Field studies on the effect of built forms on urban wind environments

Gao, Y., Yao, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4269-7224, Li, B., Turkbeyler, E., Luo, Q. and Short, A. (2012) Field studies on the effect of built forms on urban wind environments. Renewable Energy, 46. pp. 148-154. ISSN 0960-1481 doi: 10.1016/j.renene.2012.03.005

Abstract/Summary

Airflow through urban environments is one of the most important factors affecting human health, outdoor and indoor thermal comfort, air quality and the energy performance of buildings. This paper presents a study on the effects of wind induced airflows through urban built form using statistical analysis. The data employed in the analysis are from the year-long simultaneous field measurements conducted at the University of Reading campus in the United Kingdom. In this study, the association between typical architectural forms and the wind environment are investigated; such forms include: a street canyon, a semi-closure, a courtyard form and a relatively open space in a low-rise building complex. Measured data captures wind speed and wind direction at six representative locations and statistical analysis identifies key factors describing the effects of built form on the resulting airflows. Factor analysis of the measured data identified meteorological and architectural layout factors as key factors. The derivation of these factors and their variation with the studied built forms are presented in detail.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/26731
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Energy Research Science > School of the Built Environment > Energy and Environmental Engineering group
Publisher	Elsevier
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item