Improved method for urban-scale ventilation analysis based on circuit theory

• Urban-scale ventilation corridor analysis can be addressed by the proposed method; • The proposed method was validated using computation fluid dynamics analysis; • The proposed method is an important supplement to the calculation fluid dynamics method in urban-scale ventilation analysis; • This method was easy to implement, and the result was intuitive and easy to understand; • Wuhan, the megacity of central China, was analyzed using three-dimensional building data from 2015. With increasing urbanization, the urban heat island (UHI) effect has become a critical urban environmental problem. Many factors affect the formation of UHIs, and urban canopy ventilation is considered a crucial method for reducing the UHI effect. This study proposed an improved ventilation corridor (VC) identification method known as the neighborhood normalized current model (NN-CM). This method uses neighborhood normalization to improve VC identification based on circuit theory. Considering Wuhan, China, as the research area using three-dimensional building data, urban ventilation environment simulation experiments under different wind directions were conducted on a 100-m grid. The results were compared, and computation fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was used to verify the proposed method. Compared with the original VC analysis method based on circuit theory, the proposed method reduced the subjectivity of the analysis results. Further, compared with other methods, the new method was advantageous in analysis result coverage, dynamic wind direction simulation, and data throughput. The CFD verification confirmed that the NN-CM exhibits high reliability.