The Science Corridor Street Canyon

1
The Science Corridor Street Canyon
Lauren Merski
May 3, 2005
Environmental Technology 3
2
Area of Observation
The Science Corridor is located off Risman Plaza,
along the SE side of the Main Library. The
Corridor consists of the following buildings
Williams Hall, the Science Research Building,
Smith Hall, Cunningham Hall, Henderson Hall and
the Math Computer Science Building.

• buildings are all approx. four stories
• two 8 ft. sidewalks
• 20 ft. wide center boulevard
• 40 ft. building setback from center of sidewalk

3
Environmental Conditions of Interest

• Street Canyons
• Wind Movement Around Buildings
• Thermal Comfort

Research Questions

• How does wind behave in the Science Corridor at
  the pedestrian level?
• Where are the windiest spots in the Science
  Corridor?
• Does the geometry of the Science Corridor impact
  the flow of the wind?
• How is thermal comfort affected by the wind
  patterns?

4
Hypothesis
The urban street canyon in the Science Corridor
creates unacceptably windy conditions in the
early spring.
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Research Method

• The Science Corridor was documented and mapped
  for vegetation and street furniture
• 32 points along the Corridor were measured and
  analyzed for
• avg. wind speed
• wet bulb temp
• dry bulb temp
• relative humidity
• wind direction

• Measurements were taken with a Kestrel 4000
• Readings were taken between 12-4pm

6
Research Method

• After initial readings were taken, ten additional
  points were chosen for further investigation
• Points were chosen based on max/min wind speed
  readings

7
Observations

• Data was examined point by point to determine
  average wind speed at each location
• The arrow denotes typical direction of wind and
  magnitude.

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Observations

• As the space between two buildings decreases, an
  increased wind velocity is measured at the
  corners.

9
Observations

• Two of the most variable points in the data set
  (9, 19) occur between the Library and Cunningham
  Hall

• The distance between the Library and Cunningham
  is roughly 131 ft
• This distance creates the phenomenon shown in
  diagram b

10
Observations

• The wind speeds recorded around the Library (pts.
  2, 4) were high on average.
• Increased wind speeds near the pedestrian level
  of a tall building are often the result of local,
  dynamic wind pressure flow fields.

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Observations

• Given the high wind, its interesting that the
  only street furniture in the corridor occurs at
  the bottom corner of the library.

12
Observations

• Wind Speed The ratios below were calculated by
  comparing the data collected on site, with the
  data from the Kent weather station recorded at
  the same time.
• 2 60 of relative wind speed (RWS),
  directionally independent
• 4 60 RWS in every direction but NNE, 20 RWS
  from NNE
• 6 60 RWS from NNE, 30 from SSE/SSW
• 7 60 RWS, prone to strong fluctuations up to
  1.5x RWS, directionally independent
• 9 Highly Variable (HV), extreme readings for
  both NNE and SSE/SSW wind
• 12 40 RWS, extremely low readings in SSE
• 14 50 RWS, directionally independent
• 19 HV, strongest readings from SW
• 20 60 RWS from NNE, SSE, SSW
• 29 HV, wind observed most frequently from SSE

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Observations

• Wind Speed Averages
• Overall average 1.45 m/s (3.26 mph) calm, wind
  felt on face
• Max reading, pt. 9 7.3 m/s (16.3 mph)
  newspaper difficult to read, hair disarranged
• Min reading, pt. 6 0.2 m/s (0.5 mph) calm, no
  noticeable wind

• Based solely on the readings and the charts
  below, the Science Corridor is not unpleasant.

14
Observations

• Thermal Comfort Using the wet bulb temp, dry
  bulb temp, and ASHRAE Seven Point Scale, thermal
  comfort can be mapped in the Science Corridor.
• According to the ASHRAE scale, the temperature
  combined with measured wind speed did lower
  comfort.
• All points registered U (uncomfortable) or SU
  (slightly uncomfortable) for most readings
• Only points 6, 7, 29 measured C (comfortable)
  even once.

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Conclusions

• Upon examination of the data from the Science
  Corridor, the wind levels are acceptable in early
  spring according to the charts developed by
  Edward Arens.
• When temperature and relative humidity data are
  examined in conjunction with the wind, comfort
  decreases.
• While the street canyon condition studied does
  create nodes of wind along the primary path, the
  open spaces between the buildings also create
  street canyons of their own.

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Hypothesis
The urban street canyon in the Science Corridor
creates unacceptably windy conditions in the
early spring.