Microclimate in Hot Dry Damascus： The Influence of the Urban Environment on Human Perception

There is a broad recognition that microclimatic conditions contribute to the quality of life in cities. A favorable microclimate has a positive influence on both commercial and social activities. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the human being and the surrounding thermal environment in terms of thermal acceptability, physical quality of the place, emotional state and the usage of the urban space in hot dry Damascus, Syria. The study is based on questionnaire surveys during the summer and winter in six locations with different microclimates. It is shown that the urban design plays a significant role in improving the microclimate, especially during the summer. The study also illustrates that when people＇s thermal perception is within the thermally acceptable range （i.e., slightly cool, comfortable and slightly warm） they experience the urban design as significantly more beautiful and more pleasant than during thermally unacceptable conditions. The results indicate that there is an interactive relationship between the urban design and humans＇ emotional state. Our findings suggest that a new perspective is needed for determining urban microclimate requirements and incorporating them into the urban design process to enhance the thermal environment in outdoor urban spaces in Damascus.

Characteristics and comfort evaluation of sinusoidal airflows by regulating motor rotating frequency of a floor fan

Increasing air movement by utilizing electric fans is among the common approaches for comfort and energy savings in buildings in summer;however,the use of electric fans is usually the forced constant airflow.This study reformed the one-chip computer program of a floor fan motor and simulated dynamic airflow through controlling the rotating frequency only.The flow field characteristics of constant,oscillated,sinusoidal airflows with periods of 10 s,30 s,60 s,100 s were measured.The comfort performance was evaluated by chamber experiments,with 20 subjects exposed to six airflow patterns under 30℃,70%RH.The results showed that the simulated sinusoidal airflows had relatively higher turbulence intensity(32%–37%)andβvalues(>0.4).While subjects’thermal sensations were not statistically significant among six airflows,their reported discomfort symptoms during 60 min exposure were reduced under sinusoidal airflows.The calculated convective heat transfer shared similar variations to instantaneous air velocity and skin temperature.A large fluctuation of 10–50 W/m^(2)and higher total convective heat loss(3000–3500 W/m^(2))were found for sinusoidal period 30 s.This study develops a new method to simulate varying air velocities through conveniently controlling the fan motor amplitude and frequency,and verifies the comfortable feelings to dynamic sinusoidal airflows.The work benefits to improve the performance of the current electric fans with lower costs and promote the applications of personal ventilation devices in buildings,thus optimizing human thermal comfort,reducing dependences on air conditionings and achieving building energy efficiency.