Assessing the Incluence of Geometry Model Simplifications Over Urban Environmental Simulation

Abstract

Due to the continuous urban growth and its impact over the microclimate temperature raise, it is highly important to incorporate climatological aspects during the urban planning process. Computer simulation models are valuable in this sense. However, during the early stages of urban planning, the precise building location and geometry may be subjected to uncertainties. Therefore, using simplified and generic geometries may be appropriate for these modelling cases. By comparing the results of a detailed geometry model with four simplified geometry models in ENVI-met (Verion.4.2.0.-Summer 17 - free version) simulation, in a hypothetical urban scenario, this research assessed the air temperature, wind speed and sky view factor prediction errors. The results show low error magnitude, below 1°C for the air temperature metric, 1,25 m/s for the wind speed metric, and 0.3 for the sky view fator metric. Also, it indicated that the simplified models’ performance may vary according to the assessed metric and position of the data receptor.