Influence of different wind angles on pedestrian wind comfort in 3D space.

Abstract

Wind can impact pedestrian comfort. This comfort can be observed by integrating a 3D city model into the study area. However, little research has been done on the influence of different wind angles on pedestrian wind comfort and rarely on implementing 3D city models in the wind environment. Therefore, this study aims to fill the gap in using 3D city models to examine the effect of wind flow angles on pedestrian wind comfort. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) wind simulation environment presented in this study was constructed through the applied steady Reynolds-Average Navier-Stokes (RANS) with K-epsilon (k-Ɛ) turbulence model. It is integrated with the standalone building model with a roof overhang structure represented in LoD2.3 of the CityGML standard. Three wind angles have been introduced to allow for variation in the analysis of pedestrian wind comfort: 0◦, 15◦, and 30◦ wind angles. Through the observation of multiple locations, which are directed beneath the roof overhang structure, the highest wind velocity is recorded in 0◦ wind angles compared to 15◦ and 30◦ wind angles. Thus, from these recorded values, pedestrian wind comfort is based on the Beaufort wind scale (BWS). The computed average recorded values show that 3.24 m/s corresponds to a wind angle of 0°, 2.761 m/s for 15◦, and 2.415 m/s for 30◦, which shows that all these values fall in BWS Scale 2. Thus, these areas experience a light breeze. However, the lowest value from a 30-degree environment presents the most reposeful surrounding.