Evaluating the ENVI-met microscale model for suitability in analysis of targeted urban heat mitigation strategies

Microscale atmospheric models are increasingly being used to project the thermal benefits of urban heat mitigation strategies (e.g., tree planting programs or use of high-albedo materials). However, prior to investment in specific mitigation efforts by local governments, it is desirable to test and validate the computational models used to evaluate strategies. While some prior studies have conducted limited evaluations of the ENVI-met microscale climate model for specific case studies, there has been relatively little systematic testing of the model's sensitivity to variations in model input and control parameters. This study builds on the limited foundation of past validation efforts by addressing two questions: (1) is ENVI-met grid independent; and (2) can the model adequately represent the air temperature perturbations associated with heat mitigation strategies? To test grid independence, a “flat” domain is tested with six vertical grid resolutions ranging from 0.75 to 2.0 m. To examine the second question, a control and two mitigation strategy simulations of idealized city blocks are tested. Results show a failure of grid independence in the “flat” domain simulations. Given that the mitigation strategies result in temperature changes that are an order of magnitude larger than the errors introduced by grid dependence for the flat domain, a lack of grid independence itself does not necessarily invalidate the use of ENVI-met for heat mitigation research. However, due to limitations in grid structure of the ENVI-met model, it was not possible to test grid dependence for more complicated simulations involving domains with buildings. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether existing efforts at model validation provide any assurance that the model adequately captures vertical mixing and exchange of heat from the ground to rooftop level. Thus, there remain concerns regarding the usefulness of the model for evaluating heat mitigation strategies, particularly when applied at roof level (e.g. high albedo or vegetated roofs)

Micro and macro urban heat islands in an industrial city: Bradford, UK

The urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon refers to the temperature difference(s) between urban/built environments and suburban/natural areas. It affects energy use, health, water quality, and in brief, the quality of life in cities. Understanding the magnitude of this issue could help urban planners and decision makers to better implement green interventions into their cities. This paper shows the results of field measurements carried out to study the UHIs in Bradford, as one of the most deprived cities in the UK with minimum green infrastructure. In the first phase of the study, air temperatures were measured in twenty locations (four areas) with different land covers in Bradford. These measurements were called micro UHI study, as the air temperatures were measured in areas within the boundaries of the city. Data were collected in late summer and early winter. The results showed that the UHI is more sensible in the colder day (with average 0.6 °C cooler air temperature in a green area compared to the city centre). Greener areas experienced higher wind and lower air temperatures compared to dense urban settings in December. In the second phase of the study (macro scale), diurnal air temperatures from a residential (urban) versus a rural site were compared during a heat wave episode (seven days). It was observed that the rural site was 0.8 °C cooler than the residential/urban site. The maximum temperature differences occurred during the nights/early mornings between the two sites (3.2 °C at 5:00am)

Pressed and sintered AISI 4140 PM low alloy steel from gas atomised powders

This paper is based on a presentation at Euro PM 2012 organised by EPMA in Basel, Switzerland on 16–19 September 2012In conventional PM of low alloy steels various alloying routes are used (fully prealloyed powders, diffusion alloying, elemental powders), but always using powders that allow uniaxial pressing, i.e. acceptable compressibility and flow. Fully prealloyed gas atomised powders (including carbon content) have never been an option because their small size. These powders need to be granulated before being uniaxially pressed and the binder used in the granulating process must be eliminated in the first steps of the sintering cycle. Such a processing route is proposed and initial results presented. A potential advantage of the process is that a low particle size can activate the sintering performance, bringing energy and cost savings over the full process cycle.Publicad

The impact of heat mitigation strategies on the energy balance of a neighborhood in Los Angeles

Heat mitigation strategies can reduce excess heat in urban environments. These strategies, including solar reflective cool roofs and pavements, green vegetative roofs, and street vegetation, alter the surface energy balance to reduce absorption of sunlight at the surface and subsequent transfer to the urban atmosphere. The impacts of heat mitigation strategies on meteorology have been investigated in past work at the mesoscale and global scale. For the first time, we focus on the effect of heat mitigation strategies on the surface energy balance at the neighborhood scale. The neighborhood under investigation is El Monte, located in the eastern Los Angeles basin in Southern California. Using a computational fluid dynamics model to simulate micrometeorology at high spatial resolution, we compare the surface energy balance of the neighborhood assuming current land cover to that with neighborhood‐wide deployment of green roof, cool roof, additional trees, and cool pavement as the four heat mitigation strategies. Of the four strategies, adoption of cool pavements led to the largest reductions in net radiation (downward positive) due to the direct impact of increasing pavement albedo on ground level solar absorption. Comparing the effect of each heat mitigation strategy shows that adoption of additional trees and cool pavements led to the largest spatial‐maximum air temperature reductions at 14:00h (1.0 and 2.0 °C, respectively). We also investigate how varying the spatial coverage area of heat mitigation strategies affects the neighborhood‐scale impacts on meteorology. Air temperature reductions appear linearly related to the spatial extent of heat mitigation strategy adoption at the spatial scales and baseline meteorology investigated here

Side forces on a tangent ogive forebody with a fineness ratio of 3.5 at high angles of attack and Mach numbers from 0.1 to 0.7

An experimental investigation was conducted in the Ames 12-Foot Wind Tunnel to determine the subsonic aerodynamic characteristics, at high angles of attack, of a tangent ogive forebody with a fineness ratio of 3.5. The investigation included the effects of nose bluntness, nose strakes, nose booms, a simulated canopy, and boundary-layer trips. The forebody was also tested with a short afterbody attached. Static longitudinal and lateral-directional stability data were obtained at Reynolds numbers ranging from 0.3 mil. to 3.8 mil. (based on base diameter) at a Mach number of 0.25, and at a Reynolds number of 0.8 mil. at Mach numbers ranging from 0.1 to 0.7. Angle of attack was varied from 0 to 88 deg at zero sideslip, and the sideslip angle was varied from -10 to 30 deg at angles of attack of 40, 55, and 70 deg

Side forces on forebodies at high angles of attack and Mach numbers from 0.1 to 0.7: two tangent ogives, paraboloid and cone

An experimental investigation was conducted in the Ames 12-Foot Wind Tunnel to determine the subsonic aerodynamic characteristics of four forebodies at high angles of attack. The forebodies tested were a tangent ogive with fineness ratio of 5, a paraboloid with fineness ratio of 3.5, a 20 deg cone, and a tangent ogive with an elliptic cross section. The investigation included the effects of nose bluntness and boundary-layer trips. The tangent-ogive forebody was also tested in the presence of a short afterbody and with the afterbody attached. Static longitudinal and lateral/directional stability data were obtained. The investigation was conducted to investigate the existence of large side forces and yawing moments at high angles of attack and zero sideslip. It was found that all of the forebodies experience steady side forces that start at angles of attack of from 20 deg to 35 deg and exist to as high as 80 deg, depending on forebody shape. The side is as large as 1.6 times the normal force and is generally repeatable with increasing and decreasing angle of attack and, also, from test to test. The side force is very sensitive to the nature of the boundary layer, as indicated by large changes with boundary trips. The maximum side force caries considerably with Reynolds number and tends to decrease with increasing Mach number. The direction of the side force is sensitive to the body geometry near the nose. The angle of attack of onset of side force is not strongly influenced by Reynolds number or Mach number but varies with forebody shape. Maximum normal force often occurs at angles of attack near 60 deg. The effect of the elliptic cross section is to reduce the angle of onset by about 10 deg compared to that of an equivalent circular forebody with the same fineness ratio. The short afterbody reduces the angle of onset by about 5 deg

Bioclimatic Architecture and Urban Morphology. Studies on Intermediate Urban Open Spaces

This paper deals with the interactions between biophysical and microclimatic factors on the one hand with, on the other, the urban morphology of intermediate urban open spaces, the relationship between environmental and bioclimatic thermal comfort, and the implementation of innovative materials and the use of greenery, aimed at the users’ well-being. In particular, the thermal comfort of the open spaces of the consolidated fabrics of the city of Rome is studied, by carrying out simulations of cooling strategies relating to two scenarios applied to Piazza Bainsizza. The first scenario involves the use of cool materials for roofs, cladding surfaces, and pavement, while the second scenario, in addition to the cool materials employed in the first scenario, also includes the use of greenery and permeable green surfaces. The research was performed using summer and winter microclimatic simulations of the CFD (ENVI-met v. 3.1) type, in order to determine the dierent influences of the materials with cold colors, trees, and vegetated surfaces on the thermal comfort of the urban morphology itself. Meanwhile, the comfort assessment was determined through the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) calculated with the RayMan program. The first scenario, with the use of cool materials, improves summer conditions and reduces the urban heat island eect but does not eliminate thermal discomfort due to the lack of shaded surfaces and vegetation. The second scenario, where material renovations is matched with vegetation improvements, has a slightly bad eect on winter conditions but drastically ameliorates the summer situation, both for direct users and, thanks to the strong reduction of the urban heat island eect, to urban inhabitants as a whole

Spatial analysis of bioclimatic patterns over Iranian cities as an important step in sustainable development

The main objective of this paper is to classify bioclimatic regions in Iran for optimal environmental planning. Mean daily meteorological data of 155 well-distributed synoptic stations during 1995–2017 were extracted from Iran's Meteorological Organization. Percentage of occurrence of each thermal sensation classes was determined over all studied stations using five bioclimatic indices including Perceived Temperature (PT), Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET), Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), Standard Effective Temperature (SET) and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). An R-mode Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to a N × M (155 × 40) matrix of N = 155 stations and M = 40 total thermal thresholds based on all used indices during the considered time period. According to the results of PCA, the five loading PCs that approximately account for 98.5% of the total variance were selected for further analysis. In addition, Ward method was used for Cluster Analysis (CA) to divide the stations into different bioclimatic groups. The results illustrated that the first Varimax-rotated loading pattern which accounts for 51.82% of total variance characterized Northwest of Iran with more than 0.8 PC scores. Furthermore, cluster analysis demonstrated that Iran can be divided into five bioclimatic regions based on the R-mode PCA