ZEMCH 2019 International Conference Proceedings April.2020 | Page 331
1. Introduction
Along with rapid urbanization, the necessity for designing a comfortable outdoor environment
has increased (Ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2019; Liu, Zhang, & Deng, 2016; Piselli, Castaldo, Pigliautile,
Pisello, & Cotana, 2018). Especially in hot and arid climates, like the UAE climate, pedestrians are
exposed to a high level of solar radiation, air temperature, and humidity for a long period which will
cause a thermal discomfort [4]. The thermal discomfort was found to be the most effective factor in
outdoor space quality [5]. Outdoor microclimate is a key point in influencing humansʹ OTC and quality.
There are four main parameters of the outdoor microclimate which are the air temperature, relative
humidity, wind speed, and the thermal radiation. In the past few decades, the numerical simulation
models have been enhanced to investigate and assess the urban microclimate, including the
computational fluid dynamics and the thermal energy balance models. ENVI met microclimate model
is one of the most commonly used dynamic CFD simulation tools. Several studies have used ENVImet
to assess the OTC and the different urban mitigation strategies, including [6]–[14].
The results of the different OTC studies have proved that the mitigation strategies are effective
and can help in increasing the pedestrians comfort level. A group of the OTC studies have either
focused on one mitigation strategy or assessed a combination of mitigation strategies, in which the
cooling potential increases. The impact and effectiveness of the vegetation that can be used in the parks,
green roofs, and vertical greeneries has been proved by [7]–[11], [15]–[17]Studies that evaluated the
effect of evaporative cooling from water surfaces in a micro‐scale urban environment included Shading
as a mitigation strategy that aim to reduce the direct solar radiation was studied by [9], [18]. As
confirmed by [14], [19]–[24] the shape of a urban space, the aspect ratios, and the design configurations
can strongly influence the OTC perception by the users .
2. Methodology:
2.1 Site definition
The study covers five outdoor zones in the UAE university campus that is located in Al Ain city,
Abu Dhabi, UAE. The followings are brief explanation of each zone.
Zone A is located in the UAEU male campus, as shown below. It is passing through a linear shaded
path and defined by F3 building and sand car parking are. F3 building facade is cladded by
prefabricated panels, while the floor is made of grey concrete pavement. The path is shaded by a
perforated aluminum panels that are around 8m height and supported by steel poles, as shown in
below. Zone B is located in the UAEU male campus as shown in the table below. It is defined by F1
building, F2 building, and the sports complex along with mechanical room/building located in the
central court. F1 building facade is cladded by red and white Alucobond aluminum composite panels.
F2 and the sports complex are cladded by prefabricated panels. Zone C is located in the UAEU woman
campus. It is passing through a curved shaded path and lined with the labs on one side. The labsʹ
facades are cladded with prefabricated panels and shaded, while the floor is a grey concrete pavement.
Zone D is located in the UAE female campus. It is surrounded by C6 building and B3 building along
with a mechanical room/building located in the central court. C6 building facade is cladded by red and
white concrete panels. B3 facade is mainly curtain wall and concrete. Zone E is located in the UAEU
male campus in front of the IT entrance. The IT building facade is mostly green tented glass. The floor
is made of grey concrete pavement. It lacks a shaded path which makes it difficult to walk in the peak
hours of the day when the students and the staff have to change their classes. Even though the materials
of the buildings and pavement in both campuses is similar, the female campus side tents to be more
shaded with aluminum shading devices. This structure tents to accumulate and release the heat in the
second half of the day. This reduces drastically the outdoor thermal comfort values.
Assessment of the OTC (Outdoor Thermal Comfort) in the UAEU Campus,
AL Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE
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