TY - JOUR
T1 - A wind tunnel study of effects of twisted wind flows on the pedestrian-level wind field in an urban environment
AU - Weerasuriya, A. U.
AU - Tse, K. T.
AU - Zhang, Xuelin
AU - Li, S. W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - The influence of twisted wind flows on the pedestrian-level wind (PLW) field of an urban area was evaluated by testing a typical urban site (Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong) in a boundary layer wind tunnel. Four twisted wind profiles with different magnitudes and directions of yaw angles were employed to investigate variations in wind speed with the properties of the twisted wind flows at the pedestrian level. An additional conventional wind profile with similar wind speeds and turbulence intensities to the twisted winds but with zero yaw angles was simulated for comparisons. The mean wind speeds at 77 locations including the perimeter, roadsides, and groups of high-rise buildings were analysed for the conventional and the four twisted wind flows. The comparisons show a tendency of twisted winds to generate higher wind speeds at the pedestrian level than the conventional wind profile. The wind speeds of the twisted winds have a strong dependence on the magnitude and direction of the yaw angles, particularly at locations where the densities of buildings in the neighbourhood are low and hence local wind circulations are significantly modified by the twisted winds.
AB - The influence of twisted wind flows on the pedestrian-level wind (PLW) field of an urban area was evaluated by testing a typical urban site (Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong) in a boundary layer wind tunnel. Four twisted wind profiles with different magnitudes and directions of yaw angles were employed to investigate variations in wind speed with the properties of the twisted wind flows at the pedestrian level. An additional conventional wind profile with similar wind speeds and turbulence intensities to the twisted winds but with zero yaw angles was simulated for comparisons. The mean wind speeds at 77 locations including the perimeter, roadsides, and groups of high-rise buildings were analysed for the conventional and the four twisted wind flows. The comparisons show a tendency of twisted winds to generate higher wind speeds at the pedestrian level than the conventional wind profile. The wind speeds of the twisted winds have a strong dependence on the magnitude and direction of the yaw angles, particularly at locations where the densities of buildings in the neighbourhood are low and hence local wind circulations are significantly modified by the twisted winds.
KW - Pedestrian wind comfort
KW - Pedestrian-level wind environment
KW - Twisted wind profile
KW - Urban wind field
KW - Wind tunnel test
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85037352365&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.11.041
DO - 10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.11.041
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85037352365
SN - 0360-1323
VL - 128
SP - 225
EP - 235
JO - Building and Environment
JF - Building and Environment
ER -