The Simulation of Microclimatic Conditions and Thermal Comfort in Main Streets of Kermanshah City

Abstract

Outdoor thermal comfort is one of the most important issues affecting different activities of human life. The purpose of the present study is to help to better understand the factors influencing outdoor thermal comfort such as the width of sidewalks, dimensions of urban gorges and their orientation. In this study, four main passages of Kermanshah metropolis namely Modarres, Kasra, Nobahar and Taqghobostan were selected and studied. The meteorological data required for a 59-year period from 1951 to 2010 were obtained from Kermanshah Meteorological Department. Environmental elements were also taken for each passage in the field. The existing data was eventually imported into Envi-met software. Simulation results show that PMV index values for summer and winter are only in thermal comfort at the north-south of Nobahar and Kasra passage with direction shift from east-west to north-south in winter shows only 0/40 PMV index of improvement. Increasing the width of the passages by 50% increased the temperature in summer and winter. Increasing the height of buildings around the streets of Modarres, Kasra and Taghobostan also improved the summer thermal comfort and the reverse effect in winter.

Keywords

• environmental simulation
• thermal comfort
• envi-met
• kermanshah metropolis