On the interactions between urban structures and air flows : A numerical study of the effects of urban morphology on the building wind environment and the related building energy loads

Overview & Synopsis

This thesis is an exploratory study that lays the scientific and methodological foundations of a transverse approach for studying urban energy and bio-climatic issues. This approach involves concepts and tools of building and urban physics as well as urban planning and architecture. It addresses the relations between urban morphology and aerodynamic processes, and studies their effects on the building energy loads due to infiltration and convective heat losses. This thesis is divided into three main parts. The first part synthesizes the specificities of urban aerodynamics and urban physics, and analyzes existing urban fabrics from a morphological point of view. Generic typologies of isolated buildings and urban blocks for small scale aerodynamic studies are deduced. The second part validates the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model (steady RANS RSM) against detailed experimental and numerical data, and presents the numerical experiments performed on the different morphological types. Mean flow structures that develop according to the construction shape and built environment, as well as pressure distribution on the building outer walls are examined. The last part couples heat and air fluxes to evaluate the contribution of urban air flows on the building energy loads. The improvement brought by CFD to the assessment of building convective heat transfers is verified by comparing numerical results to experimental data, detailed numerical studies and standard correlations. An enhanced temperature wall-function adapted for forced convection problems is adjusted to the model based on existing studies, and the convective heat transfers distribution on building facades is analyzed. Finally, the building energy loads due to air infiltration and heat transmission are estimated for typical constructions and compared to standard values. The results of this thesis show strong effects of the topology and dimensionality of constructions and urban structures on the development of recirculation phenomena within the urban canopy layer. The related aerodynamic conditions yield heterogeneous pressure and convective heat transfer intensities and distributions on building facades, which depend upon the considered built morphology. Their effects on building energy loads are logically particularly important in absolute value for buildings that are neither insulated nor air tight. Nonetheless, the estimates of the building energy needs based on standard or simulated pressure and convective heat transfer coefficients often show substantial deviation. Focusing on the relative contribution of the built structure, the effects of the aerodynamic context appear more influential for insulated buildings. Essentially, switching from an exposed to a sheltered building may decrease the energy needs per surface unit of floor due to air infiltration and heat transmission through outer walls by 18% up to 47% according to simulation.