A WIND TUNNEL INVESTIGATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF SOLAR-INDUCED WALL-HEATING ON THE FLOW REGIME WITHIN A SIMULATED URBAN STREET CANYON

摘要

A wind tunnel study has been undertaken to assess the influence of solar-induced wall heating on the airflow pattern within a street canyon under low-speed wind conditions. This flow is normally dominated by large-scale vortical motion, such that the wind moves downwards at the downstream wall. In the present work the aim has been to examine whether the buoyancy forces generated at this wall by solar-induced heating are of sufficient strength to oppose the downward inertial forces and, thereby, change the canyon flow pattern. Such changes will also influence the dispersion of pollutants within the street. In the experiments the windward-facing wall of a canyon has been uniformly heated to simulate the effect of solar radiation. Four different test cases, representing different degrees of buoyancy (defined by a test Froude number, Fr), have been examined using a simple, 2-D, square-section canyon model in a wind tunnel. For reference purposes, the neutral case (no wall heating), has also been studied. The approach flow boundary layer conditions have been well defined, with the wind normal to the main canyon axis, and measurements have been taken of canyon wall and air temperatures and profiles of mean velocities and turbulence intensities. Analysis of the results shows clear differences in the flow patterns. As Fr decreases from the neutral case there are reductions of up to 50% in the magnitudes of the reverse flow velocities near the ground and in the upward motion near the upstream wall. A marked transition occurs at Fr≈1, where the single dominant vortex, existing at higher Fr values, weakens and moves upwards whilst a lower region of relatively stagnant flow appears. This transition had previously been observed in numerical model predictions but at a Fr at least an order of magnitude higher.