Numerical study on the effects of aspect ratio and orientation of an urban street canyon on outdoor thermal comfort in hot and dry climate

In recent years, energy conservation and environmental protection have become most important issues for humanity. Phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage can solve the issues of energy and environment to a certain extent, as PCMs can increase the efficiency and sustainability of energy. PCMs possess large latent heat, and they store and release energy at a constant temperature during the phase change process. Thereby PCMs have gained a wide range of applications in various fields, such as buildings, solar energy systems, power systems and military industry. However, low thermal conductivity of PCMs leads to low heat transfer rate, thus, numerous studies have been carried out to improve thermal conductivity of PCMs. The main purpose of this paper is to review the methods for enhancing thermal conductivity of PCMs, which include adding additives with high thermal conductivity and encapsulating phase change materials. It is found that addition of thermal conductivity enhancement fillers is a more effective method to improve thermal conductivity of PCMs, where carbon-based material additives possess a more promising application prospect. Finally, the applications of PCMs in solar energy system, buildings, cooling system, textiles and heat recovery system are also analyzed.

Review on thermal conductivity enhancement, thermal properties and applications of phase change materials in thermal energy storage

Influence of urban geometry on outdoor thermal comfort in a hot dry climate: A study in Fez, Morocco

DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201903921 us warm in cold climates and shielded us from the nakedness for modesty and civilization.[1,2] Cloth is also a platform for artists, designers, and tailors to advance the clothing demands with emerging materials, process, and fashion.[2] While the majority of the functionalities of clothes lie in their physical attributes, such as their softness, breathability, air/ vapor permeability, and, of course the appearance, their role in thermal management is equally, if not more, important. The primary goal of clothing is to satisfy human being’s basic needs in thermal comfort, by providing cooling in the hot environment or heating in the cold environment.[1] The energy management aspect of clothing is becoming an increasingly important and attractive aspect due to our increasing awareness to energy consumption and our persisting pursuit of comfort and health. The finite availability and the associated environmental consequence of fossil fuels have motivated us to save energy from virtually all aspects of our daily lives. A suitable thermal envelop is a necessity for our living and working. To create a comfortable indoor environment, the building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are widely used for space cooling and heating at the expense of excessive energy consumption.[3–6] According to United States In this decade, the demands of energy saving and diverse personal thermoregulation requirements along with the emergence of wearable electronics and smart textiles give rise to the resurgence of personal thermal management (PTM) technologies. PTM, including personal cooling, heating, insulation, and thermoregulation, are far more flexible and extensive than the traditional air/liquid cooling garments for the human body. Concomitantly, many new advanced materials and strategies have emerged in this decade, promoting the thermoregulation performance and the wearing comfort of PTM simultaneously. In this review, an overview is presented of the state-ofthe-art and the prospects in this burgeoning field. The emerging materials and strategies of PTM are introduced, and classed by their thermal functions. The concept of infrared-transparent visible-opaque fabric (ITVOF) is first highlighted, as it triggers the work on advanced PTM by combining it with radiative cooling, and the corresponding implementations and realizations are subsequently introduced, followed by wearable heaters, flexible thermoelectric devices, and sweat-management Janus textiles. Finally, critical considerations on the challenges and opportunities of PTM are presented and future directions are identified, including thermally conductive polymers and fibers, physiological/psychological statistical analysis, and smart PTM strategies.

Emerging Materials and Strategies for Personal Thermal Management

Field-measurements were conducted in an urban street canyon with an east–west orientation, and a height-to-width ratio H/W = 1 during cloudless summer weather in 2003 in Freiburg, Germany. This experimental work adds to the knowledge available on the microclimate of an urban canyon and its impact on human comfort. Air temperature T
 a
 , air humidity VP, wind speed v and direction dd were measured continuously. All short-wave and long-wave radiation fluxes from the 3D surroundings were also measured. The degree of comfort was defined in terms of physiologically equivalent temperature (PET). Furthermore, the data gathered within the canyon were compared to data collected by a permanent urban climate station with the aim of furthering the understanding of microclimatic changes due to street geometry. Changes in the meteorological variables T
 a
 , v and dd in the canyon in comparison to an unobstructed roof level location were found to be in good agreement with previous studies, i.e., a small increase of T
 a
 in the canyon adjacent to irradiated surfaces, and a good correlation of v and dd between canyon and roof levels. The daily dynamics of canyon facet irradiances and their impacts on the heat gained by a pedestrian were strongly dependent on street geometry and orientation. Thermal stress was mostly attributable to solar exposure. Under cloudless summer weather, a standing body was found to absorb, on average, 74% of heat in the form of long-wave irradiance and 26% as short-wave irradiance. Shading the pedestrian as well as the surrounding surfaces is, hence, the first strategy in mitigating heat stress in summer under hot conditions.

Thermal comfort in an east–west oriented street canyon in Freiburg (Germany) under hot summer conditions

Shading and day-lighting controls energy savings in offices with fully-Glazed façades in hot climates

PCM cooling vest for improving thermal comfort in hot environment

The effect of PCM placement on torso cooling vest for an active human in hot environment

Cooling vest with optimized PCM arrangement targeting torso sensitive areas that trigger comfort when cooled for improving human comfort in hot conditions

Djamel Ouahrani

Papers

Shading and day-lighting controls energy savings in offices with fully-Glazed façades in hot climates

PCM cooling vest for improving thermal comfort in hot environment

The effect of PCM placement on torso cooling vest for an active human in hot environment

Cooling vest with optimized PCM arrangement targeting torso sensitive areas that trigger comfort when cooled for improving human comfort in hot conditions

Experimental study on using PCMs of different melting temperatures in one cooling vest to reduce its weight and improve comfort