A Street in Perspective: Thermography Simulated by the Finite Element Method
Abstract
Thermograms of urban perspective views provide an efficient way to analyze heat transfer phenomena in cities. The computational simulation of thermograms introduces more information into the analysis, allowing for the comparison of spatialized information to provide a better understanding of the involved physical parameters. The main objective of this work was to simulate thermograms at the urban scale using the finite element method (FEM). Geometrical properties and environmental and boundary conditions were carefully established. A comparison between a time sequence of thermograms on a real urban district and a set of simulated thermograms was developed. The computational model shows compelling results, reproducing the same order of magnitude and general appearance of the experimental data. Moreover, the results allow for the evaluation of the heat flux balance at various interesting points on the geometry, and the impact associated with the modification of scene parameters.