The use of CFD applied to studies of ventilation in urban areas in Campinas, Brazil

The aim of this work is to discuss the effect of urban block and lot design in natural ventilation of self built houses in the city of Campinas, Brazil. The research was carried out with CFD simulation, using the software PHOENICS to calculate air velocities in the external regions of the residences. The case study was a surrounding in the city, the settlement São José, which was urbanized by the public organs having in mind lowincome selfbuilders. The houses were analyzed through results of two surveys: one in the years 2000, which characterized the selfbuilt houses, and the second one in 2005, to verify the modifications and their consequences in the environmental performance of the houses. Results show that poor natural ventilation is due to the lack of information about the prevailing winds, orientation problems and the modifications carried out by the selfbuilders.