Urban Thermodynamics
Summary
The course analyzes urban neighborhoods from a thermodynamics perspective, emphasizing heat exchange among buildings, vegetation, water, ground, environment, and people. A group project highlights the Urban Heat Island effect and mitigation strategies for human comfort and building performance.
Content
- Analysis of urban physical processes at various scales
- Features of the urban environment and urban micro-meteorology
- Thermal interactions among environment, buildings, vegetation, ground, and water surfaces
- Spatial distribution and dynamics of airflow, temperature, and humidity in urban areas
- Influence of materials and urban design on thermal heat exchange and the environmental quality
- Impact of urban elements on urban climate and outdoor comfort
Keywords
Urban heat exchange, built environment, heat island effect, outdoor environmental quality, climate-sensitive urban design
Learning Prerequisites
Required courses
- General physics: thermodynamics PHYS-106
Recommended courses
- Mécanique des fluides (pour GC) CIVIL-210
- Fundamentals of indoor climate CIVIL-212
Important concepts to start the course
Heat exchange, convection, conduction, radiation, evaporation
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
- Assess / Evaluate various modes of heat transfer in the urban environment.
- Assess / Evaluate surface energy balance at various urban interfaces.
- Carry out thermodynamics analysis at the urban scale.
- Critique the choice of urban materials and design and propose alternative solutions.
- Examine the effect of the outdoor built environment on human comfort
Transversal skills
- Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
- Evaluate one's own performance in the team, receive and respond appropriately to feedback.
- Assess one's own level of skill acquisition, and plan their on-going learning goals.
- Identify the different roles that are involved in well-functioning teams and assume different roles, including leadership roles.
- Take responsibility for environmental impacts of her/ his actions and decisions.
- Take account of the social and human dimensions of the engineering profession.
Teaching methods
Ex cathedra, exercices, discussions, computational tools
Expected student activities
Participate in discussions, exercise and computer simulation sessions, group work
Assessment methods
Written test (30% of the total grade) and group project report (70% of the total grade)
Supervision
| Office hours | No |
| Assistants | Yes |
| Forum | No |
Resources
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
Yes
Bibliography
- T.R. Oke, G.Mills, A. Christensen, J.A. Vooght, Urban Climates, Cambridge University Press
- S. Medved, Building Physics: Heat, Ventilation, Moisture, Light, Sound, Fire, and Urban Microclimate, Springer
- A. Rodrigues, R.A. Sardinha, G. Pita, Fundamental Principles of Environmental Physics, Springer
- N. Mason, P. Hughes, Introduction to Environmental Physics: Planet Earth, Life and Climate, Taylor & Francis
Ressources en bibliothèque
- Urban Climates / Oke, Mills,Christensen
- Building Physics / Medved
- Fundamental Principles of Environmental Physics / Rodrigues, Sardinha, Pita
- Introduction to Environmental Physics / Mason, Hughes
Moodle Link
Prerequisite for
In the programs
- Semester: Fall
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Urban Thermodynamics
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: mandatory