INFLUENCE OF IRREGULAR BREEZEWAY PATTERNS ON PEDESTRIAN-LEVEL VENTILATION – A PARAMETRIC STUDY IN HIGH-DENSITY URBAN AREAS

Abstract

Urban breezeway patterns in high-density areas significantly affect the pedestrian-level wind environments, which are highly related to outdoor thermal comfort. However, compared with regular breezeway networks, which are orthogonal and even, much less studies have been conducted to understand how irregular breezeway networks affect flow behaviors. To fill this gap, this thesis aims to: 1) investigate the influence of geometric parameters of irregular breezeway networks; and 2) develop guidelines and indices to explain the effects of breezeway-related morphological features on the pedestrian-level wind velocity ratio in high-density and actual urban areas. To this end, wind tunnel and CFD methods were used to evaluate wind velocity ratio in hundreds of urban model scenarios. The deliverables in this thesis propose appropriate design strategies and indices related to the irregular linkages and orientation of streets and open space. They are significant and promising for improving the outdoor wind environments in compact urban areas.