The effect of the London urban heat island on building summer cooling demand and night ventilation strategies

This paper investigates the effect that increased air temperature due to the London heat island has on the effectiveness of stack night ventilation strategies for office buildings. Stack ventilation was investigated as the most suitable night ventilation strategy because this is largely independent of wind variations affected by local urban morphology. The paper presents a summary of the results of air temperature measurements carried out in London in 1999/2000 which were used to quantify the London Urban Heat Island Intensity. It then presents data for two representative weeks, one with extreme hot weather and one with typical hot weather in the centre of the London heat island and a rural reference site. These data are used to carry out a parametric analysis by using a thermal and air flow simulation tool specifically designed for offices in SE England. A reference and optimised office module are described. A comparison of the building types based in the same location suggests that during the typical hot week the rural reference office has 84% energy demand for cooling compared to a similar urban office. A rural optimised office would not need any artificial cooling and would be able to maintain temperatures below 24 °C. An urban optimised office would not be able to achieve this. A rural optimised office would need 42% of the cooling required for an optimised urban office. A comparison of the optimised to the reference office module suggests that an urban optimised office reduces the cooling demand to 10% of the urban reference office.     

Microclimatic modeling of the urban thermal environment of Singapore to mitigate urban heat island

This study investigates the urban heat island effect in Singapore and examines the key factors causing this effect. The possibilities of improving heat extraction rate by optimizing air flow in selected hot spots were explored. The effect of building geometry, façade materials and the location of air-conditioning condensers on the outdoor air temperature was explored using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. It was found that at very low wind speeds, the effect of façade materials and their colours was very significant and the temperature at the middle of a narrow canyon increased up to 2.5 °C with the façade material having lower albedo. It was also found that strategically placing a few high-rise towers will enhance the air flow inside the canyon thereby reducing the air temperature. Adopting an optimum H/W ratio for the canyons increased the velocity by up to 35% and reduced the corresponding temperature by up to 0.7 °C.     

Urban heat island in southern Europe: The case study of Hania, Crete

The aim of the present paper is to analyze the results of the urban heat island research for a coastal densely built small Mediterranean town namely Hania, Crete, Greece. The specific research targets to verify the existence, the intensity, the size and the form of the urban heat island phenomenon in the specific region as well as to understand its correlation with the local weather conditions. Nine urban and three rural meteorological stations are used for this study. Temperature and relative humidity measurements are collected from May 26, 2007 until October 24, 2007. In parallel, meteorological data including wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, sunlight and precipitation for the specific region are collected and elaborated for cross-correlation with the appearance of the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. During summer period, where the temperature is high, the UHI takes its maximum intensity, of about 8 °C. Also, the form of the UHI is strongly influenced from the wind speed and direction. The northern winds expand the UHI front, while the western winds contribute to the UHI reduction. Finally the Discomfort Index (DI) is calculated for the 2007 summer period to indicate the outdoor living conditions.     

Properties and performance of advanced reflective paints to reduce the cooling loads in buildings and mitigate the heat island effect in urban areas

High reflective coatings and paints spread on the roof and walls can be very useful to reduce the cooling loads in buildings to ensure thermal comfort in the built environment. The solar reflectance of construction and cooling materials was measured with a spectrophotometer. A surface temperature monitoring campaign compared the thermal profiles of typical Italian construction materials with an innovative sustainable white paint, obtained with a special mixture of milk and vinegar of very high solar reflectance. Two building-integration cool-roof campaigns were run in the experimental building, Casa Intelligente of ENEA, in which indoor and outdoor air temperature and roof surface temperatures were monitored. This campaign, run in the summer of 2005 and 2006, allowed us to verify the influence of cool roofs to mitigate indoor air temperatures and to compare the behaviour of different cool-roof technologies.     

Urban heat island characteristics in London during winter

This paper presents results characterising the urban heat island intensity (UHI) in London during the peak winter season. Most UHI studies focus on the phenomenon during the summer as this is the period when temperature peaks are observed. However, for urban planning mitigation strategies and building energy demand design, the heating season should be also considered, since proposed measures to alleviate the summer UHI might have a negative effect during the winter or intermediate seasons.The study carries out trend and regression analysis by controlling climatic and geographical variations in the data set following a methodology developed for studying summer UHI [Kolokotroni, M., Giridharan, R., 2008. Urban heat island intensity in London: an investigation of the impact of physical characteristics on changes in outdoor air temperature during summer. Solar Energy 82, 986-998]. It was found that average nocturnal UHI of winter periods are of similar magnitude to the summer periods but the peak winter UHI trends are not as regular as summer giving a first indication that the effect of climate and urban parameters is different. The regression analysis in this research uses six on-site variables namely aspect ratio, surface albedo, plan density ratio, green density ratio, fabric density ratio and thermal mass to carry out impact investigation in six data sets, categorised by three geographical location within London and three sky conditions and regional wind velocity. The above variables do not explain the changes in outdoor temperature as much as they did during summer period models. However, unlike summer, the winter climate control models have the same R² indicating that most of changes in outdoor temperature are caused by climate factors and not the on-site variables.     

Daytime urban heat islands from Landsat ETM+ and Corine land cover data: An application to major cities in Greece

Satellite images in the thermal infrared can be used for assessing the thermal urban environment as well as for defining heat islands in urban areas. In this study, the thermal environment of major cities in Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki, Patra, Volos and Heraklion) is examined using satellite images provided by the Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) sensor on board Landsat 7 satellite corresponding to the daytime and warm period when the surface urban heat island (SUHI) phenomenon is best observed. The spatial structure of the thermal urban environment is analyzed in each case study and the “hottest” surfaces within the urban settings are identified and related to the urban surface characteristics and land use. For the needs of the study, the Corine land cover (CLC) database for Greece is also used, in an effort to define more effectively the link between surface emissivities, land surface temperatures and urban surface characteristics.     

Study on oil fouling in a double pipe heat exchanger with mitigation by a surfactant

Fouling of oils on heat exchanger surfaces and pipelines is a common problem in a variety of industrial applications. This is because the oil deposits on the heat transfer surface causes an increase in pressure drop and a decrease in heat exchanger efficiency. In the current work, oil fouling in double pipe heat exchanger was investigated and mitigated using a surface‐active agent for the flow of a dispersion fluid containing different dispersed oil fractions in water. The effect of the dispersed oil fraction (5%vol and 10%vol) and temperature (35°C‐55°C) on the oil fouling rate was studied and discussed under turbulent flow conditions for both hot and cold fluids. Different amounts of alkylbenzene sulfonate as a surfactant were added to reduce the fouling rate under turbulent flow. It was found that the fouling thermal resistance (R_f) increases when the fluid temperature decreases. The higher the dispersed oil fraction, the higher the R_f for all temperatures due to higher oil deposition. Addition of 0.2%vol to 0.5%vol of alkylbenzene sulfonate caused an appreciable reduction in R_f depending on oil fraction and Reynolds number. The mitigation percent was higher for a lower Reynolds number, reaching up to 96%.     

Designing urban spaces and buildings to improve sustainability and quality of life in a warmer world

It is in cities that the negative impacts of a warming climate will be felt most strongly. The summer time comfort and well-being of the urban population will become increasingly compromised under future scenarios for climate change and urbanisation. In contrast to rural areas, where night-time relief from high daytime temperatures occurs as heat is lost to the sky, the city environment stores and traps heat and offers little respite from high temperatures. This urban heat island effect is responsible for temperature differences of up to 7 °C between cities and the country in the UK. We already have experience of the potential hazards of these higher temperatures. The majority of heat-related fatalities during the summer of 2003 were in urban areas.     

The effect of urban layout,street geometry and orientation on shading conditions in urban canyons in the Mediterranean

The paper presents the results of shading analysis which was carried out as part of a wider comparative analysis of two sites with different characteristics in terms of street geometry and urban density. The first experiment site was a traditional settlement in the island of Tinos, Greece, and the second was a relatively newly built part of the capital city of the island. Also a parametric shading analysis was carried out in order to examine a number of parameters that influence shading conditions in urban canyons.The paper aims in analyzing the effect of parameters such as urban layout, street geometry and orientation on solar access and shading conditions, which strongly affect urban canyon microclimate. The results of shading simulations are compared to the results of experimental measurements of air and surface temperatures and to parametric thermal analysis results. The conclusions can contribute in the formulation of urban design guidelines.     

地源热泵在室内游泳池供暖空调中的应用研究

在分析了地源热泵系统的特点和概算了室内游泳池的冷热负荷的基础上，提出采用地源热泵系统可同时满足室内游泳池的供暖、空调及池水加热3项需求；分析了不同季节地源热泵在游泳池的运行工况。通过分析比较表明，地源热泵系统的运行费用比传统的冷水机组加燃油锅炉系统的运行费用节省约50％，比冷水机组加燃气锅炉系统的运行费用节省21％。     

Impact of future urban form on the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from residential,commercial and public buildings in Utsunomiya,Japan

Energy-saving technologies’ applicability to making cities more environmentally sustainable can be strongly influenced by the city's form, building uses and their density pattern. Technological developments have clearly shown specific urban forms to be more conducive to installing certain mitigation technologies. In this study, the capacity for implementation and impacts on energy savings and subsequent greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential of mitigation technologies such as photovoltaic cells (PV) and combined heat and power (CHP) technologies were analysed with respect to three potential urban forms (high density centralised, medium density averaged and low density de-centralized) for Utsunomiya City, Japan. Given current building use patterns, scenarios for 2030 and 2050, showed the medium density averaged form, which benefits from both PV and CHP technologies, to outperform the other forms, resulting in an energy savings and GHG reduction potential of 27.6% in 2030 and 67.6% in 2050. Interestingly, GHG reduction in 2050 was primarily attributable to PV, while CHP technology had the greater influence in 2030. Despite the limitation of the analysis, the study provides a useful insight, highlighting the relationship between urban forms and GHG reduction potential by two energy-saving technologies.     

Using advanced cool materials in the urban built environment to mitigate heat islands and improve thermal comfort conditions

The present paper is a review article aiming to present the actual state of the art on the development and the assessment of cool materials (i.e. materials with high solar reflectance and infrared emittance) for buildings and urban structures. The research in this field is roughly divided in four phases and includes the development and assessment of: (a) highly reflective and emissive light colored materials, (b) cool colored materials, i.e. colored materials with increased near infrared and thus overall solar reflectance compared to similarly colored conventional ones, (c) phase change materials and (d) dynamic cool materials. All major aspects related to each technology are described and the benefits and impacts of these materials at building, city and global scale are reported. The wide use of such materials can significantly contribute to the mitigation of the heat island effect and the improvement of urban environmental quality.     

半开式自调节重力热管应用研究

本文提出了一种新型半开式自调节重力热管,解决了开式重力热管存在的密封液倒灌和液位失温问题。可广泛应用于电站锅炉排烟及高温工业废气的余热回收,具有较高的可靠性和显著的节能效果。     

螺旋套管换热器传热特性研究

根据螺旋套管换热器的结构特点及传热特性,建立了水一水蒸气的流动与传热的三维几何模型.利用Fluem时不同工况下的螺旋套管进行了数值模拟,得出了湍流状态下螺旋套管内流体的温度场、速度场和压力场;利用搭建的螺旋套管换热器试验台,得出多种工况下的传热系数,为螺旋套管换热器的设计计算提供了依据.同时将试验结果和数值模拟结果进行...     

Study on heat transfer characteristics of porous metallic heat sink with conductive pipe under bypass effect

The work investigated the forced convection heat transfer of the heat sink situated in a rectangular channel by considering the bypass effect. The fluid medium was air. The relevant parameters were the Reynolds number (Re), the relative top by‐pass gap (C/H), and the relative side by‐pass gap (S/L). The size of the heat sink was 60 mm (L)×60 mm(W)×24 mm(H). Two heat sinks were employed as test specimens: (A) the 0.9‐porosity aluminum foam heat sink and (B) the 0.9‐porosity aluminum foam heat sink with a 20 mm diameter copper cylinder. The copper cylinder was used as a conductive pipe of heat sink. The average Nusselt number was examined under various forced convection conditions. Experimental results demonstrate that increasing by‐pass space decreased the Nusselt number. Besides, the average Nusselt number of mode B heat sink was higher than that of mode A heat sink by 30% for the case without by‐pass flow. The heat transfer enhancement by the copper cylinder would decline as the by‐pass space grew. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20247     

电厂循环冷却水余热回收用于城市供热

通过新疆石油管理局克拉玛依电厂循环水余热回收热用于城市供热的工程实践 ,认为将小型凝汽式机组改造为循环水供热机组具有投资少、收益大的优点 ,对于中、小型电厂来说是求得生存和发展的有效途径 ,具有广阔的市场前景     

The effect of condenser heat transfer on the energy performance of a plate heat pipe solar collector

For a novel prototype solar collector, using a plate heat pipe, condenser heat transfer was analysed in detail. The condenser has the shape of a rectangular channel. Flow and heat transfer of water in the rectangular channel was modelled and the heat transfer coefficient assessed, using the Fluent code. Under typical operating conditions a mixed convection situation occurs. The channel is inclined and heating is through one wall only (upper channel surface). The range of temperature differences considered was similar to the one verified under real operating conditions, covering a wide range of Grashof numbers. Results showed that the Nusselt number is significantly higher than the one for forced convection in a rectangular channel with fully developed boundary layers. In order to enhance heat transfer, a modification to the rectangular channel was analysed, using baffles to improve flow distribution and increase velocity. The effect of this modification on collector energy performance (efficiency) was assessed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of the impact of the urban heat island on residential and commercial energy consumption in Tokyo

This study evaluated the impact of the urban heat island (UHI) in the Tokyo metropolitan area on energy consumption in the residential and commercial sectors. Although there are many indications that UHIs increase energy consumption by air conditioners, the possible decrease in consumption of heating energy in winter is usually ignored. To quantify the net impact of a UHI, it is crucial to consider both factors. Furthermore, it is important to consider the spatial distribution because a UHI represents the local temperature change in an urban area, and the spatial distribution of energy consumption in an urban area is complicated. We developed a new method to evaluate UHI impact by taking into consideration the spatial and temporal distributions of both energy consumption and air temperature. The results reveal that the UHI increases commercial energy consumption in the Tokyo metropolitan area but decreases residential energy consumption; however, there is a total net decrease in energy consumption. This suggests that UHI mitigation measures should particularly target the city center, where commercial buildings are concentrated, whereas in residential areas, sufficient assessments must be conducted to ensure that mitigation measures are introduced with caution.     

Study of heat transport of an osmotic heat pipe: Part 1. effects of the initial concentration on heat transport limits

This paper presents an experimental study on the effects of initial concentration on the critical heat transport rate of an osmotic heat pipe operated under atmospheric pressure. In this experiment, an aqueous polyethylene glycol 600 solution was used as the working fluid and 18 tubular acetyl cellulose membranes were used as the osmotic membranes. The initial concentration was varied between 0.1 to 1.0 kmol/m³ in 0.1 kmol/m³ steps. Consequently, the existence of an optimum initial concentration for the critical heat transport rate was revealed. In addition, solution concentrations in the solution riser and downcomer were found to be related to the initial concentration and solvent contact height. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 29(1): 59–71, 2000     

基于LBM多孔介质复合腔体交界面热滑移效应的研究

本文采用格子Boltzmann方法对真实多孔介质复合腔体内的对流换热进行研究,分析了不同Ra数、多孔介质高度Y和厚度δ条件下交界面处的热滑移效应,并确定热滑移系数。利用X-CT技术对真实多孔介质材料进行断层扫描,获得实际材料内部结构图片,并进行图片处理,再导入格子Boltzmann模型中进行求解。计算结果表明：等效热滑移系数随高度Y的影响较大,靠近壁面或固体表面的系数偏大,而间隙处的系数偏小,但两处各自的值基本相同;Ra数和厚度δ的变化对等效热滑移系数的作用较小。