Thermal comfort investigation in traditional and modern urban canyons in Bandar Abbas, Iran
Urban design plays an important role in a city’s daily life. Therefore, accessibility to thermal comfort spaces for citizens engaged in urban outdoor activities could be one of the main goals of urban designers. Urban forms and canyons have important roles in microclimate and thermal comfort situ...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
UPM Press
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/49994/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/49994/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/49994/1/Pertanika_JSSH_%2821%284%29_1491-1515_%282013%29.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/49994/4/49994_Thermal_comfort_investigation_Scopus.pdf |
| Summary: | Urban design plays an important role in a city’s daily life. Therefore, accessibility to thermal
comfort spaces for citizens engaged in urban outdoor activities could be one of the main
goals of urban designers. Urban forms and canyons have important roles in microclimate
and thermal comfort situation in outdoor spaces. The hot humid climate of Bandar Abbas,
especially in long summers, causes thermal stress for urban activities. In this study, two
different urban fabrics were investigated using thermal comfort and Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) methods. Eight provisional measuring points in the selected prevailing
canyons were used to obtain the data. The results correlated with the effects of the urban
canyon orientation to variation of the microclimate factors, and consequently, the thermal
comfort situation in the hottest period of the year. In addition, the results also indicated
that the traditional urban fabric is more thermally comfortable than the new residential
urban fabric. According to field measurements, thermal comfort calculation and wind
simulations, the canyons with the north-south direction present a better orientation for air
circulation benefiting from the sea breezes as compared to the other canyon orientations.
Hence, this study provides insights for urban designers and policy makers residing in the
hot and humid climate in the Middle East. |
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