A Multiscale Approach for Creating Boundary Conditions for Building Energy Analysis

This work aims to expose the mesoscale-microscale numerical approach for defining the boundary conditions for more accurate building energy simulations. Three models are examined (Pleim-Xiu, Blackadar and MRF-LSM) and compared with the data recorded by the anemometer located at the University “G. d’Annunzio” in Pescara. The city of Pescara, situated on the coast in the centre of Italy, is selected to analyse the wind pattern. The main object of this work is providing more detailed information through the results obtained by CFD analyses. Two computational cylindrical domains, with a diameter of 8 km, are evaluated: the first domain models only the land topography whereas the other also involves buildings located inside the area. Both domains are divided into 12 circular sectors of 30° to consider the various directions of the inlet wind. The calibration of virtual anemometers on real data allows the creation of a more accurate profile of the inlet wind and temperature for better energy simulations, especially in case of buildings with Double Skin Façade (DSF). The MM5 weather forecast model is adopted to evaluate the wind pattern and distribution, while CFD analyses are performed using the STAR-CCM+ software.