Conference Agenda

It is common practice to use hourly dynamic thermal modelling for building design, yet climate responsive urban design, is often based on predominant wind directions analysed for particular ëtypicalí days or times. Such a snapshot view does not reflect how often these conditions occur and whether design changes based on single instances are warranted. This paper explores the efficacy of using an annual dynamic approach, by extending and comparing results from a previous study of district massing on local microclimate. These dynamic annual analyses were undertaken using a new cloud-based microclimate analysis tool that employs open source software for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and post-processing of results. This tool allows for complex hourly analyses of solar radiation, wind and comfort distribution to be conducted within a commonly used 3-D modelling software environment. Following the previous study, this paper compares the resulting urban form across three major issues: pedestrian comfort, air quality and building cross-ventilation potential. Pedestrian comfort assessment includes thermal comfort, using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) and wind comfort, using the Dutch standard NEN 8100. Air quality is approximated by air age distribution. Building ventilation potential is assessed by mapping pressure differentials at points on opposing building faces.

This research aims to provide some knowledge for architects and urban designers on urban public space form optimization in terms of wind environment during initial design stage. In this paper, different vertical opening layouts were investigated on the influence of different region’s spatial ventilation by CFD numerical modelling. Spatial mean velocity magnitude at pedestrian-level and air flow rate at space vertical opening and top boundaries were calculated to evaluate spatial ventilation. Simulation results show that appropriate vertical opening layouts could improve velocity magnitude of space’s recirculation area. When the inlet opening is not directly opposite the outlet opening, spatial mean velocity of some recirculation regions could be increased by 2 times. When the outlet opening is located at the boundaries of recirculation regions, the influence of opening layouts on airflow patterns are limited, with variation range below 30%

The use of solar chimneys for natural ventilation could contribute to a reduction of the energy consumption of buildings. For the planning process of solar chimneys, it is necessary to be able to predict the ventilation effectiveness precisely. In this paper, different analytical equations are compared to results from computational fluid dynamic simulations and experimental measurements. It was found that the investigated analytical methods neglect the occurrence of backflows which leads to an overestimation of the air flow for chimneys with a large depth. For an accurate result, detailed calculations with an adapted discharge coefficient are required to account for this effect.

The conservation of archive buildings is particularly important due to the generally sensitive material that they are intended to preserve. A detailed understanding of the heat, air, and moisture transport within these buildings is important to ensure that informed decisions may be taken in their design. A case study of the Notarial Archives in Malta is presented here; a historic building composed of thick walls and high ceilings with no damproofing; augmenting the problems of rising damp and indoor air quality. Therefore, the study provides a number of challenges to the conservation of such archives. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was used to simulate such conditions, with the key focus on the validation of the model. Validation included the comparison of simulated data to data obtained during a monitoring cycle. The results highlight the effects of the boundary conditions on the space as well as other unsteady phenomena. The CFD model provided a more complete picture of the microclimate within such spaces that can aid a holistic conservation approach of such archives and their preservation for future generations.