[en] With climate change and the recurring heat waves in arid lands, human well-being and activities in oasis settlements can be critical subjects for the ongoing years. This paper introduces a methodological approach to investigate the potential passive cooling effect inside the oasis palm groves, their spatial characteristics, and microclimatic thresholds. Based on the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) index, the paper evaluates oasis palm groves’ ability to ensure a neutral human outdoor thermal comfort zone. The research aims to determine guidance of an optimal and nearly optimal thermal comfort threshold based on a series of parametric scenarios of oasis configurations. The study provides a cross of 12 ideal oasis scenarios. The paper evaluates the oasis cooling effect and thermal comfort and recommends aligning urban planning with thermal thresholds. Results reveal that PET neutral zone can be assured into ranges of 29°C to 37°C, 19°C to 20°C, 55% to 58%, and 1m/s to 2m/s of mean radiant temperature, air temperature, relative humidity and air velocity, respectively. The results refer policymakers and urban planners to invest in the passive cooling effect of the oasis palm grove in future urban design strategies to maintain the maximum neutral comfort hours during heat waves.
Research center :
Sustainable Building Design Lab
Disciplines :
Architecture
Author, co-author :
Matallah, Mohamed Elhadi ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département ArGEnCo > Techniques de construction des bâtiments
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