Measurement of the thermal environment in urban canyons and prediction by CFD simulation

We analyzed the thermal environment within Kyoto city using a numerical model that considers three elements: the unsteady-state heat conduction of building walls and ground surfaces, radiation heat exchange between walls and ground surfaces, and airflow approximated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). We found that the model accurately simulates the thermal environment accurately within wide urban canyons. However, the various canyon shapes within a city each have unique of thermal characteristics. In order to investigate the influence of canyon shape on the thermal environment, we measured air and surface temperatures in Kyoto city during the summer of 2003. We then compared model predictions with measured air and surface temperatures. The model produced an accurate simulation of the urban thermal environment.