The aim of the study in this chapter is to investigate performances shown by courtyard buildings, used widely both as microclimate regulators and as city-wide climate stabilizers especially in the hot-dry climate regions. Furthermore, this study examines atrium buildings having an increasing usage rate in recent years and the presence of comfort problems in particular which have not been resolved for different climate regions. Wind velocity measurements are performed in 36 different points determined in X and Y directions and 17 different points in the Z dimension on the outside of the courtyard considered in this study. In addition, both atrium building typology model and courtyard building typology model are obtained by taking the average courtyard dimensions seen in many regions; by covering open space courtyard section of the geometry with a transparent glass, atrium and courtyard typologies can be obtained. Furthermore, thermal comfort states and energy performances of these two different building typologies in interior courtyard and in building internal volumes for hot-dry, hot-humid and cold climate region conditions as well as the effect of solar radiation values exposing the building surfaces and solar movements during the day on the thermal performance on the building are analysed with CFD FloEFD and Star CCM+ software.
Part of the book: Energy Efficient Buildings
The air flow between building interior and the courtyard to form via natural convection in hot-dry climatic regions are achieved with the help of wind pressure in other warm-humid and hot-humid climatic areas. Therefore, it is necessary to take into consideration and to humid other openings of the building which might change the effectiveness of the air movement to form due to wind effect in courtyard buildings. Therefore, wind tunnel experimental ways were developed and examined first in this study for the purpose of gaining knowledge on the effect of the wind on the cooling load of the atrium and courtyard buildings, and information to allow pre-estimation of the air flow to take place at the surface openings of such structures. Since numerical methods would not be enough alone in particular with regard to the wind, the planned study on the models was realized via the experimental method in a wind tunnel; and also Computational Fluid Dynamics numerical analyses were realized. This is a wind tunnel experimental study for the investigation of various architectural solutions for better cooling and ventilation through examination of the air flow passing through the surface openings of courtyard structures and for revelation of the effects of those results on the cooling and ventilation load. In this context, a courtyard building model was made to experiment on. Example courtyard building models were acquired by modifying various parameters (courtyard and gap area rates) to assess the test data from the boundary layer wind tunnel of wind-supported natural ventilation event of the example model courtyard structure used in the study.
Part of the book: Sustainable Buildings
Urban design and urban form can affect ventilation potential by causing flow turbulences around and at the top of buildings, which result in higher wind velocity. The air velocity is either increased or decreased by building blocks, and the solar energy is trapped in the urban canyons formed by buildings on both sides of the streets. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of building orientation and forms, and street orientations in terms of pedestrian- level microclimatic within the dense structure of the city of the case study area, which is considered the historical texture of the Montenegro region. The another aim was to answer the questions on the relation of the prevailing wind with the wind behavior in the built-up area. This is a multidisciplinary study between urban architecture, and urban physics. The data collection analysis and its interpretation are the numerical part of the study. When the results of the analyses on all prevailing wind directions and flows are examined in detail, building layouts can be revised and optimized to allow sufficient pressure on the facades of buildings with the lowest pressure values around each group of buildings. Otherwise, buildings with insufficient wind flow and therefore buildings with low-pressure values will exposed the insufficient natural ventilation performance.
Part of the book: Environmental Management
In urban design, the shape and form of the building and the layout of the buildings on the topography significantly influence the microclimatic comfort quality at the pedestrian level or in the public spaces all around the buildings by directing the winds to the streets and the designed open spaces. In this study, The Arabahmet region, one of the oldest historical settlements and cultural heritage of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is located within the capital city of Nicosia, Cyprus, and the continuation of the Arabahmet doctrine under the control of the United Nations, which is now between the territories of Southern part of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). This region has been a witness to many urban and periodical experiences over a wide period of time, covering many ages. This settlement is one of the settlement areas in which the Ottoman Empire and Republican periods, especially the Byzantine empire, and rarely seen the chance to see the official and civic influences on a city together. The overall aim of the study is to reveal the general potentials of the historic land of the Arabahmet region, which is about to become a depressed region due to different reasons, in many parameters, especially the physical comfort criteria.
Part of the book: Integrative Approaches in Urban Sustainability