Investigation of Pedestrian Comfort with Wind Chill during Winter

Hyungkeun Kim,Kyungsoo Lee,Taeyeon Kim

doi:10.3390/su10010274

Abstract

Two types of methods are used to evaluate pedestrian comfort: pedestrian wind comfort and outdoor thermal comfort. To accurately ascertain the outdoor wind environment, wind speed is the only parameter considered. However, pedestrians may still feel discomfort when the perceived temperature is low, even though the wind comfort criterion has been satisfactorily fulfilled. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to investigate pedestrian comfort when the perceived temperature is low, especially in winter conditions. To achieve this, a pedestrian survey was conducted, and 588 respondents completed a questionnaire. The results show that pedestrians feel discomfort when the WCET (Wind Chill Equivalent Temperature) is low, with almost 40 percent of respondents answering that they feel discomfort in these conditions. In conclusion, the threshold wind speed of the winter season could be determined to be lower than that of the existing comfort criteria by applying the WCET.

Highlights

There has been an increase in the construction of high-rise buildings in cities; the microclimate around the buildings has changed
This study proposed a new pedestrian comfort assessment program to ensure that the value of the wind chill equivalent temperature (WCET) meets the minimum acceptable equivalent temperature of −20 ◦C and applied the probability indicating that the equivalent temperature of wind chill becomes less than −20 ◦C depending on the external wind speed to the pedestrian wind comfort
Many big cities located at mid-latitudes have hot summers and cold winters

Summary

Introduction

There has been an increase in the construction of high-rise buildings in cities; the microclimate around the buildings has changed. High speed winds that occur around high-rise buildings are introduced at the ground level and have a negative impact on the wind environment of pedestrians. Pedestrian discomfort increases, and safety problems occur due to strong winds. There have been reports of cases in which an unpleasant outdoor wind environment leads to an untenanted building due to few visits from customers [1]. There have been reported incidents of death due to wind gusts that occur around high-rise buildings [2]. The effects of mechanical forces of leaves and objects blown off by the wind should be considered to provide pedestrians with a pleasant and safe wind environment

Objectives

Results

Conclusion