Local-scale forcing effects on wind flows in an urban environment

The aim of this study is to assess wind flow modelling capabilities for a selected urban area -"Quartiere la Venezia" in Livorno city (Italy) - by means of wind tunnel tests and CFD simulations. Both wind tunnel tests and CFD simulations were performed on a reduced- scale model. In addition, in the CFD simulations two levels of detail were tested. A comparison in terms of mean wind velocity profiles was then made between wind tunnel test results and numerical simulations in order to understand how the different degrees of precision of the CFD models can affect the results. At a later stage these results will be complemented by full-scale experimental data, enabling a further assessment of modelling capabilities.