Numerical simulation of urban wind flow

Abstract

The understanding of wind flow patterns in urban cities is becoming increasingly important. Wind, not only affects pollutant dispersion and pedestrian comfort, it is also recognized as a potential source of energy in today’s context. This report used Computational Fluid Dynamics to determine the effects of building geometry, angle of wind approach and primary street width on the velocity field around a cluster of four buildings. A square and a round geometry were considered. The inlet speed and building dimensions modeled the HDB setting in Singapore. All analysis was based on the established evaluation criteria – pollutant dispersion, pedestrian comfort and wind energy. Not surprisingly, wind patterns in the two morphologies were different due to their geometric differences. The results showed that a large primary street width and angle of wind approach are desirable for pollutant dispersion but not for harnessing of wind energy. A square configuration proved to be better for wind turbine construction. Finally, the computational results were validated against other research papers to confirm their reliability.