Abstract
Urban microclimate studies are gaining popularity due to rapid urbanization. Many studies documented that urban microclimate can affect building energy performance, human morbidity and mortality and thermal comfort. Historically, urban microclimate studies were conducted with observational methods such as field measurements. In the last decades, with the advances in computational resources, numerical simulation approaches have become increasingly popular. Nowadays, especially simulations with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is frequently used to assess urban microclimate. CFD can resolve the transfer of heat and mass and their interaction with individual obstacles such as buildings. Considering the rapid increase in CFD studies of urban microclimate, this paper provides a review of research reported in journal publications on this topic till the end of 2015. The studies are categorized based on the following characteristics: morphology of the urban area (generic versus real) and methodology (with or without validation study). In addition, the studies are categorized by specifying the considered urban settings/locations, simulation equations and models, target parameters and keywords. This review documents the increasing popularity of the research area over the years. Based on the data obtained concerning the urban location, target parameters and keywords, the historical development of the studies is discussed and future perspectives are provided. According to the results, early CFD microclimate studies were conducted for model development and later studies considered CFD approach as a predictive methodology. Later, with the established simulation setups, research efforts shifted to case studies. Recently, an increasing amount of studies focus on urban scale adaptation measures. The review hints a possible change in this trend as the results from CFD simulations can be linked up with different aspects (e.g. economy) and with different scales (e.g. buildings), and thus, CFD can play an important role in transferring urban climate knowledge into engineering and design practice.
Highlights
The United Nations (UN) and the World Bank anticipate a rapid increase of the percentage of the world population living in urban areas within the course of the 21st century [1,2] (Fig. 1)
The review hints a possible change in this trend as the results from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations can be linked up with different aspects and with different scales, and CFD can play an important role in transferring urban climate knowledge into engineering and design practice
CFD simulations on real urban areas are performed either as practical case studies or – in case of studies with validation – to investigate the possibilities and limitations of CFD for real urban areas that are generally characterized by a complexity that substantially exceeds that of generic urban areas
Summary
The United Nations (UN) and the World Bank anticipate a rapid increase of the percentage of the world population living in urban areas within the course of the 21st century [1,2] (Fig. 1). Mills [17] specifies six distinct periods of urban microclimate studies based on the research methodology followed: 1) Since the 1900s: Observation of urban-rural temperature differences with conventional meteorological measurement devices; 2) Since the 1960s: Measurement of urban microclimate process variables such as turbulent heat exchanges and the use of statistical methods to document UHI intensity; 3) Since the 1970s: Use of early energy budget models for the physical explanation of the UHI effect, early use of computer modeling techniques; 4) Since the 1980s: Adoption of experimental approaches, scaledphysical models and flux measurements (e.g. latent heat flux, storage heat flux); 5) Since the 1990s: Understanding the relationships between real urban forms and their effect on urban microclimate, organized field projects; 6) Since the early 2000s: Development of realistic urban microclimate models and employment of new techniques for the analysis of urban microclimate.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
