CIVIL-309 / 3 credits

Teacher: Khovalyg Dolaana

Language: English


Summary

The course examines urban neighborhoods through a thermodynamic lens, focusing on heat exchanges between buildings, vegetation, water, soil, the environment, and people. A group project highlights the Urban Heat Island effect and investigates strategies to mitigate it and improve urban planning.

Content

  • Analysis of urban physical processes at various scales
  • Features of the urban environment and urban micro-meteorology
  • Thermal interactions among environment, buildings, vegetation, ground, and water surfaces
  • Spatial distribution and dynamics environmental parameters in urban areas
  • Influence of materials and urban design on thermal heat exchange and the environmental quality
  • Impact of urban elements on urban climate and outdoor comfort

 

Keywords

Urban heat exchange, built environment, heat island effect, outdoor environmental quality, climate-sensitive urban design

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

  • General physics: thermodynamics PHYS-106

Recommended courses

  • Mécanique des fluides (pour GC) CIVIL-210

Important concepts to start the course

Heat exchange, convection, conduction, radiation, evaporation

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

  • Assess / Evaluate various modes of heat transfer in the urban environment.
  • Assess / Evaluate surface energy balance at various urban interfaces.
  • Carry out thermodynamics analysis at the urban scale.
  • Critique the choice of urban materials and design and propose alternative solutions.
  • Examine the effect of the outdoor built environment on human comfort

Transversal skills

  • Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
  • Evaluate one's own performance in the team, receive and respond appropriately to feedback.
  • Assess one's own level of skill acquisition, and plan their on-going learning goals.
  • Identify the different roles that are involved in well-functioning teams and assume different roles, including leadership roles.
  • Take responsibility for environmental impacts of her/ his actions and decisions.
  • Take account of the social and human dimensions of the engineering profession.

Teaching methods

Ex cathedra, exercices, discussions, online tools

Expected student activities

Participate in discussions, exercise and practical sessions, group work

Assessment methods

Written midterm test and a group project

Supervision

Office hours No
Assistants Yes
Forum No

In the programs

  • Semester: Fall
  • Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
  • Subject examined: Urban thermodynamics
  • Courses: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Lab: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: mandatory

Reference week

Friday, 13h - 14h: Lecture CHB330

Friday, 14h - 15h: Exercise, TP CHB330

Friday, 15h - 16h: Project, labs, other CHB330

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