The Determination of View-Factors in Urban Canyons

Abstract
An important aspect of longwave radiation exchange within urban canopies is the degree to which the sky is obscured by surrounding buildings, a concept which may be described by the sky view-factor (ψs). Hitherto, expressions for sky view-factors in the urban context have been derived for symmetrical urban canyons of infinite length. In this paper an analytical expression is presented which permits the determination of sky view-factors for the more realistic case of urban canyons in which buildings are irregularly aligned and of finite length. Abstract An important aspect of longwave radiation exchange within urban canopies is the degree to which the sky is obscured by surrounding buildings, a concept which may be described by the sky view-factor (ψs). Hitherto, expressions for sky view-factors in the urban context have been derived for symmetrical urban canyons of infinite length. In this paper an analytical expression is presented which permits the determination of sky view-factors for the more realistic case of urban canyons in which buildings are irregularly aligned and of finite length.

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