essential. We have developed a naphthalene sublimation technique to measure transfer from a two-dimensional street canyon in a wind tunnel for the case of flow perpendicular to the street. The street was coated with naphthalene, which sublimes at room temperature, so that the vapour represented the scalar source. The transfer velocity w_T relates the flux out of the canyon to the concentration within it and is shown to be linearly related to windspeed above the street. The dimensionless transfer coefficient w_T/U represents the ventilation efficiency of the canyon (here, w_T is a transfer velocity,U is the wind speed at the boundary-layer top). Observed values are between 1.5 and 2.7 ×10^-3 and, for the case where H/W0 (ratio of buildingheight to street width), values are in the same range as estimates of transfer from a flat plate, giving confidence that the technique yields accurate values for street canyon scalar transfer. w_T/U varies with aspect ratio (H/W), reaching a maximum in the wake interference regime (0.3 < H/W < 0.65). However, when upstream roughness is increased, the maximum in w_T/U reduces, suggesting that street ventilation is less sensitive to H/W when the flow is in equilibrium with the urban surface. The results suggest that using naphthalene sublimation with wind-tunnel models of urban surfaces can provide a direct measure of area-averaged scalar fluxes.     

Computational Fluid Dynamics Modelling of the Diurnal Variation of Flow in a Street Canyon

Urban surface and radiation processes are incorporated into a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to investigate the diurnal variation of flow in a street canyon with an aspect ratio of 1. The developed CFD model predicts surface and substrate temperatures of the roof, walls, and road. One-day simulations are performed with various ambient wind speeds of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 ms⁻¹, with the ambient wind perpendicular to the north–south oriented canyon. During the day, the largest maximum surface temperature for all surfaces is found at the road surface for an ambient wind speed of 3 ms⁻¹ (56.0°C). Two flow regimes are identified by the vortex configuration in the street canyon. Flow regime I is characterized by a primary vortex. Flow regime II is characterized by two counter-rotating vortices, which appears in the presence of strong downwind building-wall heating. Air temperature is relatively low near the downwind building wall in flow regime I and inside the upper vortex in flow regime II. In flow regime II, the upper vortex expands with increasing ambient wind speed, thus enlarging the extent of cool air within the canyon. The canyon wind speed in flow regime II is proportional to the ambient wind speed, but that in flow regime I is not. For weak ambient winds, the dependency of surface sensible heat flux on the ambient wind speed is found to play an essential role in determining the relationship between canyon wind speed and ambient wind speed.     

Thermal comfort in an east–west oriented street canyon in Freiburg (Germany) under hot summer conditions

Summary Field-measurements were conducted in an urban street canyon with an east–west orientation, and a height-to-width ratio H/W = 1 during cloudless summer weather in 2003 in Freiburg, Germany. This experimental work adds to the knowledge available on the microclimate of an urban canyon and its impact on human comfort. Air temperature T _a , air humidity VP, wind speed v and direction dd were measured continuously. All short-wave and long-wave radiation fluxes from the 3D surroundings were also measured. The degree of comfort was defined in terms of physiologically equivalent temperature (PET). Furthermore, the data gathered within the canyon were compared to data collected by a permanent urban climate station with the aim of furthering the understanding of microclimatic changes due to street geometry. Changes in the meteorological variables T _a , v and dd in the canyon in comparison to an unobstructed roof level location were found to be in good agreement with previous studies, i.e., a small increase of T _a in the canyon adjacent to irradiated surfaces, and a good correlation of v and dd between canyon and roof levels. The daily dynamics of canyon facet irradiances and their impacts on the heat gained by a pedestrian were strongly dependent on street geometry and orientation. Thermal stress was mostly attributable to solar exposure. Under cloudless summer weather, a standing body was found to absorb, on average, 74% of heat in the form of long-wave irradiance and 26% as short-wave irradiance. Shading the pedestrian as well as the surrounding surfaces is, hence, the first strategy in mitigating heat stress in summer under hot conditions.     

Near Wall Flow over Urban-like Roughness

In this study, comprehensive measurements over a number of urban-type surfaces with the same area density of 25% have been performed in a wind tunnel. The experiments were conducted at a free stream velocity of 10 m s^-1 and the main instrumentation was 120 ° x-wire anemometry, but measurement accuracy was checked using laser Doppler anemometry.The results haveconfirmed the strong three-dimensionalityof the turbulent flow inthe roughness sublayer and the depths of the inertial sublayer (log-law region) and roughness sublayer for each surface have been determined. Spatial averaging has been used to remove the variability of the flow in the roughness sublayer due to individual obstacles and it is shown that the spatially averaged mean velocity in the inertial sublayer and roughness sublayer can,together, be described by a single log-law with a mean zero-plane displacement and roughness length for the surface, provided that the proper surface stress is known. The spatially averaged shear stresses in the inertial sublayer and roughness sublayer are compared with the surface stress deduced from form drag measurements on the roughness elements themselves.The dispersive stress arising from the spatial inhomogeneity in the mean flow profiles was deduced from the data and is shown to be negligible compared with the usual Reynolds stresses in the roughness sublayer. Comparisons have been made between a homogeneous (regular element array) surface and one consisting of random height elements of the same total volume. Although the upper limits of the inertial sublayer for both surfaces were almost identical at equivalent fetch, the roughness sublayer was much thicker for the random surface than for the uniform surface, the friction velocity and the roughness length were significantly larger and the `roughness efficiency' was greater. It is argued that the inertial sublayer may not exist at all in some of the more extreme rough urban areas. These results will provide fundamental information for modelling urban air quality and forecasting urban wind climates.     

Using the OSPM Model on Pollutant Dispersion in an Urban Street Canyon

An observational campaign was conducted in the street canyon of Zhujiang Road in Nanjing city in 2007.Hourly mean concentrations of PM10 were measured at street and roof levels.The Operational Street Pollution Model(OSPM)street canyon dispersion model was used to calculate the street concentrations and the results were compared with the measurements.The results show that there is good agreement between measured and predicted concentrations.The correlation coecient R2 values(R2 is a measure of the correlation of the predicted and measured time series of concentrations)are 0.5319,0.8044,and 0.6630 for the scatter plots of PM10 corresponding to light wind speed conditions,higher wind speed conditions,and all wind speed conditions,respectively.PM10 concentrations tend to be smaller for the higher wind speed cases and decrease rapidly with increasing wind speed.The presentations of measured and modelled concentration dependence on wind direction show fairly good agreement.PM10 concentrations measured on the windward side are relatively smaller,compared with the corresponding results for the leeward side.This study demonstrates that it is possible to use the OSPM to model PM10 dispersion rules for an urban street canyon.     

The Budget of Turbulent Kinetic Energy in the Urban Roughness Sublayer

Full-scale observations from two urban sites in Basel, Switzerland were analysed to identify the magnitude of different processes that create, relocate, and dissipate turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in the urban atmosphere. Two towers equipped with a profile of six ultrasonic anemometers each sampled the flow in the urban roughness sublayer, i.e. from street canyon base up to roughly 2.5 times the mean building height. This observational study suggests a conceptual division of the urban roughness sublayer into three layers: (1) the layer above the highest roofs, where local buoyancy production and local shear production of TKE are counterbalanced by local viscous dissipation rate and scaled turbulence statistics are close to to surface-layer values; (2) the layer around mean building height with a distinct inflexional mean wind profile, a strong shear and wake production of TKE, a more efficient turbulent exchange of momentum, and a notable export of TKE by transport processes; (3) the lower street canyon with imported TKE by transport processes and negligible local production. Averaged integral velocity variances vary significantly with height in the urban roughness sublayer and reflect the driving processes that create or relocate TKE at a particular height. The observed profiles of the terms of the TKE budget and the velocity variances show many similarities to observations within and above vegetation canopies.     

A bioclimatic design methodology for urban outdoor spaces

Summary The development of a bioclimatic urban design methodology is described. The cluster thermal time constant (CTTC) model for predicting street-level urban air temperature variations is coupled with the wind-profile power law and the index of thermal stress (ITS.) for human comfort. TheCTTC model and the power law produce the diurnal air temperature and wind speed variations in various canyonlike urban forms. The thermal comfort requirements for lightly-dressed, moderately-walking/seated persons in the outdoor space in summer are then obtained using the ITS. model. The proposed methodology enables a first-order assessment of the climatic implications of different features of the physical structure of the city such as street orientation, canyon height-to-width ratio, building density, and street shading. The application of the proposed methodology is demonstrated for Tel Aviv.With 9 Figures     

Flow and Pollutant Transport in Urban Street Canyons of Different Aspect Ratios with Ground Heating: Large-Eddy Simulation

A validated large-eddy simulation model was employed to study the effect of the aspect ratio and ground heating on the flow and pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons. Three ground-heating intensities (neutral, weak and strong) were imposed in street canyons of aspect ratio 1, 2, and 0.5. The detailed patterns of flow, turbulence, temperature and pollutant transport were analyzed and compared. Significant changes of flow and scalar patterns were caused by ground heating in the street canyon of aspect ratio 2 and 0.5, while only the street canyon of aspect ratio 0.5 showed a change in flow regime (from wake interference flow to skimming flow). The street canyon of aspect ratio 1 does not show any significant change in the flow field. Ground heating generated strong mixing of heat and pollutant; the normalized temperature inside street canyons was approximately spatially uniform and somewhat insensitive to the aspect ratio and heating intensity. This study helps elucidate the combined effects of urban geometry and thermal stratification on the urban canyon flow and pollutant dispersion.     

城市湍流边界层内汽车尾气扩散规律数值模拟研究

以纳维斯托克斯方程组、大气平流扩散方程、湍流动能及湍流动能耗散率方程组为基础．采用伪不定常方法,建立了一个数值模式．利用该模式列城市湍流边界层内流场结构及汽车排放污染物扩散规律进行了研究。结果表明：街谷内会形成一个涡旋型流场．汽车排放污染物浓度在地面及建筑物背风面产生堆积,且其沿高度方向的梯度变化在背风面大．迎风而小。随着街谷两侧建筑物屋顶风速的增大,峡谷内形成的涡旋流场的强度增大,污染物扩散速率增大：当屋顶来流与街道之间的夹角逐渐增大时．涡旋中心位置由街道中心偏向于背风面及更高层且污染物扩散速度加快。     

Experimental study of the transfer velocity for urban surfaces with a water evaporation method

A major problem in urban climate modelling is determining how the heat fluxes from various canyon surfaces are affected by canyon flow. To address this problem, we developed a water evaporation method involving filter paper to study the distribution of the convective transfer velocity in urban street canyons. In this method, filter paper is pasted onto a building model and the evaporation rate from the paper is measured with an electric balance. The method was tested on 2D (two-dimensional) street canyon models and 3D model arrangements. Moreover, in this technique, it is easy to restrict the flux within an arbitrary surface in question. That is, the evaporation distribution on a surface can be studied by using several small pieces of filter paper. In the 2D case, the wall transfer velocity was strongly dependent on the canyon aspect ratio for perpendicular wind directions and it varied widely with height within both windward and leeward wall surfaces. For 3D cubic arrays, the relation to canyon aspect ratio was largely different from that of the 2D canyon. And, as a case study, the variation of wind direction was investigated for a city-like setting. The area-averaged transfer velocity was insensitive to wind direction but its local deviation was significant. Finally, we measured the transfer velocity for a clustered block array surrounded by relatively wide streets. The effect of spatial heterogeneity on the transfer velocity was significant. Moreover, for a fixed total building volume, the transfer velocity was considerably larger when the building height varied than when it was uniform. Therefore, the water evaporation method with filter paper is expected to be useful for studying the transfer velocity and ventilation rates in urban areas with various canyon shapes.     

二维街谷地面加热引起的流场特征的水槽实验研究

利用拖曳式水槽,采用激光粒子成像速度场测量系统(PIV),模拟了街谷存在地面加热时流场特征;讨论了环境风场对其的影响。我们发现在静风条件下,街谷中环流完全由热力驱动,对流活动可伸展至街谷上方;在建筑物层顶以上,也可发现水平和垂直方向的运动。这些对流活动有助于基本风场为零时,街谷内外动量和物质的交换。当街谷较宽时,对流形成的涡旋可能为两个以上,形态较为复杂并随时间变化,当街谷变窄时,涡旋蜕化成只有一个。当有弱环境风场存在时,街谷中的对流呈现为一个主涡旋,随着风速增加,涡旋形状更加规则,其中心并向下风向移动。     

A Laboratory Model for the Flow in Urban Street Canyons Induced by Bottom Heating

Water tank experiments are carried out to investigate the convection flow induced by bottom heating and the effects of the ambient wind on the flow in non-symmetrical urban street canyons based on the PIV (Particle Image Visualization) technique. Fluid experiments show that with calm ambient wind,the flows in the street canyon are completely driven by thermal force, and the convection can reach the upper atmosphere of the street canyon. Horizontal and vertical motions also appear above the roofs of the buildings. These are the conditions which favor the exchange of momentum and air mass between the street canyon and its environment. More than two vortices are induced by the convection, and the complex circulation pattern will vary with time in a wider street canyon. However， in a narrow street canyon， just one vortex appears. With a light ambient wind, the bottom heating and the associated convection result in just one main vortex. As the ambient wind speed increases, the vortex becomes more organized and its center shifts closer to the leeward building.     

Effect of asymmetrical street canyons on pedestrian thermal comfort in warm-humid climate of Cuba

Walkability and livability in cities can be enhanced by creating comfortable environments in the streets. The profile of an urban street canyon has a substantial impact on outdoor thermal conditions at pedestrian level. This paper deals with the effect of asymmetrical street canyon profiles, common in the historical centre of Camagüey, Cuba, on outdoor thermal comfort. Temporal-spatial analyses are conducted using the Heliodon2 and the RayMan model, which enable the generation of accurate predictions about solar radiation and thermal conditions of urban spaces, respectively. On these models, urban settings are represented by asymmetrical street canyons with five different height-to-width ratios and four street axis orientations (N-S, NE-SW, E-W, SE-NW). Results are evaluated for daytime hours across the street canyon, by means of the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET index) which allows the evaluation of the bioclimatic conditions of outdoor environments. Our findings revealed that high profiles (façades) located on the east-facing side of N-S streets, on the southeast-facing side of NE-SW streets, on the south-facing side of E-W street, and on the southwest-facing side of SE-NW streets, are recommended to reduce the total number of hours under thermal stress. E-W street canyons are the most thermally stressed ones, with extreme PET values around 36 °C. Deviating from this orientation ameliorates the heat stress with reductions of up to 4 h in summer. For all analysed E-W orientations, only about one fifth of the street can be comfortable, especially for high aspect ratios (H/W > 3). Optimal subzones in the street are next to the north side of the E-W street, northwest side of the NE-SW street, and southwest side of the SE-NW street. Besides, when the highest profile is located on the east side of N-S streets, then the subzone next to the east-facing façade is recommendable for pedestrians. The proposed urban guidelines enable urban planners to create and renovate urban spaces which are more efficient in diminishing pedestrian thermal stress.