Skip to main content
Log in

Effects of building-roof cooling on flow and air temperature in urban street canyons

  • Published:
Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The effects of building-roof cooling on flow and air temperature in 3D urban street canyons are numerically investigated using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The aspect ratios of the building and street canyon considered are unity. For investigating the building-roof cooling effects, the building-roof temperatures are systematically changed. The traditional flow pattern including a portal vortex appears in the spanwise canyon. Compared with the case of the control run, there are minimal differences in flow pattern in the cases in which maximum building-roof cooling is considered. However, as the building roof becomes cooler, the mean kinetic energy increases and the air temperature decreases in the spanwise canyon. Building-roof cooling suppresses the upward and inward motions above the building roof, resultantly increasing the horizontal velocity near the roof level. The increase in wind velocity above the roof level intensifies the secondarily driven vortex circulation as well as the inward (outward) motion into (out of) the spanwise canyon. Finally, building-roof cooling reduces the air temperature in the spanwise canyon, supplying much relatively cool air from the streamwise canyon into the spanwise canyon.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akbari, H., H. D. Matthews, and D. Seto, 2012: The long-term effect of increasing the albedo of urban areas. Environ. Res. Lett., 71, 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baik, J.-J., and J.-J. Kim, 1998: A numerical study of flow and pollutant dispersion characteristics in urban street canyons. J. Appl. Meteorol., 38, 1576–1589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J.-J., and J.-J. Baik, 1999: A numerical study of thermal effects on flow and pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons. J. Appl. Meteorol., 38, 1249–1261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ____, and _____, 2001: Urban street-canyon flows with bottom heating. Atmos. Environ., 35, 3395–3404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ____, and_____, 2005: Physical experiments to investigate the effects of street bottom heating and inflow turbulence on urban street-canyon flow. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 22, 230–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ____, and _____, 2010: Effects of street-bottom and building-roof heating on flow in three-dimensional street canyons. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 27, 513–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, M., R. Park, and J.-J. Kim, 2012: Urban air quality modeling with full O3-NOx-VOC chemistry: Implications for O3 and PM air quality in a street canyon. Atmos. Environ., 47, 330–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kovar-Panskus, A., L. Moulinneuf, E. Savory, A. Abdelqari, J.-F. Sini, J.-M. Rosant, A. Robins, and N. Toy, 2002: A wind tunnel investigation of the influence of solar-induced wall-heating on the flow regime within a simulated urban street canyon. Water Air Soil Pollut. Focus, 2, 555–571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niachou, A., K. Papakonstantinou, M. Santamouris, A. Tsangrassoulis, and G. Mihalakakou, 2001: Analysis of the green roof thermal properties and investigation of its energy performance. Energ. Buildings, 33, 719–729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niachou, K., I. Livada, and M. Santamouris, 2005: A study of temperature and wind distribution inside two urban street canyons in Athens. International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Cooling for the Built Environment, Santorini, Greece, 125–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards, K., M. Schatzmann, and B. Leitl, 2006: Wind tunnel experiments modelling the thermal effects within the vicinity of a single block building with leeward wall heating. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerod., 94, 621–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sini, J.-F., S. Anquetin, and P. G. Mestayer, 1996: Pollutant dispersion and thermal effects in urban street canyons. Atmos. Environ., 30, 2659–2677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uehara, K., S. Murakami, S. Oikawa, and S. Wakamatsu, 2000: Wind tunnel experiments on how thermal stratification affects flow in and above urban street canyons. Atmos. Environ., 34, 1553–1562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, X., C.-H. Liu, and D. Y. C. Leung, 2007: Impact of building facades and ground heating on wind flow and pollutant transport in street canyons. Atmos. Environ., 41, 9030–9049.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ____, _____, _____, and M. K. H. Leung, 2006: Characteristics of air exchange in a street canyon with ground heating. Atmos. Environ., 40, 6396–6409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoon, Y.-H., B.-J. Park, and W.-T. Kim, 2006: Current states of rooftop greening in Japan. J. Korean Soc. People Plants Environ., 9, 27–32. (in Korean with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jae-Jin Kim.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kim, JJ., Pardyjak, E., Kim, DY. et al. Effects of building-roof cooling on flow and air temperature in urban street canyons. Asia-Pacific J Atmos Sci 50, 365–375 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-014-0023-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-014-0023-8

Key words

Navigation