Effect of morphology and an upstream tall building on the mean turbulence statistics of a street canyon flow

The effects on turbulent street canyon flow of the morphological model and the existence of an upstream tall building are investigated in a wind tunnel, using Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (S-PIV) measurements on two orthogonal vertical planes. The cathedral in the "Rue de Strasbourg, (Nantes, France)'' morphological model is regarded as a local tall building and is tested and then replaced by generic, square planform buildings of 4 different heights. The cathedral induces an asymmetrical wake while no obvious different influence on the street canyon flow can be identified, in comparison with a generic building of the same height. A strong along -canyon flow occurs which may be due to the intersections, while the along-canyon ventilation decreases with increasing building height. The higher the building, the stronger its sheltering effect, leading to a reduction of the vertical ventilation and mass transport across the canyon opening, at least in the canyon portion directly downstream of the building.