Spatial characterisation of wind impacts in an urban environment

Completed

Renewable Energy Sources(Wind Energy)
Not Energy Related

Basic and strategic applied research

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences)

Not Cross-cutting
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Other sociological economical and environmental impact of energy)

Dr CL Smith
Geography
University of Leicester

Standard

EPSRC

14 July 2011

13 July 2013

24 months

£101,364

Civil eng. & built environment

East Midlands

NC : Engineering

Dr CL Smith, Geography, University of Leicester

RELEVANCE AND SCIENTIFIC VALUEUnderstanding what and where the climate risks are is essential when planning for resilient urban environments. Several studies have quantified and/or produced spatial maps of temperature- or precipitation-related current and future risks. These offer a valuable decision-support tool for policymakers and other stakeholders. However, given the range and diversity of climate impacts it is necessary to provide decision-making stakeholders with as complete information as possible in order to avoid mal-adaptation. In Greater Manchester wind damage is second only to flooding in terms of the quantity and severity of extreme weather events, which have negatively impacted on the local infrastructure and/or population. Therefore, the addition of a comprehensive risk assessment of wind impacts to the growing body of knowledge on temperature and precipitation patterns will provide a more holistic account of climate impacts, and highlight urban areas or specific buildings which are at particular risk, and ought to be a high priority when planning for sustainable and comfortable future urban environments.Patterns of air flow in an urban environment are complex and it is therefore difficult to provide information at a useful spatial scale. However, with the advent of detailed digital elevation data for urban areas it becomes possible to characterise the three dimensional geometry, which is an important factor in describing exposure to wind. The three dimensional geometry can be linked to existing land use and surface cover categorisations, and experimental work using the city as a laboratory can be used to relate the local characteristics to urban flow patterns. The outputs from this work will provide a valuable means of verifying and extending existing urban classification schemes by establishing algorithms which can be used for rapid spatial characterisation of flow patterns. The algorithms will be transferable to other UK and European cities and will be scalable (sub-kilometre to city-scale), subject to the resolution of input data.PROJECT AIMThe aim of this project is to develop a better understanding of airflow patterns within an urban environment, using the case study area of Greater Manchester. The study will use information about land use, surface cover and 3-dimensional geometry, together with measured data to assess the risk to the local population and infrastructure of wind impacts. The outputs will be provided across spatial scales, taking into account the wider city region and also more localised flow patterns. The findings will be presented with respect to the implications for air quality, thermal discomfort and structural damage

15/12/10