Architectural Simulations on Spatio-Temporal Changes of Settlement Outdoor Thermal Environment in Guanzhong Area, China

Abstract

This paper aims to provide data support for rural sustainable development through analyzing the spatio-temporal characteristics of the interactions of the outdoor thermal environment. The ordinary and representative rural settlements in the Guanzhong area were selected to analyze the dynamic process of the rural thermal environment through field measurements and numerical simulations. RMSE (root mean square error) and MAPE (mean absolute percentage) were used to verify the numerical simulation model, and physiological equivalent temperature (PET) was used to evaluate the outdoor thermal environment. Results show that the ENVI-met model reliably predicts the thermal environment of a rural settlement, as the air temperature and relative humidity values range of the RMSE and MAPE were 0.85–1.79 and 2.04–5.11%, respectively. Moreover, the air temperature rose by 3.08% and relative humidity dropped by 4.42% from 2003 to 2018 as the amount of artificial surfaces increased by 35.4% and the PET index gradually increased by 27.43% at daytime and 34.03% at nighttime. Furthermore, trees could improve the outdoor thermal environment significantly, mainly because the average air temperature decreased by 3.6% and relative humidity increased by 8%, and the PET index decreased by 12.4% and 13.1%, respectively, for daytime and nighttime. This case study is representative of rural settlements in the Guanzhong plain, and thus is an appeal to rural planners to pay attention to the thermal environment issues caused by increased artificial underlay surfaces and to focus on trees in rural areas.

Assessing Utilization and Comfort in a Village Scenic Park: Implications for Rural Revitalization

“…In many rural revitalization cases in Weihai, there is a common trend of using treated wood for aesthetic purposes. Unfortunately, this practice can lead to temperature increases [89] and is challenging to maintain [90], with construction costs. Through on-site visits and discussions, it was observed that the construction cost of wood planks in Weihai ranges from RMB 270 to 700 per square meter, significantly higher than the cost of brick construction, which ranges from RMB 60 to 400 per square meter.…”

Recent Advances in Thermoregulatory Clothing: Materials, Mechanisms, and Perspectives

“…Particularly, P gen is the major source of heat for the human body, which is generated in a multitude of methods, including blood circulation, skeletal muscle functioning, and chemical heat from the oxidation of nutrients consumed by the human body . The typical P gen values can be categorized based on different activity levels according to ISOEN 8996: people in relaxation, sedentary people, and standing people can generate 58, 70, 96 W m –2 of energy, respectively. , The human body absorbs sunlight when exposed to the sun, whereas inside, the sunlight absorption is negligible. P sun is the surplus heat gain of the human body under the sun, which can be calculated as follows: , P normals normalu normaln = prefix∫ 0.3 4 I A M 1.5 false( λ false) · α false( λ false) d false( λ false) where I AM1.5 (λ) is the air mass (AM) 1.5 global solar radiation spectrum, λ is the radiative wavelength, and α(λ) is the solar energy absorbance of the textiles. , Notably, the overall power density of the solar spectrum is roughly 1000 W m –2 , with a majority of it concentrated in the visible and near-IR (NIR) regions between 0.3 and 4 μm …”

“…61 The typical P gen values can be categorized based on different activity levels according to ISOEN 8996: people in relaxation, sedentary people, and standing people can generate 58, 70, 96 W m −2 of energy, respectively. 71,72 The human body absorbs sunlight when exposed to the sun, whereas inside, the sunlight absorption is negligible. P sun is the surplus heat gain of the human body under the sun, which can be calculated as follows: 23,53…”

Supporting Design to Develop Rural Revitalization through Investigating Village Microclimate Environments: A Case Study of Typical Villages in Northwest China

“…In Australia, what village residents were concerned about were the economic problems of climate change and government policies [ 25 ]. Climate studies in rural areas have only been based on macro perspectives and government policies [ 13 , 26 , 27 ], but there is a lack of exploration of the mechanisms of the village microclimate.…”

“…The rural economy has been boosted and the original natural landscape of villages have been changed with rapid urbanization since China’s opening reforms from 1978 [ 26 , 28 ]. Disorderly expansion of the construction area of villages, the increase in building heights, and the expansion of impervious underlying surfaces [ 27 ] have undoubtedly caused ground-surface temperatures to rise due to the thermal properties of artificial surfaces being higher than natural surfaces [ 29 , 30 ]. This also increases the burden of global climate issues due to China owning the largest number of villages in the world, especially in the northwest.…”