Impacts of urban morphology on sensible heat flux and net radiation exchange

Abstract

Urban morphology affects the sensible heat flux and net radiation exchange which can alter urban heat mitigation plans. This study first parameterized the geometric effects on the net radiation, and then calculated the net radiation and sensible heat flux in the urban landscape of Hong Kong. Considering that the sensible heat flux is the main heat sink in compact urban areas, this study proposes a Normalized Urban Sensible Heat Mitigation Index (NUSHMI) based on the ratio of the net radiation and sensible heat flux. Overall, there is major difference in the dependence of net radiation and sensible heat flux on geometric parameters. Net radiation Rn, reaches an optimal value, either maximum or minimum depending on the parameters of SVF and a standard deviation of building height σ_h, at intermediate parameter values, which suggests a guideline relevant to urban design targeting the mitigation of urban climate. Contrariwise, sensible heat flux decreases or increases, again depending on SVF and σ_h, is being considered, with increasing values of the same parameters. For example, R_n, reaches a minimum value for a Sky View Factor (SVF) between 0.5 and 0.6, while it reaches a maximum value for a standard deviation of building height σ_h between 20 and 30 m. These two results suggest that radiative forcing, i.e. R_n, can be minimized by urban space with SVF around 0.55 and σ_h around 25 m. The relationships between sensible heat flux and SVF or σ_h do not show multiple minima or maxima (as with R_n), with the exception of building density, which could also be applied as a guideline in urban design. The results based on the proposed NUSHMI indicated the NUSHMI reaches the highest values when building density is about 0.7 and building height is about 80 m and when the building height standard deviation within an area is about 10 m to 20 m. These findings revealed how the urban morphology affects the surface heat flux exchange between urban canopy and atmosphere boundary layer, and can help to design an efficient urban landscape towards urban heat mitigation for highly compacted cities, e.g. controlling the building density, height, and the height deviation. This combination of urban geometric parameters identifies an urban configuration maximizing the dissipation of absorbed radiant energy as sensible heat. It should be noted, however, that heat load upon buildings would be reduced at the price of maximizing heat dissipation within the built-up space.