Three-dimensional urban
wind field construction plays an important role not only in the analysis of
pedestrian levels of comfort but also in the effectiveness of harnessing wind
energy in an urban environment. However, it is challenging to accurately
simulate urban wind flow due to the complex land use in urban environments. In
this study, a three-dimensional numerical model was developed for urban wind
flow construction. To obtain an accurate urban wind field, various turbulence
models, including the Reynolds Stress Model (RSM), Shear-Stress Transport (SST) k-ω, realizable k-ε, and
Re-Normalization Group (RNG) k-ε models were tested. Simulation results were compared with
experimental data in the literature. The RSM model showed promising potential
in simulating urban wind flow. The model was then adopted to simulate urban
wind flow for Purdue University Northwest, which is located in the Northwest
Indiana urban region. Based on the simulation results, the optimal location was
identified for urban wind turbine siting and the wind comfort was analyzed in the walk sides
between the buildings.