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Comparison of mean radiant temperature from field experiment and modelling: a case study in Freiburg, Germany

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Abstract

Mean radiant temperature (T mrt) based on two measurement methods and outputs from three models are compared in this study. They are the six direction radiation method, globe thermometer method, RayMan model, ENVI-met model and SOLWEIG model. The comparison shows that globe thermometer method may overestimate the T mrt since wind velocity is a key variable in the estimation based on this method. For better estimation, T mrt measured by the globe-thermometer method be corrected by the imported wind speed (stable, low and assuming wind speed) and validated by the six-direction radiation method. The comparison of models shows that the RayMan model’s evaluation of T mrt involving global radiation with fine time resolution was better than the corresponding evaluations under the other two models (ENVI-met and SOLWEIG) in this case. However, the RayMan model can only assess T mrt for a one-point one-time context, whereas the other two models can evaluate two-dimensional T mrt. For two-dimensional evaluations of T mrt, SOLWEIG have a better prediction of T mrt than ENVI-met, and ENVI-met can simulate several different variables, which are wind field, particle distribution, CO2 distribution and the other thermal parameters (T a, surface temperature and radiation fluxes), that SOLWEIG cannot.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Jutta Holst and Hemlut Mayer for data. Thanks to Peter Seeling for proofreading of the manuscript. This study is supported by National Science Council of Taiwan and Deutsch Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Meteorology and Climatology, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Werthmannstr. 10, 79085, Freiburg, Germany

    Yung-Chang Chen & Andreas Matzarakis

  2. Department of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Road, Tainan, 701, Taiwan

    Tzu-Ping Lin

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  1. Yung-Chang Chen
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  2. Tzu-Ping Lin
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  3. Andreas Matzarakis
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Correspondence to Yung-Chang Chen.

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Chen, YC., Lin, TP. & Matzarakis, A. Comparison of mean radiant temperature from field experiment and modelling: a case study in Freiburg, Germany. Theor Appl Climatol 118, 535–551 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-1081-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-1081-z

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