research

review

A
 research review:
Published 2008
# | Research Year Book
research review:
contents
Introduction: Jeremy Watson 2

Meet the team 3

SuperLight Car (SLC) 4

Sustainable Bridge Structures: 8

Support for Offshore Wind Farms and Energy Storage

Embodied Energy as an Environmental Impact 12

Indicator for Geotechnical Infrastructures

High-Resolution 3D Measurement and 3D 16

Computational Fluid Dynamics Modelling
of Reservoir Spillways

Water Quality Modelling 20

Responsiveness To Market (RTM) Building System 24

for the Residential High-Rise Building Design Process

Innovative Approaches to Pedestrian 28

Planning at Toronto’s Union Station

Air Ventilation Assessment by External Wind 32

Modelling Using Different Turbulence Models

Innovative Façade Technology Based on Pultruded 36

Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites

Using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) 40

to Predict and Model Fire Propagation

Behaviour of Tunnel Rock 44

Subject to Fire Loading

Full Scale Fire Tests in Tunnels and the use of Advanced 48

CFD modelling to Predict Fire and Smoke Behavior

Climate Scenarios for Urban Design: 52

A Case Study for the London Urban Heat Island

The importance of research to Arup 56

research review | 1
Introduction
Author: Jeremy Watson, Director, Global Research, Arup
It gives me a great deal of pleasure to introduce
the Arup research review. This publication offers
a series of case studies demonstrating examples
of the research work we have completed, many
in collaboration with other organisations and
research institutes. As Director of Global
Research at Arup I am increasingly excited and
inspired by the breadth, depth and quality of the
research projects we undertake, both for our
clients and to develop our internal capabilities.
Research at Arup
Research has a strong history at Arup and we
strive to deliver new thinking and research
excellence in support of our clients’ projects
and aspirations. Our strategy seeks to maximise
opportunities for the future by identifying the
needs of our clients and businesses, as well as
monitoring and supporting new developments in
the academic sector. This ensures that our
practices and groups remain at the forefront of
innovation and delivery. At Arup we like to view
our research capabilities as filling the gaps
between current best practice and the needs
and aspirations of future business.
Research has always underpinned Arup’s work
and it is increasingly important that it forms an
integral part of the projects we deliver. In 2006,
focus was enhanced by the establishment of a
formal Research function, working closely with
our Design and Technical Executive (DTX). We
have Research ‘Champions’ across the world in
our Australasia, East Asia, Americas and Europe
regions, each of whom works alongside the
regional Design and Technology leader. This
has allowed us to position strategic research
as a separately funded area, enabling external
collaborative research around the world, and
leading to knowledge creation, in addition to
offering our research capabilities as a service
stream to our clients. Our DTX leaders, with their
teams, identify business opportunities and define
what needs to be researched. Our Champions
then liaise with regional Arup teams and their
university contacts and other institutions to
execute regionally-steered research work
Research Priorities
Our research prioritisation processes have been
reviewed to ensure they are clear and effective.
Key programmes and themes are defined through
exploratory and delivery phases. The exploratory
phase is undertaken through a roadmapping
exercise which links global drivers with Arup
business opportunities to deliver a research
agenda which addresses the future needs of our
business. Additionally we also offer customised
strategic Roadmapping workshops to our clients
to support their research agendas, and look to
act as a broker for external research providers,
2 | research review
integrating internal and university partner
capabilities to address clients’ research needs.
To facilitate knowledge sharing and create an
interactive collective work environment, we have
designed an innovative approach using a Wiki.
This connects our offices and our existing
networks, enabling rapid sharing of proposed
research programmes and research results
across the globe to support research objectives
and our clients’ requirements.
Collaboration
Our areas of expertise are wide and our breadth
and depth of knowledge and skills impressive,
with many staff members being respected
experts in their fields, publishing articles in
peer-reviewed journals. However, while we have
much expertise in house, our research offerings
are greatly strengthened by strategic alliances
and partnerships. Our collaborative work with
universities is world renowned and clients are
seeing growing benefits from this joint approach.
We nurture our partnerships with organisations
and businesses who contribute to and support
our research initiatives, and many of our experts
contribute to universities around the world as
visiting professors, as well as continuing to be
independent advisers to industry. Arup staff find
it very stimulating and enjoyable to work in a
company culture which encourages this.
As well as the work with individual organisations
we also ensure that our thinking influences and
aligns with national research priorities, and we
seek to leverage company investments in
research through national funding programmes.
Arup is proud of its long-term relationship with
the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC) in the UK. This relationship
recently grew with the establishment of a
Strategic Partnership, the first of its kind in our
sector. Together with the EPRSC we define
research programme themes for UK universities
and agree funding for chosen research areas.
Project proposals are invited by calls from
EPSRC, with winners selected by their peer
review process. Projects are jointly funded,
with the UK Government providing 50% of the
necessary finance through the Council and the
remainder coming from Arup together with
private sector partner organisations. Arup is
currently forming a consortium to jointly raise the
additional 50% of funding required. This group
will work with an elite network of Universities to
undertake research identified by the partners.
We recently secured an investment of £1.5M
from the EPSRC on behalf of participating
universities, to facilitate research networking in
international Eco-City issues, the focus for this
being the Dongtan Eco-City near Shanghai.
With RCUK and the British Embassy, Arup led
successful discussions with universities and
funding agencies in China, working on a
high-level Memorandum of Understanding for
Sino-British collaborative research. This is an
exemplar for our credibility and thought-leadership
in partnerships with universities internationally, to
secure joint funding and define the scope of
the projects which arise from international
collaboration. Working with four Universities on
Eco-City research themes, around 50 research
projects are being identified over the course of
this year which focus on four key areas.
University College London is managing two
network themes on City Planning and Engineering
Infrastructure, while Imperial College is leading a
theme on Management and Execution of Eco-City
projects. Southampton is co-ordinating the
complete process. Tongji University, Shanghai
is a key partner in all of these Networks.
Arup is also leading the way for the UK on behalf
of the public and private sectors, in an EU Joint
Technical Initiative (JTI) on Energy Efficient
Buildings. Arup has provided the technical expertise
and understanding to join the preliminary team in
Europe which seeks to secure funding from the
Commission for this €1.5 – 2bn initiative. Work on
the JTI will form a central part of Arup Research’s
vision and focus over the next 18 months.
Such partnerships and research initiatives are
innovative and great to be involved in. As well as
allowing us to grow our own research and
demonstrate excellence in many technical areas,
they ensure we develop relationships with the
best in industry and academia to provide
research that adds value for our clients.
The case studies included in this research review
go some way to demonstrating this expertise but
they are a small selection chosen from the many
projects available.
I hope that you find this research review
interesting and inspirational, and that you
will want to collaborate with us.
Jeremy Watson
jeremy.watson@arup.com
www.arup.com/researchinarup
Meet the team

Prof. Jeremy Watson, Dr Marta Fernandez,

Director, Global Research, is responsible for Arup’s
research strategy and its research business. He has a
background in research and technical management
roles in industry and academe, including service with
the previous UK Department for Trade and Industry and
EPSRC. A chartered engineer and fellow of the Institute
of Engineering and Technology, Jeremy is a visiting
professor at the Universities of Southampton and
Sussex. He has recently been appointed a board
member of the UK Technology Strategy Board, funding
university industry collaboration.
Research Relationships Manager, focuses on relationships
between Arup’s internal network and research partners
externally, as well as supporting our efforts to realise the
value of the firm’s IP. A chemical engineer by training,
Marta’s previous roles included commercialising early-stage
technology in renewable energy start-ups, and forging
links between industry and academe in the engineering,
energy and environmental sectors.

Dr Jennifer Schooling, Jackie Young,

Research Business Manager, manages Arup’s PA to Jeremy Watson, provides general administration
multidisciplinary research service, enabling clients and support for the research team.
staff to access the many skills within Arup, and
With more than 20 years’ service at Arup, Jackie has
establishing successful collaborations with external
worked in many groups including Finance, Building
agencies. In previous roles, Jennifer managed engineering
Engineering and the Group Board.
research and development projects for both academic and
commercial applications. She has also handled new
product development in the semiconductor equipment
industries, managing new product introductions from
concept design to product launch.

research review | 3
4 | research review
SuperLight Car (SLC)
Author: Neil Butcher

• Annual reduction in mass of CO 2 per car

becomes 150kg
Abstract
• 225m passenger cars on European (EU26)
The SuperLight Car (SLC) programme was conceived by a consortium of roads in 2006
38 organisations across Europe to develop cost-effective lightweight vehicle
• Total annual European car CO 2 reduction is
body concepts suitable for high volume manufacture. The target of the 4-year 33.8m Tonnes CO 2
programme, part-funded by EC, was to reduce the body mass of a car by
Note that with the average European car being 8
30%, using a multi-material approach. It was a requirement of SLC that the years old, the benefits will be delayed in coming
final design matched the reference VW Golf 5 vehicle body in crash, modal to fruition.
and durability performance.

The multi-material solution has required feasibility support from experts Methods
in forming and joining technologies, backed by testing for strength and Overview of SLC project
durability of joints. Bespoke tools for estimation of manufacturing costs A conventional vehicle body programme can rely
and environmental impact have been used to ensure a practical and on experience gained over several decades of
sustainable solution. manufacture. The use of advanced materials and
a multi-material solution raises questions that are
Arup has worked within the core engineering design team to create the design outside the normal comfort zone relating to all
concepts, and has had particular responsibility for the prediction of vehicle aspects of the life cycle; material selection and
performance using computer simulations. performance, forming of components, methods of
joining, corrosion and durability, recycling and,
Now in its last year, SLC has been shown to meet its core targets, and work of course, cost.
continues to manufacture demonstration bodies to aid in the dissemination It was therefore necessary to support the
of the knowledge to the wider automotive engineering community. engineering design with data from research into
the new materials and processes. The project
was devised to encompass these requirements
and was subdivided into 5 subprojects covering
the following topics.
Introduction
Sixth Framework Agreement. It is scheduled to • SP1 Vehicle design and engineering
The challenge of climate change has added
increased urgency to the need to reduce our run from 2005-2009.
• SP2 Forming and joining technologies
disturbance of the environment. The Stern
The objective of SLC is to develop a lightweight,
report states that “The scientific evidence is now • SP3 Design and simulation tools and
multi-material concept body suitable for mass
overwhelming: climate change is a serious global other enablers (life cycle analysis,
production. The target is a 30% body mass
threat, and it demands an urgent global recycling and costing)
reduction, using the already efficient VW Golf 5
response.” Stern concludes that the developed • SP4 Development of demonstrator
body as a benchmark, and with a maximum
world needs to reduce total emissions by components and systems
cost penalty per vehicle of €5 per kg saved. In
60-80% by 2050.
addition, the performance of the benchmark
• SP5 Training and management activities
In Europe, passenger cars contribute approximately body in stiffness, strength, durability and crash
12% of man-made CO2. Thus the reduction of is to be maintained. Arup’s role was primarily within SP1, and the
passenger car emissions has become a major majority of this paper is related to the SP1
The multi-material solution allows optimum use of
priority, and has been the subject of continuing activities. It is however useful to understand the
the properties of different materials in appropriate
discussions between the European Commission relationships between SP1 and the other design
locations of the body. This approach differs from
and vehicle manufacturers. subprojects, SP2 and SP3.
many previous research programmes that have
Reducing vehicle mass is an effective way of concentrated on the use of one material (eg SP1 and SP2 have worked closely to develop the
reducing vehicle emissions. A 10kg mass saving ULSAB-AVC and NSB in steel, ULCEV and FLOAT body structure, with SP1 proposing component
can reduce CO 2 emissions by about 0.8g/km. in aluminium, and Hypercar in composites). material preferences, and SP2 solving the related
There is therefore a strong driver to bring forward manufacturing and assembly issues.
A mass saving of 30% of the Golf body equates
research on vehicle body mass reductions.
to 85kg, but the saving also allows secondary In addition, SP2 have been studying new
The SuperLight Car programme (SLC) was mass savings of around 40kg by downsizing other technologies to offer improved solutions for
conceived by a consortium of 38 European vehicle systems (eg engine, chassis and brakes). the SP1 design team to consider for use. For
organisations. The consortium comprises 7 example, forming of magnesium, long fibre
The ultimate potential emissions saving in
car manufacturers (Volkswagen – project thermoplastic (LFT), ultra high strength steels,
Europe can thus be calculated as follows.
coordinator, Volvo Technology, Fiat, Opel, Renault, and aluminium alloys.
DaimlerChrysler and Porsche), 13 academic or • 125kg vehicle mass reduction leads to 10g/km
The deliverables from SP2 have been a material
research centres, 13 automotive component or reduction in CO 2 emissions
database, design guidelines, and manufacturing
service suppliers, and 5 small/medium enterprises.
• Annual distance covered by an average feasibility evaluation on sub-assemblies. Although
SLC is a €20m research programme, and is
European car is 15,000km primarily aimed at meeting SLC requirements,
part-funded by the European Commission as part
they are also enablers for future multi-material
of the Sustainable Surface Transport priority of the
vehicle body design.

research review | 5
SuperLight Car (SLC)
Steel intensive 2,5€/kg
ULBC 5€/kg SLC Concept
SLBC 10€/kg
Loop 1 Loop 2
Concept optimisation
Feb 05 – Jan 07 Feb – Jul 07 Jul – Nov 07
Figure 1. Concept development timeline
SP3 has provided detailed data to assist in the
SP1 concept development.
• Material testing has been performed and the
results assimilated into material property cards
for the finite element computer simulations.
• Testing of joining methods and joint
configurations has been performed to provide
failure criteria for durability simulation, and data
for the stiffness and crash simulations in SP1.
• Costing models have been created to allow fast
comparisons between the benchmark vehicle
and the alternative concepts.
• Disassembly and recycling methods have
been developed for the new materials and
joining techniques.
• Objective comparisons of cost and environmental
impact between design options have been
performed within a specially developed software
suite using a life cycle approach.
SP1 responsibility has been the development
of the CAD design concept, together with
computer-based performance simulation. The
design has followed the package constraints of
the Golf to ensure that the design is practical, and
to ensure a fair comparison with the benchmark.
Arup’s role has been to work as a team member
for the concept design, and it has also been
responsible for the computer simulation work to
ensure that the stiffness and crash performance
are not compromised.
The SP1 body concept development team
comprised six car makers (VW, Fiat, Opel, Volvo
Technology, Porsche) plus “neutral” engineering
experts, Arup and IKA (an Institute for applied
automotive research based in Germany). To
ensure close integration, the team met regularly
in Aachen throughout the design phase.
The timing for the concept development is
shown above. Initially three separate concepts
were developed. ULBC (Universal Light Body
Concept) was a low-risk solution based on known
6 | research review
Final SLC
concept
objective:
> 30% < 5€/kg
Loop 3
Detailing
Nov – Dec 07 Jan – Feb 08
technologies that could be utilised in a near-future
programme. SLBC (Super Light Body Concept)
was based on developing technologies and was
a higher risk vision for the longer term. The Steel
Intensive Body Concept (SIBC) offered a lower
cost alternative using the latest steel materials. In
2007, the three concepts were merged to ensure
the best solution for each area of the body.
There were three major design loops in 2007.
Each loop incorporated finite element analysis
(FEA) of the vehicle for crash and stiffness as the
guide for structural modifications. A final design
loop was performed in early 2008.
Finite Element Analysis
Arup performed the FEA primarily at their Midlands
Campus office in UK. However, significant assistance
was also provided by Arup staff in Nagoya, Japan
and Detroit, USA. The ability to perform the work at
different locations aided the programme timing,
especially in the short duration design loops.
The automobile industry’s favoured FEA
software for modal frequency analysis is
usually MSC/Nastran, and for crash prediction,
LS-DYNA. The input models for the two packages
are different. For SLC, it was decided to minimise
design loop timing and costs by running the
modal analyses using the implicit analysis option
in LS-DYNA. This had the advantage that only
one FEA model was meshed and assembled, and
also allowed the use of the Arup-developed OASYS
software environment for automatic model-checking
and results post-processing. The FEA process,
from meshing to report, was successfully reduced
to four weeks using this approach.
Each design iteration was analysed for four
loading cases, and the results compared to
the benchmark structure:
• Modal frequency with targets for global
body torsion and bending frequencies
Analysis Process
Model preparation
PRIMER
for each loadcase
Explicit or Implicit
solution in LS-DYNA
LS-DYNA
REPORTER
Automatic report
generation in
T/HIS
Oasys Reporter
D3PLOT
Figure 2. Arup’s OASYS LS-DYNA Environment
• Frontal impact using the EuroNCAP test procedure
- 40% offset impact into a deformable
barrier at 64kph.
• Side impact using the two EuroNCAP
test procedures
- 50kph side impact by a deformable barrier
mounted on a 950kg trolley
- 29kph side impact of the vehicle into a
rigid 254mm diameter pole
• Rear impact using the US test procedure
for FMVSS 301
- R
 ear impact by an 1814kg rigid
barrier at 48kph
Results and discussion
As stated above, the three body concepts (Steel
Intensive, Universal Light and Super Light) were
developed in parallel prior to merging to become
the final SLC concept. A summary of the final
three concepts is given below.
Steel Intensive Concept
The SIBC succeeded in reducing the body mass by
55kg (20%) at an additional parts cost of 0.19 €/kg
saved. This was achieved through extensive use of
high strength steels. There was also wide use of
tailor-welded blanks. The structural performance
was comparable to the benchmark body.
Universal Light Body Concept
The ULBC concept achieved 82kg (29%) body
mass reduction. The additional parts cost was
2.69 €/kg saved. Steel was used in the main load
paths, and aluminium for structurally less critical
panels eg the roof and the front end other than the
main front longitudinal rails. The design almost met
the weight target and was within the cost target.
The combination of materials led to complex
technology requirements for the panel joints.
Super Light Body Concept
With this more revolutionary design, a weight
saving of 114kg (41%) was achieved, but at an
increased cost of 7.61 €/kg saved. SLBC included
a sheet magnesium roof and a cast magnesium
front suspension tower.

Final SLC Body Concept

Work in 2007 concentrated on combining the
best features from the three concepts, and then
improving the combination in a total of four design Aluminium sheet
loops. The concept has achieved 101kg (35%) mass Aluminium cast
reduction at a cost of around 7.80 €/kg saved. Aluminium extrusion
Steel
The design is shown opposite and retains the Hot-formed steel
Magnesium sheet
magnesium roof and front suspension tower from
Magnesium diecasting
SLBC, the fibre-reinforced plastic rear floor, and Glasfibre thermoplastic
aluminium outer side panels with high strength
steel inner panels. Figure 3. Final SLC Body Concept
The structural performance of the design has been
analysed in LS-DYNA for the four performance
targets described above; modal frequencies, and EuroNCAP Frontal Offset EuroNCAP Side Impact
frontal, side and rear impacts.

Modal performance was comparable with the

baseline VW Golf structure.

Views of the final deformed shapes in impact

are shown below.

The impact reports were generated automatically

from the LS-DYNA output using Arup’s OASYS
Reporter software. Reporter was used to extract
the important criteria from the data:
EuroNCAP Pole Impact FMVSS 301 Rear Impact
• Frontal impact – acceleration and passenger
compartment intrusion data

• Side impact – peak intrusion velocity and

displacements, intrusion vertical profile

• Rear impact – peak intrusions, fuel

system integrity

The SLC concept has been created with excellent

support from the other technical sub-projects
within SLC. The concept is thus robust in terms
of its manufacturability for high volume vehicles.
In addition, the life cycle environmental and
costing models created for this programme
have ensured that the design is both affordable
and sustainable.
One body structure plus two front end assemblies
are to be manufactured in a simulated production
Figure 4. Post-impact deformed shapes
The multi-material approach of SLC has required
research and testing of novel joining methods that
are applicable to high volume manufacture.
The costs and sustainability of the designs have
been monitored using a life cycle approach.
The programme is scheduled for completion
References
EU Economic Report. ACEA. Feb 2008
Explanatory Memorandum on the Contexts of the
Proposal to “Set Emission Performance Standards
for New Passenger Cars as part of the Community’s
Integrated Approach to Reduce CO2 Emissions from
Light-duty Vehicles”. EC publication 2007/0297 (COD)
dated 19th December 2007.

environment. These will be used for dissemination of in early 2009 and the gained knowledge will Motor Vehicles in Use. – European Automobile Industry

the learning to parties outside the SLC consortium.
Conclusion
The SuperLight Car programme will successfully
meet its target of 30% body mass reduction. This
will be achieved with a predicted life cost increase
of 7.80 €/kg saved.
be fully disseminated.
SLC will provide practical examples of lightweight
vehicle body design that can be utilised in new
vehicle programmes. Full utilisation of the lessons
could lead to reductions of 6% in European car
transport emissions.
Report. ACEA. May 2007.
The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change.
HM Treasury, UK. 2006.
Acknowledgments
SLC Consortium – www.superlightcar.com
LS-DYNA is a registered trademark of Livermore
Software Technology Corporation

research review | 7
8 | research review
Sustainable Bridge Structures:
Support for Offshore Wind Farms and Energy Storage
Author: Carlos Wong

few hundred meters, and a span in the range

of 50-80m.
Abstract
All the fixed crossings currently being built or
Global warming has prompted the development of sustainable energy at a planned in China consist of a dual carriageway
faster pace than has ever been seen in human history. Wind energy has been with a least 3 lanes plus a hard shoulder in each
singled out as one of the most promising renewable energy candidates for direction, and a deck width of 15.25-16m. The
approach viaduct has movement joints every
the near future, and farms with multiple turbines converting wind energy into
500-700m, and so can be considered as a series
electricity are in high demand. of modules between the joints. One or several piers
are assigned to take the horizontal longitudinal
This work is the results of continued development of earlier research. loads due to wind or seismic activity. These piers
It contains two separate innovations: provide the ideal locationfor a turbine support.

1. Integration of the bridge structure with wind turbines, forming both a fixed To avoid power losses, the turbines must be
access to the turbine and platform for laying the electricity cable, resulting widely spaced in the prevailing wind direction,
with a minimum distance of seven times the blade
in an economically viable offshore wind farm.
diameter between upwind and downwind turbines.

2. An Innovative Mass Energy Storage Bridge, using Compressed Air Energy

Storage (CAES) technology to store large scale energy in the bridge structure
Offshore Wind Farm on a sea-crossing bridge
in the form of compressed air. This allows regulation of the intermittent output
The proposed scheme consists of a 70m rotor
of a renewable energy source, producing a smooth output. Additionally, diameter turbine on each bridge module, which
surplus grid energy can be stored until a demand for it arises. will typically deliver 1.5-2.0MW, with spacing
of 500-700m between turbines. See Figure 1.
CAES technology could also be used to store energy within city structures
The turbine is supported on a column set at a
such as the viaducts and flyovers of city ring roads. Depending on the
distance 60m away from the side of the bridge.
electricity market and the policies that govern the percentage of supply The column has its own foundation but is linked
surplus over demand, potential savings in national energy bills, and associated to the bridge, forming a rigid frame, and is
carbon emissions, may amount to between 5% and 10%, a figure that will stabilised with cables. The turbine base is at
be of interest to any government. the level of the elevated deck, thus giving an
extra 30m of elevation over typical offshore
turbines. Greater wind speeds are found at
these higher elevations.

Introduction Bridge, consisting of 50 turbines in three rows

It is clear that many countries have elevated the
development of wind power to the national energy
strategy level. On 9 December 2007, the UK
Business Secretary suggested that the installation
of up to 7,000 turbines in territorial waters would
be sufficient to power all UK homes by the year
2020. In 2006, China implemented the National
Regenerated Energy Law and the Finance
Department published a government guidance to
boost both the wind power generating industry
and the wind power implementation strategy.
Wind Farms
There are many factors affecting cost effectiveness
of a wind farm; these include annual wind
characteristics, the cost structure of electricity
and the availability of land. However, the single
most important issue is that of connection to the
grid. Large wind farms generate power at a similar
magnitude to power stations, so it is likely that
the output will have to be exported to the grid.
Additionally, scaling factors often favour a large
farm over a small one.
In the past few years, a number of wind farm
projects have commenced in China. Almost all
of these have been inland. One exception is
the Donghai Wind Farm in Shanghai. This is
an offshore wind farm along the Donghai
at distances of 600 – 2200m from the bridge,
with a total installed capacity of 100MW.
Construction cost at the reporting date is RMB
2.112bn or RMB 21.12m per MW, which is
about double that of a corresponding land
based wind farm.
Table 1 summarises the pros and cons of land
based and offshore wind farms. From the table
it is clear that the only barrier to offshore wind
farms is their high construction and maintenance
costs in comparison to inland farms. In view of
huge untapped offshore wind power in domestic
European seas, the development of offshore wind
power has been written into the Berlin Declaration
as policy for development of offshore wind power
amongst the EU member states.
Review of Sea-Crossing Bridges
Sea-crossing bridges such as the proposed
Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, the Shanghai
Donghai Crossing, the Hangzhou Bay Bridge,
Qingdao Bay Bridge, the Sunshine Bridge in
the US and the Oresund Bridge between
Denmark and Sweden are all over 20km in length.
Each uses either long span sections or submerged
tunnels to provide one or two navigation channels.
Approach viaducts have movement joints every
Highlights of the scheme are:
1. The integrated foundation gives additional
strength against horizontal loads such as wind
and earthquake loads. Substantial savings
on installation costs can be achieved if it is
constructed at the same time as the bridge.
2. The bridge structure can be used for access
during turbine installation and maintenance,
avoiding the costs of a marine operation.
3. Electricity cables can be laid inside or alongside
the bridge, avoiding the expense of marine cables.
4. A weak point can be built into the turbine
column, so that failure causes collapse into
the sea rather than onto the bridge.
5. The turbine support also functions as
ship impact protection for the bridge.
An alternative would be to use smaller turbine
so that it fits in a span, with a rotor diameter of
around 10m. In this arrangement, a turbine is
fitted into every pier, offset from the bridge
structure by 10m. Support can be provided with
a simple cantilever, with no separate foundation.
However, since the wind energy captured is
proportional to the turbine sweeping area, the use
of a large number of smaller turbines would not
necessarily always match the capacity of a single
large turbine.

research review | 9
Sustainable Bridge Structures:
Support for Offshore Wind Farms and Energy Storage
Problems with conventional wind turbines
• The main problem with any wind farm is that the
nature of the output is intermittent, due to the
irregularity of wind speeds. In addition, its output
load cannot be scheduled to meet peak demand.
• Typical turbine are designed for a threshold
wind speed of 3-4 m/s, and a cut-off speed
of around 12m/s. Above the cut-off speed, the
turbine is designed to shed excessive wind
energy. Potential power output is therefore
sacrificed to maintain a steady load.
• The use of expensive electronic devices is
necessary, to ensure the quality of the
supply to the grid.
• The intermittent nature of wind energy means
that it cannot be allowed to dominate grid
supply. The maximum levels of 20% of the
total demand limit the use of wind as an
independent power supply.
Problems with conventional power supply
A margin of supply over predicted demand has to
be maintained for grid stability. In the intensively
competitive electricity market of North America, this
margin is set at minimum of 7% [Current Energy]. In
a closed market like Hong Kong, where the return
is calculated as percentage of the assets, there is
no incentive to aim for a tight margin.
The variation in a typical day’s supply and demand
curve for electricity creates a problem: since the
generated electricity cannot be stored, it is wasted
if it is not consumed. Mass energy storage would
solve this problem, allowing surplus energy in the
grid to be stored and then released back into
the grid when demand outstrips supply.
Mass energy storage
Currently, there are only two Compressed Air
Energy Storage (CAES) plants in operation: the
Huntorf plant in Germany (1978), and the McIntosh
plant in Alabama, USA (1991) [DOE, Compressed
at Energy Storage]. These are used to store surplus
energy, returning it to the grid during periods of
peak demand. When grid demand is low, electric
motors are used to drive compressors, which
pressurise air to 65-80 bar and store it in sealed
underground natural caverns. At the same time,
heat is extracted from the air.
When demand is greater than supply, the
compressed air is used to generate electricity.
It is extracted from the cavern, and preheated in
the recuperator, which reuses the heat energy
extracted in the compression cycle. This is then
mixed with a small quantity of oil or gas, and
burned in a combustor. The hot gas from the
combustor expands in the turbine to drive power
generators. In a conventional gas turbine, 2/3
of the energy input is used in the compressor.
Therefore, in production mode, a CEAS plant
can save 2/3 of the energy.
10 | research review
Figure 1. Image of the wind farm on the bridge
Factors Land Based Wind Farm Offshore Wind Farm
Land Large land area required with No land required. There will be some
typical turbine grid at 500-700m effects on local fishing industry.
spacing. The land value will be
affected as people are reluctant to
live close to a wind farm.
Wind Lower wind speed. Higher Higher wind speed. Open sea
turbulence due to uneven terrain. conditions produce lower turbulence.
Power output Lower due to lower wind speed Higher due to higher wind speed
and higher turbulence. and lower turbulence.
Noise More noise due to higher turbulence Less noise due to lower turbulence.
causing vibration of parts.
Community objection Complaints from people living in the There are no permanent residents
proximity of a wind turbine often living in the proximity of the wind
relating to noise and shadow flicker. turbine.
Birds Equal chances of bird collision, Equal chances of bird collision,
mitigation measures possible. mitigation measures possible.
Construction cost Lower, construction on land. Higher, special construction plants
are needed, especially heavy
lifting vessels.
Maintenance cost Lower, site is accessible by vehicle Higher, site is only accessible by
and cable can be laid underground special marine craft. Expensive
or via pylons marine cable is necessary.
Service life Shorter, about 20 years due to Longer, about 25 years due to lower
high turbulence causing vibration, turbulence leading to longer fatigue life.
leading to early fatigue failure.
Environment Turbine occupies arable land. Turbine and marine cable may affect
marine life during construction stage.
Table 1. Comparison between land based and offshore wind farms
A report on the economic impact of CAES on Studies of state-wide energy supply in the USA
wind power in three US states concludes that suggest that if suitable caverns cannot be identified
it “significantly improves the delivery profile of for energy storage, buried steel pipes could be used
renewable energy to grid” [Septimus van der as an alternative. In this proposal, incorporating
Linden, 2006]. storage pipes into the structure of the bridge
elements delivers two benefits from a single element.
With high storage pressures of 40-80bar, only
The use of bridge structures as mass
steel pipes or carbon fibre bags can be
energy storage
considered. Pressure changes due to heat lost or
The proposed installation of a wind farm on a gained to the atmosphere must also be included in
sea-crossing bridge has the benefit of integrating the design air pressure load.
the two independent structures into one single
entity and thus achieving economic saving. Two case studies of potential pipe configurations
The use of the CAES technology to store energy have been developed to demonstrate the potential
in the bridge body itself can provide further for compressed air storage in bridge structures.
benefits, as it can be used to smooth out the Both are composed of steel pipes acting as
peaks and troughs of demand. longitudinal beams, in composite action with a
concrete deck with an 80m+80m span.
Figure 2. Case Study 1-Medium diameter pipes Figure 3. Case Study 2: Large diameter pipes

Analysis of the case studies shows the advantage Item Case Study 1 Case Study 2 Remarks
of this proposal. The hoop stress induced by the
compressed air will be double the magnitude of the Main parts 10x1.5m diameter 3x2.1m diameter Pipes Two carriageways of
Pipes of t=32mm thick of t=36mm thick 15.5m wide
induced longitudinal tensile stress. As the hoop
with 2 in a stack-up as bottom flange of
stress approaches yield stress at the Ultimate Limit
position the deck
State, the longitudinal stress will still only be half
way to yield. Since the pipe thickness must be Storage capacity 78kWh/m 46kWh/m Per m run along deck
sized to withstand the air pressure, the available at 80 bars
tensile force in the longitudinal direction will be Self weight of 714kg/m 2 358kg/m2 Based on a bridge width
sufficient to support the live and dead bridge loads. main parts of 31m

In case study 1 (shown in Figure 2), using 32mm
thick pipe shows satisfactory results under loads of
internal pressure 80 bars and 45 units HA+HB loads.
The von Misses stress at the joint and at critical
locations is less than the codified allowable stress.
Case study 2 is shown in Figure 3. A large (2.1m)
diameter pipe replaces the two 1.5m pipes in
Case study 1. Two webs are attached to the sides
of the pipe, which act as the bottom flange of
the deck. Pipe thickness is 36mm for a simply
supported span of 80m.
Comparison of the two case studies is shown
in Table 2. The self weight per square meter for
case 2 is close to the normal plate girder solution,
suggesting only a marginal increase in cost over
a standard option. The deck for case 1 is about
twice the weight, but it also has about twice the
storage capacity. The most economical solution
will balance these two factors.
Costing the proposed scheme for the
HKZMB bridge
The combined scheme was costed for the
proposed 32km Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau
Bridge. The proposals include the installation of
53 2MW wind turbines giving an installed capacity
of 106MW, with storage in modules between the
movement joints (500-700m apart). Indicative
financial results are summarised in Table 2. The
energy saved or reused in today’s Hong Kong
tariff is in the range of US$95 to 162m, depending
how many compressed air pipes are installed.
Air Volume 777,544m³
Stored Energy 1728MWh
Hour of energy 54 hours
produced by a
103MW wind farm
Financial benefit of 1,261,440MWh
the stored energy if
US$162m p.a.
the stored-release
cycle is 12 hours
Table 2. Comparison of Case studies 1 and 2
benefits to the wind farm, including; foundation
support, fixed access for construction and
maintenance crews and cables, and elevation
of the turbine. The technology is conventional;
the innovation lies in the combination of the
two elements, and involves structural design
of both the bridge and the turbine tower.
Energy Storage Bridges
The use of compressed air to store energy is not
a new technology. The innovation is in the use of an
existing structure as storage medium, and in the
use of large-scale energy storage to smooth out
variations in both demand, and in the intermittent
supply from renewable sources such as a wind
farm. This has the potential to reduce both energy
wastage and greenhouse gas emission.
The case studies for the Energy Storage Deck
show a modest increase in steel weight over a
traditional steel plate girder deck. This will lead
to economic benefits for the investor, who could
451,196m³ Based on 22km length of
dual carriageway
1016MWh Compressed to 80 bar
32 hours Based on a capacity
factor 0.3 for the wind
farm
741,680MWh Based on a electricity
tariff of Hong Kong US$0.
US$95m p.a.
128/kWh
References
Berlin Declaration, third European Policy Workshop on
Offshore Wind Power Development, Federal Ministry for
the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear
Safety, Feb 2007
Carlos Wong, David Xiong, Livia Wong, “Investigation into
the viability of an offshore wind farm along the proposed
Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau Bridge”, 3rd Symposium
on Sustainable Development of Guangdong, Hong Kong
and Macau, 23-24 Nov, 2006, Macau
Carlos Wong, David Xiong, Livia Wong, “Utilizing sea-
crossing bridges for wind farm erection and its body for
wind energy storage”, Offshore Wind Farm Technology
Workshop, China Wind Energy Association (CWEA), May
2007, Beijing
Current Energy: www.currentenergy.lbl.gov/
“Delivering Offshore Wind Power in Europe – Policy
Recommendation for Large Scale Development of
Offshore Wind Power in Europe by 2020”, European Wind
Energy Association, 2007
DOE, Compressed at Energy Storage: www.eere.energy.
gov/de/cs_energy_storage.htm/#compressed_air.html
“Iowa Identifies Site for Underground Compressed
Air Energy Storage Facility”, Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
Ridge Energy Storage and Grid Services L.P., “The
Economic Impact of CAES on Wind in TX, OK, and NM”,
Texas State Energy Conservation Office, 27 June 2005

Conclusion
Incorporating Wind Farms into
Sea-crossing Bridges
The integration of bridge structure and wind
turbine boosts the economic returns of a wind
farm scheme. The bridge provides a number of
repay his investment using the profits from saving
surplus energy. It will also be welcomed by
environmentalists, and by politicians who wish to
show support for environment issues. The energy
storage concept should be prioritized in any major
city planning, particularly in this energy hungry
era dominated by environmental issues.
Septimus van der Linden, “Bulk energy storage potential
in the USA, current developments and future prospects”,
ScienceDirect, Energy 31 (2006) 3446-3457
United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, 2007
Wind Turbines Expansion, December 2007
www.envir.cn/an/20060314/]

research review | 11
12 | research review
Embodied Energy as an Environmental Impact
Indicator for Geotechnical Infrastructures
Author: Nick O’Riordan, Chris Chau, Kenichi Soga, Duncan Nicholson and Toru Inui

Materials EEI [MJ/kg] or [MJ/l]

Abstract Max Mean Min
Steel (Virgin) 60 38.1 20
The aim of this study was to quantify the environmental impacts of the Steel (Recycled) 18 11.1 9
basement walls of two commercial buildings sites in London. Four different Concrete 2 1.8 1.5
retaining wall options (based on steel and concrete systems) and a number Mortar Grout 4 3 2.5
of anchoring options were designed for each of the sites. The embodied energy Fuel 41.2 36 35.4
and CO2 emissions for each of the alternative were estimated and compared. Table 1. Embodied Energy Intensity (EEI)
Results show that there are notable differences in embodied energy between for some materials

different wall designs.

Material Energy

The results also showed that the use of recycled steel over virgin steel has Resources Extraction

the potential to significantly reduce the overall embodied energy of the Manufacturing

designed wall. In comparison, the difference in the embodied energy of various Concrete Steel

anchor designs is relatively insignificant, and therefore the practicality of design

Installation Energy
for a specific site should be the determining factor for selecting the types
Resources Extraction
of anchors to be used. Temporary Works
Manufacturing
Machinery Assembly
Comparisons with car emissions and household energy consumption
demonstrate that the contribution of construction elements to overall carbon Excavation Energy Resuming Energy (excluded in study)

emissions is significant. Excavation Excavation

Demolish
Landfill
Reuse, Recycle/Dispose

Transportation energy

Introduction Figure 1. Processes flowchart of EE

There are concerns regarding the rate at which
the human population is extracting resources from
the Earth, and emitting pollution and wastes to the
environment. This has raised issues of sustainability
and efficiency in many sectors. This includes the
construction industry, which currently accounts
for about 50% of all global resource use. An active
field of research has been the study of the amount
of energy embodied in residential buildings.
Further research by Chau et al consisted of a
study of the embodied energy in several typical
retaining walls options for a highway widening
project, based on a hypothetical London
geotechnical profile. The current study extends
that work, by calculating the embodied energy of
alternative basement perimeter wall designs and
anchoring systems for two existing sites in London.
On completion, this study will allow comparisons to
be made of the relative environmental performance
of some commonly available retaining wall options.
The techniques described below have been
applied to a range of infrastructure construction
activities, for example tunnelling, railway
trackbed, and embankments on soft ground.
The bibliography contains the technical reference
to these applications.
Embodied energy background
Embodied energy is defined as the total energy
(in Joules) that can be attributed to the use of an
item or component. For the construction industry,
embodied energy includes the energy used in
extraction of the raw materials from the earth;
the processing of that raw material into finished
products; transportation to suppliers and then on
to site; the construction process; the demolition
and recycling; and the construction and
maintenance of any associated temporary works.
Quantifying embodied energy is important
because it encompasses associated
environmental impacts such as resource depletion
and greenhouse gas emission. Research into
the relationship between embodied energy and
carbon dioxide (the main contributory gas to the
greenhouse effect) shows a high correlation; every
GJ of embodied energy produces 0.098 tonnes
of carbon dioxide . Therefore, although there are
no direct environmental impacts associated
with embodied energy, the link to carbon dioxide
suggests a context for interpreting embodied
energy data.
Embodied energy intensity
For this study, the calculation of embodied energy
involves the use of published Embodied Energy
Intensity (EEI) values. These represent the amount
of embodied energy required to produce 1kg of
construction material from the point of resource
extraction to the end product. Units used for EEI
are MJ/kg for solids and MJ/l for liquids.
There has been research into EEI values since
1979 from both the public and private domains.
However, certain materials, including steel, exhibit
a wide range of values. The variation can be
attributed to the different types of steel assessed,
assumptions made, and study boundaries drawn
during EEI evaluations.
The EEI values used in this study are derived from
research by Kiani by simply discarding values
which are more than two standard deviations
from the mean. From the remaining values, the
mean values of each material were used for the
calculation; the maximum and minimum values
were used for a sensitivity analysis. Table 1 lists
the mean and the range of EEI values adopted
for relevant materials and fuels.
Calculation Methodology
The first step in evaluating the embodied energy of
a construction component is to identify all relevant
processes for each stage of the calculation. Figure
1 shows an example flowchart. In this calculation,
three types of process are shown, covering
materials, installation and transportation energies.
Of these, the material energy calculation involves
finding the total volume of each material used,
calculating its weight, and multiplying this by its
EEI value. The transportation energy is that which
is required to move all equipment and materials.
This is calculated using the litres of fuel consumed
by the vehicles multiplied by the respective EEI
value for the fuel. The installation energy is
calculated by multiplying the amount of fuel and
electricity used by the machinery with its EEI value;
this stage includes any temporary work required.
All three values of the material, transportation and
installation energy are then summed to give the
total embodied energy. Note that excavation
energy was not required in this study but would
normally be included.

research review | 13
Embodied Energy as an Environmental Impact
Indicator for Geotechnical Infrastructures

Sites Sheet pile AZ18 Secant pile Steel tubular piles Combi wall
Two sites, situated in central London close to the
River Thames, were used for this study. Chau et al
(2007) provide a full description of the ground
conditions and design parameters for these sites . Toe Level -12m -12m -12m -12m
The proposed building at Site 1 is 40 storeys, Volume of Steel: 0.57m3 Steel: 0.16m3 Steel: 0.42m3 Steel: 0.62m3
150m in height, with a three level basement at materials/m Concrete: 17.9m 3
-6mOD. Ground level is at +5m, resulting in an 1 Level anchors 971.4kN @ +1m - - -
expected 11m dig, with the toe of the retaining 2 Level anchors 384kN @ +3m 470kN @ +1m 420kN @ 2.25m 348kN @ 2.25m
320kN @ -3m 320kN @ -2.5m 605kN @ -3m 640kN @ -3m
wall at approximately 13m. This site has a layer of
made ground and terrace gravel overlaying the Table 2. Site 1 pile design configuration, materials and required anchor forces
Lambeth clay and sand, and an underlying layer
of Thanet sand. Sheet pile AZ34 Propped Diaphragm 1 Propped Diaphragm 2 Cantilever Diaphragm

At Site 2, the proposed development involves six

commercial buildings varying between 6 and 50
storeys in height, and seven residential buildings
varying between 30 and 50 storeys. This study Toe Level (length) -12m (17.4m) -12m (17.4m) -12m (17.4m) -18m (23.4m)
assumes an average building height of 40 Sizing (width) AZ34 800mm 1000mm 1500mm
storeys, to allow comparison with Site 1. The
Volume of Steel: 0.42m3 Steel: 0.13m3 Steel: 0.13m3 Steel: 0.30m3
total excavation depth is about 6m. materials/m Concrete: 13.8m 3 Concrete: 17.3m 3 Concrete: 34.8m 3
Strut force 239kN @ +1m 239kN @ +1m 260kN @ +1m -
Table 3. Site 2 pile design configuration, materials used and required anchor forces
Design Specifications
The retaining walls for basement construction
have been designed according to BS 8002 (1994). 350 450
Virgin Steel Virgin Steel
It has been assumed that the walls will be left in 300 Recycled Steel 400 Recycled Steel
Concrete Concrete
place at the end of their 120 year design life, 350
Transport Transport
Embodied Energy [GJ/m]

Embodied Energy [GJ/m]

that corrosion has been taken into consideration, 250 Installation Installation
1 Row of Anchors
300
1 Row of Anchors
and that no maintenance will be required during
200 250
the service life. For UK designs the serviceability
requirements are based on lateral wall deflection 150 200
of less than 50mm during any point of the 150
100
construction. For the exposed section of retaining 100
wall, the specification includes water tightness 50
50
according to ICE guidelines (1996), allowing
0 0
damp conditions but no running water. Sheet Pile Propped D1 Propped D2 D/Cantilever
Sheet Pile Secant Pile TubularPile Contiguous

The retaining walls were designed using FREW

software, developed by OASYS. This study
considered the wall deflections under serviceability
limit state (SLS) conditions. Partial factors were
applied to soil parameters to assess the walls
for ultimate limit state (ULS) conditions. The
different wall and support systems were analysed
under both conditions, in order to derive the
most onerous. Corrosion allowances were made
by increasing the steel wall thickness.
Types of retaining walls considered
in this study
This study considered a basement perimeter
wall designed for the car park of a commercial
building. Although in practice extra layers are
sometimes added to give an aesthetic finish,
for the purposes of this study these have been
excluded. As with all large basement projects,
different design options are required around the
perimeter of the wall. This is due to the varying
profiles, surrounding structures and water
conditions.
Figure 2. EE of Site 1 basement wall designs Figure 3. EE of Site 2 basement wall designs
(per metre run) (per metre run)
Site 1 was chosen to investigate a generic options for diaphragm walls all with their toe levels
section. It is far from other underground at around 12m. For the cantilevered option
structures and there is sufficient room for anchors. considered, the toe level was at approximately
Accordingly, four standard retaining wall options 18m resulting in a 23m wall.
were considered for this site: sheet pile, secant
pile, steel tubular piles and contiguous walls.
A two-level anchorage design was considered Results
for each option. Additionally, the sheet pile option
Tables 2 and 3 show the configurations and sizes
was used as an example to further investigate
of the wall designs, the volume of materials used
the embodied energy of the six anchoring systems
and design forces for anchors for Site 1 and 2
most commonly used in industry: three standard
respectively.
sizing of anchors (0.12m, 0.15m and 0.20m in
diameter), arranged in either one or two levels. Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the overall embodied
Appropriate lengths and the number of steel bars energy of the wall designs described in Table 2
for each anchoring system were designed, and and Table 3 respectively. These values are
the resulting embodied energies calculated. given in terms of Joules per meter run, for ease
of comparison.
Site 2 has a location which is close to the river,
with an ageing canal wall that requires either The total energy consumed in a meter run of wall
strengthening or replacement. Three propped on average is approximately 100GJ/m. This is
options and a cantilever option were considered around 1.6 times the annual average UK
for this location. Excavations for the propped household energy consumption from 2005.
options were completed by tying the props across Comparisons within the same site show that the
to the existing canal wall using a sheet pile or two maximum difference in embodied energy between

14 | research review
the most energy-consuming and energy-efficient
walls is approximately 250GJ/m. Given that an
average 250m² commercial building would have
an perimeter wall of approximately 200m in length,
this difference in embodied energy would amount
to 50TJ, or 785 annual household equivalents.
This shows that careful choice of retaining wall
designs and materials can contribute significantly
to reductions in the overall environmental impacts
of a development.
Secondly, material energy is the greatest contributor
to the overall embodied energy values in all cases;
the proportion of energy is much greater than that
of the transportation and installation energy
combined. This result is consistent with that found
by Chau et al in the design of retaining walls. This
shows that the choice of material is important, and
that where possible, recycled steel should always
be used due to the large reduction in embodied
energy in comparison to virgin steel. However,
when purchasing steel, clients do not always have a
choice between the purchase of virgin and recycled
steel. This presents a difficulty in drawing conclusive
remarks about the embodied energy of the walls;
therefore for completeness values for both virgin
and recycled steels are presented in the results.
Thirdly, comparing across designs built from the
same steel, results from Site 1 suggests that steel
based designs such as sheet pile, steel tubular
piles and combi-walls built purely from recycled
steel embody significantly less energy than other
retaining wall options.
This result is reversed when virgin steel is used.
This again shows that the proportion of recycled
steel in the selected source of steel is very
important in establishing the embodied energy and
carbon footprint of the various designs.
Finally, combined results from the two sites show
that the cantilever diaphragm wall system
embodies far more energy than any of the
propped systems. This is because a cantilever
system will always require foundations at a lower
level, resulting in the use of significantly more
materials and therefore embodied energy.
Figure 4 shows the comparison of embodied
energy for the anchorage options embodied energy
comparison of the different anchoring systems
using the same sheet pile wall from Site 1.
Comparatively, designs with two rows of anchors
rather than one row consume less energy. This is
because the required anchoring force for a one
row design is larger than the sum of the required
forces from the two rows of anchors. Therefore,
single row anchors must be longer, resulting in
more use of materials. However, the results show
that on average, the anchoring systems consume
approximately 25% of the total energy. In
comparison to the overall magnitude of embedded
energy, the difference between the one or two
rows of anchors is relatively small. Therefore, this
choice should be based on the practicability of the
situation rather than the environmental impacts
Embodied Energy (GJ)
0 10 20
1 Anchor – 0.12m
EE of Wall
Material of Anchor
1 Anchor – 0.16m
Transport of Anchor
Installation of Anchor
1 Anchor – 0.20m
2 Anchor – 0.12m
2 Anchor – 0.16m
2 Anchor – 0.20m
Figure 4. Site 1 Sheet Pile EE with various anchoring systems
Carbon Emissions
In a separate study, the CO 2 emissions of all wall
options included in this study were evaluated,
using a similar methodology to that used for
embodied energy. The main difference is that
instead of EEI, CO 2 emission factors published by
Architectural Institute of Japan and Japan Society
for Civil Engineering were used. The CO 2
emissions in general are strongly correlated to the
embodied energy values, with the average for all
the walls being approximately 10 to 15tCO2/m.
According to the UK Car Fuel Data Organisation,
an average 2.0L engine family car emits
approximately 200gCO 2/km. Therefore, emissions
due to a typical wall such as those investigated in
this study would be equivalent to running a family
car for 50,000-75,000km.
Conclusion
The study was focussed on the design of various
retaining walls for large basement construction
at two riverside sites in London under a chosen
set of design criteria. Their embodied energies
were computed to assess their relative
environmental impacts.
Results show that recycled steel wall systems
generally consume less embodied energy and emit
less CO 2 than equivalent concrete wall systems.
Comparing across materials, there is significant
difference between designs built with virgin steel
and with recycled steel. The difference in anchor
designs is generally insignificant in terms of
differences in embodied energy.
Comparison with other carbon dioxide sources,
such as car use and household energy
consumption, shows that the embodied energy
in construction components makes a significant
contribution to overall carbon emissions.
30 40 50 60 70 80
Bibliography
Architectural Institute of Japan (2003): Guideline on
the lifecycle assessment of buildings, 2nd edition,
Architectural Institute of Japan
BS 8002 (1994): Code of practice for earth retaining
structures, British Standards Institution.
Chau et al (2007): see acknowledgments below
Chau, C, Nicholson, D, and Soga, K (2006): ‘Comparison
of Embodied Energy of Four Different Retaining Wall
Systems’, Reuse of Foundation for Urban Sites,
Proceedings of International Conference, A.D. Butcher,
J.J.M Powell, H.D. Skinner (eds) HIS Press, EP73,
pp277-285.
CSIRO (2007) www.cmmt.csiro.au
Edwards, B. and Hyett, P. (2002). Rough Guide to
Sustainability, RIBA Publications
Institution of Civil Engineers (1996): Specification for Pile
and Embedded Retaining Walls, Thomas Telford.
Japan Society of Civil Engineers (1997): Report
on lifecycle assessment of environmental impact,
JSCE Committee on LCA of Environmental
Impact, (in Japanese).
Kiani, M. (2006): The Whole Life Environmental Impact of
Glass within Glazed Commercial Building Envelopes, PhD
Thesis, University of Brighton.
Lawson (1996) ‘Building materials, energy and
the environment: towards ecologically sustainable
development’, RAIA, Canberra.
National Statistics and Defra (2006): The Environment in
Your Pocket 2006
O’Riordan NJ (2006) Comparisons of ballasted track
and slab track for high speed railways: predictions,
measurements and the use of embodied energy
calculations to inform the choice of trackform.
Conference on high speed railways. FEUP, Porto.
O’Riordan NJ (2007) Technical sustainability of
construction on soft ground. Conference on Soft Ground
Engineering, Portlaise, Ireland. Engineers Ireland (IEI).
UK Car fuel Data Organisation (2007)
http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/
Workman R and Soga K(2004) Embodied energy of
tunnel construction. CUED Technical report. Cambridge
Acknowledgments
This is an amended version of the paper ‘Embodied
energy as an enviornmental impact indicator for
Geotechnical Infrastuctures’ by Chau, Soga, Nicholson
O’Riordan and Inui, presented at ASCE Geocongress
2007, New Orleans. Chris Chau is a CASE research
student, jointly funded by Arup and EPSRC, working
under the academic supervision of Prof Kenichi Soga,
Cambridge University.
research review | 15
16 | research review
High-Resolution 3D Measurement and 3D Computational
Fluid Dynamics Modelling of Reservoir Spillways
Authors: David Hetherington, Patrick Kuhn, Mutlu Ucuncu and Matt Simpson

Abstract

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software packages provide a means of

mathematically modelling complex flows within and around physical objects
and scenes. The accuracy of model results is highly-influenced by how well
the physical environment is represented digitally within the software
environment (the surface boundary conditions). Terrestrial Laser Scanning
(TLS) data acquisition techniques have the potential to provide CFD models
with data that are of sufficient high-quality as to not be a significant source
of error in flow prediction. Available software capability and hardware
processing power have been long-standing restricting factors in CFD
modelling, which have meant that channels and structures often have to
be under-represented in order for simulations to run successfully. Recent
developments have meant that larger, higher-quality digital frameworks
can be incorporated into CFD models, which in turn allow better quality
CFD models to be developed. The main aim of this work was to develop a
methodology by which scenes, objects and structures could be measured
using TLS, represented in a spatial model and then used as the spatial Figure 1. The Riegl LMSZ420i terrestrial laser scanner
basis for stable CFD modelling. This would allow a series of repeatable
stages to be created which would allow future projects requiring detailed A series of generic best-practice recommendations
estimates of flow to be conducted in an efficient and consistent way using can be followed when scanning linear hydraulic
features, such as river channels, which can ensure
state-of-the-art techniques throughout.
that data quality is maximised (after Heritage and
Hetherington 2005, 2007), and the best results are
often achieved in complex environments when
TLS surveys are morphology-focused and driven
Introduction (Hetherington et al, 2007). The raw point-cloud
Water engineers often require estimates of various Data quality should be considered based upon data collected by TLS survey can be difficult to
fluid flow parameters (eg velocity, shear stress, how well point cloud data, and potentially the process and handle due to the large file sizes
water surface elevation) on and around resultant Digital Elevation Model (DEM), represents which can contain huge volumes of data (up to
infrastructure components for various reasons. the actual physical characteristics of a feature or 100m coordinate points in some cases). This has
Historically, these estimates have been made environment. Cooper (1998) explains how it is previously been an obstacle in the widespread
using physical models which as well as being inappropriate to consider DEMs, and thus the use of this technique.
expensive and time-consuming to create, are data sets that form them, in terms of their
TLS data acquisition techniques have the potential
inherently problematic due to fluid behaviour “accuracy”, and that it is better to use surface
to provide CFD models with data that are of
varying disproportionately with changing scale. quality as a measure of appropriateness and
sufficient high-quality as to not be a significant
representivity. Cooper (1998) continues by
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software source of error in flow prediction. Before this is
describing how terrain surface quality is controlled
packages provide a means of mathematically possible, the raw point cloud scan data must first
by data precision, data reliability and the accuracy
modelling complex flows within and around be conditioned to make it appropriate for the model
of individual points. This quality/representitivity
physical objects and scenes. Such approaches framework. This is a difficult process in extremely
is dictated both by the nature of the data that
allow fluid motion to be modelled for various complex environments (such as natural river beds)
are acquired, which depends upon the selected
mediums including water, ice, air and heat. The as data have to be organised into an “airtight”
measurement method, and by how the data
accuracy of model results is highly-influenced by framework without losing the detail that is
are subsequently processed.
how well the physical environment is represented represented within the TLS data. Conventionally, if
digitally within the software environment (the In short, the level of data quality is entirely dictated model realism is to be maximised after calibration,
surface boundary conditions). by “what is good enough” for any given project then detail that is poorly represented spatially in
and it is the best-case results (resolution, point CFD models would be accounted for during the
Conventionally, the spatial data incorporated into accuracy, coverage) for a specific type of roughness parameterisation of the model
CFD models are based upon more traditional measurement technique which will dictate its framework. Theoretically, if spatial measurement
survey methods including Electronic Distance potential range of appropriate applications and structural representation is detailed enough
Measurement (EDM) theodolite, Global Positioning (Hetherington, 2008). Medium-long range then small-scale roughness elements, and their
(GPS), and photogrammetric survey systems. All Terrestrial Lidar (light detection and ranging) affects on flow, will be represented in the CFD
of these measurement techniques have their own Scanning (TLS) techniques now exist which model as appose to being accounted for
advantages and disadvantages in terms of point allow objects and scenes to be measured and theoretically within a roughness value.
accuracy, achievable resolution and measurement represented to high degrees of quality. Resultant
range. Often a trade-off exists between accuracy This situation would positively impact on the
data sets can be obtained which are of sufficient
(allowing precision and high-resolution) and range/ modelling process by reducing the potential
high-resolution to represent the most intricate
coverage area. Object or scene misrepresentation impact of subjective roughness parameterisation
scales of topographic variation, over relatively
can also occur due to “shadowed” or unmeasured on modelling results. Available software capability
large ranges (up to 1km in a single scan), whilst
areas which result in interpolation errors, which and hardware processing power have been
minimising shadow affects by acquiring scan
can mask small-scale structural variation. long-standing restricting factors in CFD modelling,
data from multiple locations and perspectives.

research review | 17
High-Resolution 3D Measurement and 3D Computational
Fluid Dynamics Modelling of Reservoir Spillways

Figure 2a. Upstream view of unfiltered point cloud Figure 2b. Downstream view of unfiltered Figure 2c. Downstream view of filtered point cloud
point cloud

which have meant that channels and structures

often have to be under-represented in order for
simulations to run successfully.

Recent developments have meant that larger,

higher-quality digital frameworks can be
incorporated into CFD models, which in turn
allow better quality CFD models to be developed.

The main aim of this work was to develop a

methodology by which scenes, objects and
structures could be measured using TLS,
represented in a spatial model and then used as
the spatial basis for stable CFD modelling. This
would allow a series of repeatable stages to be
created which would allow future projects requiring
detailed estimates of flow to be conducted in an
efficient and consistent way using state-of-the-art
techniques throughout.

Study Site
The Ulley Reservoir is situated in Ulley Country
Park, South Yorkshire (NGR: SK 453 877). It is
9km to the east of Sheffield and 5.5km to the
south-east of Rotherham. In June 2007 damage
was caused to the reservoir embankment during
a storm event which resulted in the M1 motorway
being closed for reasons relating to public safety.
The Spillway that has been focused upon during
this study is the main spillway for this reservoir.
Materials and Methods
A terrestrial lidar survey was conducted over one
day in February 2008 using a Reigl LMS-Z420i:
with integrated digital camera (see Figure 1). The
survey was conducted in a morphology-focused
manner and scans were taken from 40 different
positions in order to ensure that surface
shadowing did not occur. Each scan contained
approximately 1 million measurement points.
After scanning the individual scan data had to be
registered into one common coordinate system,
this was conducted using the I-Site software
package using iterative pattern-matching
techniques (as shown in figures 2a and b).
Once registered, the scan model data then had
to be semi-manually filtered (again using I-Site)
in order to remove any unnecessary data (eg
points in the distance and local vegetation).
Figure 3. The final reservoir spillway mesh model as produced in the Rhino software package.
The final filtered point-cloud scan data is shown
in Figure 2c. A final filtered point-cloud processing
step was to filter the data so that flat surfaces
were not over-represented, and complex
(topographically-variable) surfaces retained their
structure digitally. This was done in an automated
fashion in I-Site after setting a local topographic
tolerance threshold, which removed topographically
similar local points.
The processed point-cloud model was then
imported in to the Rhino (version 4) software
package using the Pointtools4Rhino transfer
module so that it could be converted into a Figure 4. A section of the spillway as represented
connected network mesh model. In Rhino the in StarCCM+, the grey mesh represents the
pre-filtered point cloud model was manually surface boundary and the brown mesh represents
“traced” using 3D snap lines which represented fluid domain (both air and water).
the structure of the spillway (steps, curves,
walls etc). Snap lines were extrapolated to a
had to be ensured that it was airtight, with no
corner where data had been masked in the field
overlap of multiple layering. The final Rhino model
by in-channel leaf litter. Structurally complex
(as shown in Figure 3) was then exported for use
areas were represented using more intricate
in the CFD aspect of the work.
snap lines in relation to flatter more uniform
areas. In order for this framework model to be The CFD modelling aspect of the work was
compatiable with successful CFD modelling it conducted in the Star-CCM+ version 2.10.017
software environment. Star-CCM+ uses the well

18 | research review
known Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach with High
Resolution Interface Capturing Scheme (HRIC).
A B
The 3D CAD Rhino model was imported in a STL
format in readiness for meshing. In order to ensure
that detail was not lost, a model mesh spacing
equivalent to the smallest levels of structural
variation in the Rhino model was used in the CFD
software. Prism layers were also defined so that
the boundary layer was modelled appropriately,
which would in turn contribute to a stable
modelling schedule. A hexahedral mesh shape
was used as this type of mesh is successfully Iteration = 400 Iteration = 600
used in a wide range of free-surface flow Timestep = 20 Timestep = 30
simulations in the literature. The “sky” boundary Solution = 5(s) Solution = 7.5(s)
was defined to represent the boundaries of the
CFD domain. This boundary was far away from the
area of interest and was meshed at a lower degree
of detail in this instance to reduce the computational C D
cost (see Figure 4)

Pressure boundaries were defined at water inlet

and outlet specifying the water height and
corresponding total pressure at the inlet and static
pressure at the outlet. This approach was deemed
satisfactory in this instance as no secondary
analysis of flow results was going to be carried out
as part of this project. The channel walls and bed
were defined as “wall with no slip” conditions,
while the air/structure surface interface layer was
defined as “wall with free slip” conditions. The sky
boundary was defined as a pressure boundary
which allowed air to enter and leave the domain (ie
a theoretical unbounded system). This is a correct
way to model, however this could have proven to
be a source of model instability. In this instance a
free-slip wall condition was used in the simulations
since the air flow through the sky boundary would
not have a mathematical affect on the free-surface
behaviour. A RANS model, k-epsilon turbulence
model with wall functions was used to predict
turbulence patterns and losses. The selected time
step (0.125 seconds) was kept small to maximise
the likelihood of simulation stability, whilst being
large enough for reasonable run times. It should
be noted that for detailed resolution of the
free-surface motion, smaller time step sizes are
required. The total simulated-time duration was
90 seconds.
Results and Discussion
The process described in this paper should be
transferable to many other scenarios when
predictions of complex flows are required.
Major challenges were faced during this work
when trying to mesh the spillway channel
appropriately in StarCCM+. This was partly due
to repairs that needed to be done to the model
framework after meshes were created to different
degrees of detail. Lessons have been learnt from
this process meaning that this will be a more
efficient process in future. Although the digital
framework data from Rhino were very clean,
after exporting it to STL format, further correcting
was required (especially to the curved surfaces).
Iteration = 800 Iteration = 1000
Timestep = 40 Timestep = 50
Solution = 10(s) Solution = 12.5(s)
Figure 5. CFD Simulation progression (moving forwards in time a to d) on the main Ulley
Dam spillway (at the inlet to the structure).
This is a data inter-operability issue which may
impact on projects to differing extents depending References
on the structure that is to be modelled. Once Cooper M.A.R, 1998, Datums, Coordinates and
Differences, In: Landform Monitoring, Modelling and
commenced the CFD simulation took about Analysis, Lane S.N, Richards K.S and Chandler J.H (eds),
1 day in real time to complete. It is important to Wiley, Chichester, 21-36.
note that in future, run times will depend on the Heritage G.L and Hetherington D. (2005) The use of
high-resolution field laser scanning in mapping surface
complexity of the physics (ie more advanced topography in fluvial systems, Proceedings of symposium
turbulence models, or simulations including S1 (sediment budgets) held during the Seventh IAHS
Scientific Assembly at Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, April 2005.
particles, will increase the run time). The sequence
IAHS Publ. 291,
of images shown in Figure 5 illustrate how the flow
Heritage G.L and Hetherington D, (2007) Towards a
structure developed during the CFD simulation protocol for laser scanning in fluvial geomorphology, Earth
Surface Processes and Landforms, 32 (1), 66-74
of the main spillway at the Ulley Dam.
Hetherington D, German S.E, Utteridge M, Cannon D,
Chisholm N and Tegzes T, 2007, Accurately representing
a complex estuarine environment using terrestrial
Conclusions lidar, RSPsoc Annual Conference Proceedings, 11-14
September 2007, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
A methodology has been developed which enables Hetherington D, in press for 2008, General data issues,
Arup to rapidly capture the geometry of complex data quality and protocols, In Large A.R.G, Heritage
G.L and Charlton M.E (Eds), Laser Scanning for the
hydraulic structures in a high-quality, digital format Environmental Sciences, Blackwells Publishers.
that can be imported into a CFD environment. This
allows the hydraulic performance of such structures
to be analysed in detail, and potentially in a more
flexible and cost-effective manner than can be
achieved using physical modelling approaches.
In future, it is anticipated that the entire process
of developing a CFD model using TLS data could
take approximately 10 days in less complex cases.
However, further work is required in order to assess
and quantify more fully, the improvements that the
use of TLS-acquired data can bring to the CFD
modelling process. In particular, the use of TLS will
potentially reduce the time spent calibrating models
in order to represent channel roughness.

research review | 19
20 | research review
Water Quality Modelling of Dissolved
Oxygen in River Usk
Author: Lei Yang

185750
Abstract
185650
Recently, Arup Water carried out an environmental impact modelling study as
part of the new M4 project on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. A 185550

major component was to investigate the water quality in the River Usk. 185450

The River Usk is part of a system containing the world’s second largest tidal 185350

range which has a complex hydrodynamic character which in turn makes for 185250
challenging water quality modelling.
185150

The Usk modelling developed from a desk study of existing research literature,
185050
to field surveys of hydrodynamics and relevant water quality parameters to
numerical modelling. There was regular collaboration between Arup Cardiff 184950
331900 332000 332100 332200 332300 332400 332500 332600
office and Professor Binliang Lin from the Hydro-environmental Research
Figure 2. Fine grids around proposed piers
Centre, Cardiff University to capture the latest research understanding of
complex numerical schemes.
Spring tide conciding mean annual fluvial flow

Introduction The mass transfer of dissolved oxygen in the

Arup Water has multi-disciplinary design
capabilities in water, wastewater and stormwater
practices. This is underpinned by recruiting
academics from world class research centres in
universities, which promotes excellence in
sustainable water resources management. This is
true in their water quality work where Arup Water
uses state-of-the-art numerical modelling tools in
their approach to water quality assessment and
forecasting.
The Usk modelling was undertaken using MIKE
software (flexible mesh system) with an integrated
1-D and 2-D modelling process encompassing:
i) the sediment transport processes to provide
predictions of suspended sediment concentrations
ii) the dissolved oxygen transformation processes
to trace dissolved oxygen concentrations by
modelling the changes from sediment oxygen
consumptions. The Usk modelling has successfully
applied the concepts of sediment-linked water
quality modelling developed from earlier research
work by Dr Lei Yang working in Cardiff University.
The fine grid modelling domain is shown in
Figures 1 and 2. The hydrodynamic character
(velocity distributions) around the proposed
piers is shown in Figure 3.
Method
Dissolved Oxygen (DO) concentration in the
aquatic environment is affected by environmental
factors such as the photosynthesis of algae and
phytoplankton, the respiration of water plants,
animals and bacteria, the oxygen consumptions
from nitrification, from COD/BOD degradation
and from the sediment oxygen consumptions.
The variation of DO will be dominated by one of
these factors depending on the specific local
environmental circumstances.
Usk estuary follows the general advective-diffusion
equation (well-known as ADE to water quality
modellers) which gives mathematical descriptions
based on i) advection term indicating the mass
transportation with the advection of flow,
ii) diffusion term describing the mass movements
produced along horizontal and vertical Figure 3. Velocity distributions around proposed piers
dispersion/diffusions by eddies, and iii) reaction
term which incorporates all physical, chemical
and biological reactions between DO and the Geographic view
other environmental factors.
187400
The River Usk is a tidal river with a Spring range
187200
Key
of up to 10m which provides natural re-aeration
187000 Boundaries
to keep the river DO concentration generally 186800
North Boundary
above 9.0mg/l in winter. However high turbidity 186600
South Boundary
from the tides is a characteristic of the river 186400 Land Boundary
with the potential to deplete oxygen levels 186200
when high suspended solids occur. The aim 186000
of the DO modelling was to investigate the risk 185800
of oxygen sag (or DO depletion) from sediment 185600
oxygen consumptions. 185400
185200
Accordingly, the DO modelling comprises two 185000
major processes, i) the re-aeration process, ii) 184800
the sediment oxygen consumption processes. 184600
184400
The re-aeration process modelled the oxygen
184200
exchange from the air to the water driven by
184000
the temperature and by salinity dependent 183800
saturation oxygen levels. The differential 183600
equation for re-aeration is: 332000 332500 333000
Figure 1. 2D modelling domain with flexible mesh
dDO
= kr (DOS – DO) ------ (1)
dt A time-varying re-aeration coefficient, which is a
function of flow velocity and water depth, was
where:
used in this study. The time and grid varying
DO = d
 issolved oxygen concentration in
saturation oxygen concentration was determined
a water column, mg/l
based upon an empirical equation developed
kr = re-aeration coefficient, day 1 by Weiss R. (1970).
DO s = saturation concentration of DO, mg/l

research review | 21
Water Quality Modelling of Dissolved
Oxygen in River Usk

20 Main flume ouput points

18
Geographic view
16
14 187400
12 187200
Bathymetry
10 187000 Above 17.6
8 186800 16.0 - 17.6
12.5 - 15.0
6 186600 10.0 - 12.5
7.5 - 10.0
4 npWQ1: DO, predicted [mg/l] 186400 5.0 - 7.5
2 npWQ1: DO, measured [mg/l] 2.5 - 5.0
186200
0.0 - 2.5
0 186000 -2.5 - 0.0
00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00
Below -2.5
2007-12-16 12-17 12-18 12-19 12-20 Point
185800 1 Undefined value
20 185600 Point 2
18
185400 Point 3 Point 4
16
185200 Point 5
14
185000 Point 6
12 Point 7
184800
10
184600 Point 8
8
184400 Point 9
6
184200 Point 10
4 npWQ2: DO, predicted [mg/l]
npWQ2: DO, measured [mg/l] 184000
2
183800
0
00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 183600
2007-12-16 12-17 12-18 12-19 12-20 332000 332500 333000

Figure 4. Time series dissolved oxygen concentrations at measured sites Figure 6. The observation stations along the
main flow flume

Initial results indicated a good agreement between

12.0 the field data and the model predictions. Some of
11.0 the calibrated DO results are given in Figure 4,
10.0
regarding to two site surveys measured during a
neap tide in December 2007.
9.0

8.0 Literature shows natural bed sediment oxygen

7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
00:00 00:00
2007-12-16 12-17
Figure 5. Predicted dissolved oxygen concentrations along main flume in lower reach of River Usk
In this study, the sediment oxygen consumption
was considered to be caused primarily by the
degradation of organic material attached to the
sediments, but not originating from pollution
sources ie BOD from combined sewer overflow
outfalls. However, future BOD changes produced
by wastewater disposal would lead to different
sediment consumption, which was beyond the
scope of the current study.
The processes of sediment oxygen consumption
will depend on DO concentration, sediment
concentration and the water temperature.
It includes two parts, i) bed sediment oxygen
consumption, ii) suspended sediment oxygen
consumption. A set of advanced governing
equations were used to represent these processes.
These differential equations were inputted into
MIKE numerical engine through the MIKE Ecolab
template, DO modelling was performed by linking
the MIKE hydrodynamic module and sediment
transport modelling results together with the
Ecolab module. MIKE flexible mesh software
uses the advanced numerical solution by applying
Point 1: DO, dissolved oxygen [mg/l] demand is typically in the range 0.2 – 1.5gO2/m2/
Point 3: DO, dissolved oxygen [mg/l]
Point 5: DO, dissolved oxygen [mg/l]
day. However as an urban river which generally
Point 7: DO, dissolved oxygen [mg/l] receives effluents from combined sewer overflows,
Point 9: DO, dissolved oxygen [mg/l]
the sediment-attached nutrient content could
00:00 00:00 00:00 increase its oxygen demand by up to 5.0gO2/m2/
12-18 12-19 12-20
day for the sediment consumption.
The Usk DO calibration was started from a point
of 0.5gO2/m2/day and found the calibrated
a cell-centred finite volume method based on
sediment oxygen consumption coefficient to be
an unstructured grid system with either triangular
1.2 – 2.5gO2/m2/day. Based on an oxygen demand
or quadrilateral elements. Within the MIKE FM
of 2.5gO2/m2/day, the predicted DO concentrations
hydrodynamic model an approximate Riemann
along the river reach are plotted in Figure 5.
solver (Roe’s scheme, see Roe, 1981) was
used to calculate the convective fluxes at the The modelling results in Figure 5 indicate
interface of the cells. Second-order spatial i) the DO concentration in lower Usk is generally
accuracy is achieved by employing a linear between 9.5 – 11.0mg/l, which is about 90%
gradient-reconstruction technique. The average oxygen saturation. This is a good modelling
gradients were estimated using the approach by result confirming the river’s natural re-aeration
Jawahar and Kamath (2000). To avoid numerical process functions efficiently within this brackish
oscillations a second order TVD slope limiter water environment; ii) the DO concentration at
(Van Leer limiter, see Hirch, 1990 and Darwish, point 1, which is about 3km upstream of point 9
2003) was adopted. is on average 0.3mg/l higher than the location
of point 9 (see the locations in Figure 6).
Downstream, the lowest predicted DO value
Results and Discussion during neap tide condition is 9.0mg/l.
One of the study objectives of this stage was This confirmed that the landward river had higher
to characterize a concept model describing the DO concentrations than the seaward estuarine
kinetics of oxygen consumptions in the River Usk water. The Environment Agency (EA) website gives
where measured field data was used to determine an averaged DO measurement for 2004 to 2006
the apparent oxygen consumption coefficient. in the inland river Usk to be 99.35% oxygen
saturation. Our modelling results agree with
the EA observations.

22 | research review
 - - -
187400 - 187400 - 187400 -
-Geographic view 1 m/s - 1 m/s - 1 m/s
187200 - DOs, dissolved oxygen 187200 - DOs, dissolved oxygen 187200 - DOs, dissolved oxygen
- concerntrati [mg/l] - concerntrati [mg/l] - concerntrati [mg/l]
187000 - Above 12.0 187000 - Above 12.0 187000 - Above 12.0
- 11.5 - 12.0 - 11.5 - 12.0 - 11.5 - 12.0
186800 - 12.5 - 11.0 186800 - 12.5 - 11.0 186800 - 12.5 - 11.0
- 10.0 - 10.5 - 10.0 - 10.5
- 10.0 - 10.5
186600 - 186600 - 186600 -
9.5 - 10.0 9.5 - 10.0 9.5 - 10.0
- - -
9.0 - 9.5 9.0 - 9.5 9.0 - 9.5
186400 - 186400 - 186400 -
8.5 - 9.0 8.5 - 9.0 - 8.5 - 9.0
- -
8.0 - 8.5 8.0 - 8.5 186200 - 8.0 - 8.5
186200 - 186200 -
7.5 - 8.0 7.5 - 8.0 - 7.5 - 8.0
- -
186000 - 7.0 - 7.5 186000 - 7.0 - 7.5 186000 - 7.0 - 7.5
- 6.5 - 7.0 - 6.5 - 7.0 - 6.5 - 7.0
185800 - 6.0 - 6.5 185800 - 6.0 - 6.5 185800 - 6.0 - 6.5
- 5.5 - 6.0 - 5.5 - 6.0 - 5.5 - 6.0
185600 - 5.0 - 5.5 185600 - 5.0 - 5.5 185600 - 5.0 - 5.5
- Below 5.0 - Below 5.0 - Below 5.0
185400 - Undefined value 185400 - Undefined value 185400 - Undefined value
- - -
185200 - 185200 - 185200 -
- - -
185000 - 185000 - 185000 -
- - -
184800 - 184800 - 184800 -
- - -
184600 - 184600 - 184600 -
- - -
184400 - 184400 - 184400 -
- - -
184200 - 184200 - 184200 -
- - -
184000 - 184000 - 184000 -
- - -
183800 - 183800 - 183800 -
- - -
183600 - 183600 - 183600 -
332000 332500 333000 332000 332500 333000 332000 332500 333000

Figure 7. Dissolved oxygen distributions with Figure 8. Dissolved oxygen distributions with Figure 9. Dissolved oxygen distributions with
velocity rectors at mid-ebb, neap tide velocity rectors at low water, neap tide velocity rectors at mid-flood, neap tide

The predicted DO results within the study area

-
are given in Figures 7-10. These show the DO 187400 - 1 m/s
References
- DOs, dissolved oxygen
distributions at different surface water levels 187200 - concerntrati [mg/l]
Banks, R.B., Herrera, F.F. Effect of wind and rain
- on surface re-aeration. J. Env. Eng. Div., ASCE 103,
during a neap tidal cycle. 187000 - Above 12.0
June 1977, pp 489-504.
- 11.5 - 12.0
186800 - 12.5 - 11.0
Darwish, M. S. and Moukalled, F. 2003. TVD schemes
Whilst DO modelling is not a new area of work, - 10.0 - 10.5
186600 - 9.5 - 10.0 for unstructured grids, Int. J. of Heat and Mass
until now much research has focused on existing - 9.0 - 9.5 Thansfor, 46, pp 599-611.
186400 - 8.5 - 9.0
literature. The task of modelling has often been - 8.0 - 8.5 DHI, MIKE by DHI, WQ templates, Scientific
186200 - 7.5 - 8.0
hampered by a lack of measured historical data - Description, Release 2008.
7.0 - 7.5
186000 -
coupled with the lack of suitable tools to handle -
6.5 - 7.0 DHI, MIKE by DHI, MIKE 21 and MIKE 3 Flow Model
6.0 - 6.5
185800 -
5.5 - 6.0
FM, Hydrodynamic and Transport module, Scientific
the natural complexity of the local water -
5.0 - 5.5 Mannual, 2008.
185600 -
Below 5.0
environment. -
Undefined value Hirsch, C. 1990. Numerical computation of Internal
185400 -
- and external Flows, Volume 2: Computional methods
The study of water quality, including modelling, 185200 -
-
for Inviscid and Viscous Flows, Wiley.
remains challenging and continues to demand 185000 - Jawahar P. and Kamath, H. 2000. A high-resolusion
-
184800 - procedure for Euler and Navier-Stokes computations
advanced research and state-of-the-art - on unstructured grids. Journal Comp. Physics,
computational technologies. 184600 -
- Vol. 164, pp165-203.
184400 -
- Jorgensen, S.E. 1979. Handbook of Environmental
The future is for more challenging environmental 184200 - Data and Ecological Parameters. National society for
-
water management accompanying the climate 184000 -
Ecological Modelling. ISBN 87 87257 16 5.
- Kasper, H.F. Denitrification in marine sediments:
change which will have bearing on water industry 183800 -
- measurement of capacity and estimate of in situ rate.
practice. Arup, with its research capabilities in 183600 - Appl. Env. Microbiol., Vol.43, No.3, 1982, pp522-527.
water quality studies, is there to face the 332000 332500 333000
Malmgren-Hansen, A., Mortensen, P., Moller, B.
challenges. Figure 10. Dissolved oxygen distributions with Modelling of oxygen depletion in coastal waters.
Wat.Sci.Tech., Vol. 17, 1984, pp 967-978.
velocity rectors at high water, neap tide
Roe, P.L. 1981. Approximate Riemann solvers,
parameter vectors, and difference schemes.
Collaborators and coastal basins in the UK, including: the Severn, Journal of Comp. Physics. Vol. 43, pp357-372.

Arup has established close collaboration with the
School of Engineering at Cardiff University in the field
of hydro-environmental modelling. An agreement has
been recently reached between Arup and the
University for the Appointment of Binliang Lin as an
Arup Professor in Hydro-environmental Engineering.
Professor Lin’s main research interest is in
hydrodynamic and water quality modelling, including:
flood risk assessment, sediment and heavy metals
transport, bathing water quality and marine energy.
He has developed hydrodynamic and water quality
models for river, estuarine and coastal waters and
published 120 papers in journals and international
conference proceedings. He has been involved in
modelling water quality processes in many estuaries
Humber, Mersey, Ribble and Thames Estuaries
and Carmarthen, Swansea, Cardiff, Morecambe
and Irvine Bays. He has also been involved in
modelling the morphological process in the
Yellow River and Bohai Bay in China.
Weiss, R. 1970. “The solubility of nitrogen, oxygen,
and argon in water and seawater”. Deep-Sea Res.
17: 721-35.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank the Welsh Assembly
Government for their support in carrying out this work.
The author also thanks Professor Binliang Lin of Cardiff
University who reviewed the overall methodology, Titan.
Environmental Surveys Ltd who carried out extensive
surveys of the River Usk and also acknowledges the
support of colleagues at Arup including David Evans,
Jo Atkinson, Pete Wells, Tim Wilkinson, Rosemary Cripps,
Sarah Williams and Dan Smith.

research review | 23
24 | research review
Responsiveness To Market (RTM) Building System
for the Residential High-Rise Building Design Process
Author: Derek So

Abstract Value

Due to the rapid growth of economy in the East Asia, urban population has
risen dramatically in the past few years. Chinese is seeing a great movement RTM
of population from the rural interior to cities in the East. It is estimated that Building

more than 55% of Chinese population will live in cities by 2020, 60% by 2030.
Speed Quality
Some 300m to 400m new inhabitants will leave the countryside to settle in Market Construction
cities in the next 20 years. More than 15bn square metres of housing will be
constructed to accommodate these new urban dwellers. The scale of new Figure 2. RTM Building system
house building is significant. Therefore there is an urgent need to reformulate
Methodology
the current construction practice in order to boost up the productivity. Besides,
as the society is wealthier, customers require a higher standard of living; the The Fundamental Theory

housing market should therefore quickly respond to homeowner’s diversified Mass customization is the use of computer-aided
expectations. However, the property development is a long process. manufacturing systems which can involve the
consumer in the design process in order to
The volatile change in the market place during the long property development
produce customized solution. Rooting from the
cycle is one of major factors deciding a project win or loss. Therefore, speed to mass production concept, in our mass
adapt to the market changes has been recognized as a critical success factor. customization system, numbers of standard
building modules are developed with the flexibility
Moreover, in this sustainability era, both the government and the homeowner for individual customization. These standard
require high energy efficient and low-carbon homes. Engineer should design modules, which have interchangeable properties,
advanced construction material that not only provide structural strength, but allow the manufacturer to control the unit cost and
therfore the production cost. With a great variety
also is environmental friendly in the manufacturing and construction process,
of options, the customer product is no longer
and provides high heat and sound insulation performance. uniform, but is innovative and quality-oriented.
This mass customization business model has
To tackle these problems, Arup takes a non-conventional engineering approach.
been well established in the computer and vehicle
industries, and now, we want to bring it to a new
realm, the high-rise residential building market.

The foundation of the RTM approach is the

The Idea
Since 2002, we had experienced the efficiency of
prefabricated construction. In the Fu Tei residential
building project, we designed various structural
and non-structural, linear and volumetric elements
to allow fast, high-quality and sustainable building
construction. We learnt that in order to improve
the productivity and product quality, part of the
construction processes should be industrialized.
That means, some of the building elements should
be manufactured in a systematic production chain,
under a well-monitored quality control system and
follow standardized engineering methodology.
Being the top professional engineer in the industry,
we are not satisfied with building standardized/
typical houses; we want to produce customized,
high-ended, luxury houses that can add value to
our product, our client, as well as our company.
We believed that once we have designed
hundreds of standardized building modules, we
can form thousands of unique building design.
Each homeowner can select from a huge
database with different pre-defined building
modules to design his customized dream house.
With this belief in mind, we began to study
practical engineering solution on how these
pre-defined building modules can be produced,
replaced, interchanged, modified and fixed together
to provide flexibility in the floor plan layout.
At the same time, we promoted this innovative
insight with our business partners and try to
make it real.
Standardisation
(Mass Production)
Customisation
Quality Sustainable Housing
Figure 1. Mass customisation concept for
sustainable housing
The Team
Shui On Land, one of the major developers in
Mainland China, shares our vision in mass
customized housing and commits us to implement
this concept in their high-rise luxury apartments.
We teamed up with a product manufacturing
specialist, Advanced Manufacturing Institute
(AMI), of the Hong Kong University of Science
and Technology, and a IT specialist with well
experienced in architectural design and
construction management, Tecton Limited.
This objective was to develop a holistic approach
in the whole supply chain of residential building
development with the adaptation of mass
customisation concept that can achieve
Responsiveness To the Market (RTM) and to
provide renewable, efficient, adaptive and
liveable housing to the consumers.
product structure, that is, considering residential
units as products. Their commonality is extracted
using the Product Family Architecture (PFA)
approach for developing building modules. The
underpinning design logics are deducted for
configuration, and individual variant products can
then be configured for individual customer to
form a home which is structurally stable, durable,
aesthetically pleasing and flexible to the change
in homeowner’s lifestyle.
The backbone of the RTM is a computer-aided
manufacturing configurator contributed by the
real estate developer, architect, engineer,
contractor, manufacturer and the consumer. It
is a database in Building Information Model (BIM)
with sophisticated kits of building modules and
hardware for developing a residential building.
It is also a parametric design engine for analysis;
pre-defined design logics based on real estate
developers’ requirements and statutory design
criteria/rules is formulated in the engine to
govern the design.
Each module/hardware object in the database
contains certain parameters for design and
rule-checking purposes. During the selection
of interchangeable objects, the designer/customer
can receive immediate response from the
parametric design engine to ensure that the
design is feasible and complies with relevant
statutory rules.

research review | 25
Responsiveness To Market (RTM) Building System
for the Residential High-Rise Building Design Process
Example of Mass Customized
Modules for High-rise
Building Design
Catalogue
OEMS(s)
“Make to stock” prefab component
Kitchen Model x-xx
Tailor-made
OEMS(s)
Tailor-made
OEMS(s)
“Make to order” prefab component
bay-window Model xx-xx-xx
Figure 3. Customized modules for high-rise building
Interchangable options
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
Option 4
Figure 4. Example for product family for high-rise building
The RTM system can save lots of time. Compared
to traditional development processes where once
a design is changed, the project team has to
check all the design criteria again manually. Thus,
the system allows the developer to make a timely
response to the housing market in a systematic
manner, whilst meeting the aggressive cost target
and quality standards without compromising rules
and regulations.
The Research Project
RTM Building System is an integrated building
platform (including materials, products and
processes) that addresses three conventionally
independent performance indices simultaneously,
namely Speed, Quality, and Value. It renders the
enhancement of design through technical thought,
industrial production methods and practical
construction methods. It allows Shui On to provide
26 | research review
Different Product
Platforms
customized products and service information
directly to the consumer at the point of decision.
In view of the project complexity, the project was
divided into phases. Phase 1 was a research
phase, in which we explored industrial techniques
and developed an overall product family strategy
for Shui On. We built up a framework of the
RTM system for precast façade construction
design. The scope of the project also covered
advanced material technology to improve thermal
and acoustic performance and buildability of
façade. Simulation and sensitivity analysis tool was
also proposed as the decision support systems
to facilitate project managers in assessing different
design scenarios. Phase 1 was successfully
completed in March 2008. The details are
described in later paragraphs. At the time of this
progress review report, we have just committed to
Shui On for the Phase II RTM project.
Results and Discussion
The Phase I RTM
The objective of Phase 1 RTM system was to
develop the skeleton of a user-friendly interface that
provides a common platform for all stakeholders
(the developer, the architect, the design engineer,
the project manager, the contractor, and the
homeowner) to exchange ideas, and communicate
the design. To add value to the BIM, architectural
and structural design rules, as well as the
construction considerations, were formulated in
the system to ensure that all customized product
fulfilled the statutory standards and took into
account the major construction constrains.
State-of-the-art technique that used to be applied
in aeroplane manufacturing process, was used
allowing the RTM system to also cater for
preconstruction management, construction cycle
optimization, and supply chain management. The
RTM system aims to cover the overall performance,
time to market consideration, economical
evaluation and total life cycle cost analysis of a
development project. Pre-cast façade construction
was chosen to verify the application of RTM
concept in property development project in this
phase of research.
Construction project normally consists of three
basic flows (design process, material process
and work process). For most participating
organizations, these processes repeat from project
to project with moderate variations. In Phase I
RTM, we aimed to streamline these three basic
flows. The RTM system consists of three major
components, namely the Building Block Family
Platform, the Parametric Design Engine, and the
Decision Support Simulation System.
1. RTM Building Block Family Platform consists
of a set of Product Family Libraries, Process
Family Libraries and Material Libraries. The
Product Library consists of edge library,
window library, finishing library etc, and these
libraries form the model server for the RTM
Parametric Design Engine (as described in
Point 2 below). Each library contains various
design options. These options are façades’
commonalities in existing Shui On’s building
blocks, and also include Arup’s innovative
design. For instance, we proposed a design
of façade connector which allows fast and
accurate connection between precast façade
and cast in-situ concrete, and provides with
sufficient strength and flexibility to cater for
seismic loading.
2. The Process Library contains information
about the construction productivity and
construction procedure provided by Shui On.
The information was formulated in the Decision
Support Simulation System (as described in
Point 3 below) for the process simulation and
sensitivity analysis and for decision making
facilitation. RTM allowed the designer to
choose from a variety of different construction
material. Useful information such as material

Opening, Window, Edge,
Material
Connection, Finishing, etc Material Library
Product Library
Building Block
Family Platform
RTM
Construction Productivity.
Construction Procedure
Process Library
Decision support
Simulation System
Decision support
Making Tool
Figure 5. RTM overall system architecture
weight and thermal conductivity were stored
in the Material Library. In Phase I of RTM, we
introduced an advanced material design of
precast façade to improve the thermal and
sound insulation, as well as to provide a
aesthetically pleasing surface of building; a
200mm thick façade containing a exterior layer
of flexcrete (cementitious material consisting
special fibres) supporting lightweight cellular
concrete. Structural steel frame made up by
standardized steel members forms the
structure of the façade. The RTM design
system optimized the steel frame member size
based on the façade size and weight in order
to provide the most cost-effective design to
the client. The material cost of Arup’s advanced
façade design was found compatible with the
commonly used sandwich façade (XPS layer
filled in-between two layers of concrete panel),
while the overall weight of the façade was
significantly reduced. As the lifting capacity
is always a fixed constrain in a precast
construction process, reducing the weight of
façade provides greater flexibility in controlling
the façade/room size. The bigger the façade
implies fewer number of façades; thus, can
shorten the construction cycle and the overall
project duration.
3. The RTM Parametric Design Engine is a
parametric-rule based configurator which
embeds the design rules, client’s requirements,
product fabrication rules and the construction
process rules to provide a convenient design
platform for the designer to develop different
façade solutions following given design criteria.
In Phase I RTM, we successfully implemented
thermal, daylight and ventilation rules as per
the Chinese statutory codes. All structural
criteria for façade design (steel frame design,
seismic load, façade connection detailing etc)
were catered in the design. Moreover, façade
dimensions and weight controlled by the
transportation and erection considerations
were formulated in the system. During the
design stage, different libraries were called out
Statutory, Architectural,
Structural, Others
Rules
Design Engine
Building Block
Family Platform
Shop
Drawing
GANTT Chart
Phase 1 RTM Overall
System Architecture
Figure 6. Sample for composite material for facade
from the model server for designer’s selection. • estimate the total cost for mould fabrication
The designer could check the compliance of
• provide a detailed production, planning and
rules throughout the façade design process.
control schedule, and inventory analysis on site
RTM is a web-based interface, rooted in Revit
and in manufacturing for each type of façade•
Architecture 2008.The RTM system also allows
enable impact estimation in case of moulds
a real-time 3-D walkthrough of the precast
failures or facades failures during the production
product. Every design option is represented by
and installation, and enable the user to find
a Menu Item Master (MIM) code. The finished
extra moulds
precast façade panel can be expressed by a
series of MIM code, based on which a shop
drawing is generated automatically with all the
construction details specified. RTM system can Conclusion
also generate design report showing the design We believe that customized, high-quality,
parameters and the rule checking result to sustainable residential building is the trend in the
facilitate the statutory submission process. market. RTM Building System will totally shift the
existing business model to industrial development
4. Apart from the design function, RTM Decision
production. Future homebuyers will be able to
Support Simulation System can assist Project
customize the volume, exterior and interior design
Managers to perform sensitivity analysis and
arrangements in their home according to their own
decision simulation analysis and assess
needs, desires, lifestyle and expectations.
different design options.
In this phase, DSM was proposed as the Decision
Making Tool. DSM contains a list of all constituent References
activities and the corresponding information Karhu, Vesa “Product Model Based Design of Precast
exchange and dependency patterns. That is, the Facades” Royal Institute of technology, 1997
information flows among different tasks. According
to the working sequence, construction productivity
given by Shui On, the DSM was able to analyse
the time implication caused by each proposed Acknowledgments
design change. Louis Wong, Managing Director – Project Management,
Shui On Land
Phase 1 RTM also provided a platform for steel Clement C.C. Lau, Director of Project planning
mould fabrication management. Because the cost and Design, Shui On Land
of a precast façade mould is high in contrast to Hui Shing Sun, Executive Director, Shui On Land
Frankie Lai, General Manager – QS & Procurement,
the cost of the façade itself; it is crucial for the
Shui On Land,
project manager to estimate the optimal number
Lam Hiu Fai, Senior Manager – Technical Research
of steel moulds at the beginning of the project that and Development, Shui On Land
will not disturb the on site construction. This Calvin Wong, C.E.O, Tecton Limited
management tool can: Toste Wallmark, System Architect, Tecton Limited
Professor Mitchell Tseng, Head of Advanced
• optimize number of steel mould for each type Manufacturing Institute, UST
of façade given the production lead time and Anita Siu, Engineer, Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd
construction schedule, reducing the asset
tied-up with inventory and promoting
Just-In-Time methodologies:
research review | 27
28 | research review
Innovative Approaches to Pedestrian
Planning at Toronto’s Union Station
Author: Erin Morrow

Abstract

Union Station is the Greater Toronto Area’s most important transportation hub,
and its revitalization is intended to improve the delivery of local, regional and
national rail passenger services. This process is being facilitated by the City
of Toronto, which is working with other interested parties to coordinate
transportation and pedestrian planning initiatives. These will respond to
anticipated increases in transit passenger numbers over the next 20-30

© Arup
years, and address the constraints that this growth will place upon the
existing infrastructure. Figure 1. 3D Stimulation enviroment

Arup has been working with the City of Toronto to develop advanced analysis • The Union Station District Plan:
This was adopted in 2006, and sets out a
and planning models based on new micro-simulation technology. These new
number of guiding principles for the public
tools have been developed by Arup to address shortcomings in existing
realm that are intended to enhance and
computational techniques and have been instrumental in predicting future improve the pedestrian environment. It
activity at Union Station and communicating findings to diverse stakeholders. aims to integrate heritage and transport
requirements into the fabric of the downtown
The City of Toronto has created several high-level policy documents aimed at area, by improving pedestrian connectivity
improving the quality of the Station and its surrounding environment. The Union and enhancing pedestrian crossings.
Station Master Plan and Union Station District Plan both advocate strong
pedestrian connections leading to, through, and from the Station. They define The primary objectives of the Phase 1
parameters for specific studies that have been undertaken to help improve study this study were to:
the overall pedestrian amenities within and in the vicinity of the Station. • Develop a quantitative picture of peak
pedestrian flow conditions in and around Union
Station, for both current and future forecast
conditions, and;

• Identify potential constraints on pedestrian

Union Station, Toronto
Union Station functions as Toronto’s primary
transportation hub for commuters on rail, bus,
subway and light rail services. Every year, the
station serves more passengers than all three
terminals at Pearson International Airport,
Canada’s busiest airport. As of 2006, the
station handled:
• 49m transit rail and bus passengers
• 20m subway passengers
• 2.3m rail passengers
These numbers are expected to double over
the next 20 years.
Enhancement of this historic facility to
accommodate increased usage and improve
pedestrian connections is a priority for Toronto.
Revitalization will continue to be coordinated with
the station operators, their expansion programs,
and future population and employment increases
in the downtown area.
Policy Background
Toronto City Council are developing a Future
Concept Plan for the revitalisation of Union Station
and its vicinity. Given that all transit passengers
are ultimately pedestrians, planning principles for
the Future Concept Plan need to ensure from the
outset that current and future pedestrian
circulation is maintained or improved.
The Future Concept Plan is being developed
within the context of a number of important
policy documents:
• The Toronto Official Plan and
Pedestrian Charter:
These high level policy documents provide
general guidance on the development of the
station. They consider the refurbishment of
the station; enhancement of its passenger
handling capacity; a programme of street
improvements to improve safety for pedestrians
and cyclists; and the creation of an urban
environment and infrastructure that ensures
safe, comfortable, attractive and convenient
pedestrian conditions.
• Pedestrian Policy, Principles, and Objectives:
This document outlines the existing situation
and forms a background to the Union
Station Master Plan.
• The Union Station Master Plan:
This is a bold, visionary roadmap for the
restoration, revitalisation and operation of
the Union Station complex. It was adopted
in 2004, and brings together a cohesive
policy framework for pedestrian planning. It
provides specific principles and objectives for
the station building and for the immediate
areas surrounding the station.
flows associated with the Union Station
Concept Plan.
• Generate sufficient data to support more
detailed flow analysis in Phase 2.
• Support decision making, design efforts and
operational planning for the Future Concept Plan.
The study was completed for two principal time
frames: base conditions (2003) and projected
conditions (2021). A third 2011 condition was
also documented on the basis of a straight line
interpolation between 2003 and 2021. These
time frames correspond to forecast horizons for
the various transportation providers, and to the
City of Toronto’s employment and residential
population data.
The analysis focuses on pedestrian movement
volumes for the morning peak, the afternoon
peak, and special events at adjoining venues.
It highlighted a number of opportunities and
constraints, which helped to define the scope
and focus of the Phase 2 Internal Pedestrian
Circulation study.

research review | 29
Innovative Approaches to Pedestrian Planning
at Toronto’s Union Station

Opportunities were revealed for:

• Providing additional linkages to the street
and pedestrian networks to ensure appropriate
levels of pedestrian capacity, and to further
disperse pedestrian movement related to
the Station.

• Further planning and review of the Union

Station Front Street Plaza and external areas,
in the context of the Station Master Plan.

• Enhancing the porosity of the Station to

© Arup

© Arup
minimize bottlenecks and pedestrian
congestion. Figuire 2. VIA Rail Concourse connection ramp Figure 3. Passenger ticketing in Great Hall

Union Station is an environment with complex

Constraints were revealed as follows:
• There will continue to be a very heavy
orientation of pedestrian flow between the
Station and the downtown core, resulting in
increasing congestion on the existing network.
This is likely to require the introduction of
several mitigating measures to improve
future grade pedestrian conditions.
• The entry and exit points to the Station
represent the most critical points of potential
route choices and very high volumes of pedestrian
traffic, particularly during the morning rush hour.
The challenge was to develop an approach to
modelling the pedestrian traffic at the station in
a way that would allow accurate calibration of
the model inputs, without overly prescribing the
detailed behaviour of pedestrians within the station.
To achieve this, Arup applied MassMotion (a
leading edge ‘agent based’ simulation method), a
full 3D model of the environment, and John Fruin’s

congestion. Methods of metering flows
further up stream may need to be considered.
Phase 2-The Union Station Internal
Pedestrian Circulation Study
The intention of the Phase 2 study was to provide
greater insight into the existing and future operation
of Union Station from a pedestrian flow perspective,
and to refine concepts for the layout of retail,
commercial and transit-related components within
Union Station. This work was coordinated with
other transportation planning elements (for example,
loading, servicing, taxi stands) and other initiatives
in the immediate area, and was intended to answer
four fundamental questions:
• How will the proposed Union Station
Future Concept Plan impact on pedestrian
flow patterns?
• Is the Future Concept Plan appropriate from
a pedestrian flow perspective?
• Where are the internal and external congestion
points, and what conditions cause congestion?
• Where are the areas of flexibility that could
provide opportunities for other revitalization
initiatives?
Phase 2 focused on three distinct configurations
for the station and surrounding environment, the
Current Configuration (2003), the Future Concept
Plan (2021), and the Future Concept Plan (2021)
with a new Northwest pedestrian connection. All
configurations were simulated with the pedestrian
volume forecasts for the 15 minute morning peak.
industry standard planning and design guidelines
for pedestrian behaviour. It was also necessary to
improve the resolution of the information produced
during Phase 1. A series of statistical methods,
cross-checks, and operator-approved
assumptions were used to produce a minute-by-
minute breakdown pedestrian movement, from
entry into the study area to final exit.
The primary differentiator between MassMotion
and to other pedestrian simulation tools is that it
actually models pedestrian behaviour rather than
testing a user’s preconceptions about pedestrian
behaviour. For example, if a room has doors on all
four sides, other pedestrian simulation tools
require the user to input what percentage of the
room’s population will use each door. In a
MassMotion simulation, each agent decides which
door to use based on what it knows about the
distance to its goal from each door and how
long the queue is for each door.
There are two noteworthy advantages to such a
system. The first is that in MassMotion an agent
only needs to be assigned an end goal to navigate
through an environment. In contrast, other
models require the user to input percentage splits
at all potential branching points and for all sub
groups within a simulated population. Therefore a
MassMotion model requires far less time to set up
or modify, and scales much more efficiently as the
complexity of the simulation environment
increases.
The second advantage is that MassMotion actually
predicts how rational pedestrians will navigate
through an environment and how they will respond
dynamically to constantly evolving situations.
Other tools (as a result of the static route
assignment approach) are not able to predict how
pedestrian congestion and route choice will evolve
throughout the course of simulation. For these
© Arup
Figure 4. Detail of historically listed station building
reasons, MassMotion was considered an ideal
choice to model a future Union Station that had
both a reconfigured layout and doubling of current
pedestrian volumes.
During the calibration phase of the simulations a
phenomena was observed which has had a
significant impact on how the agent behaviours
were designed. The original assumption about
commuter behaviour was that they are focused
on selecting the most efficient route to their
destinations. In reality this is only partially true, as
even expert users of a facility will not have perfect
awareness of distance and congestion on any
given route. Furthermore individual assessments
of route cost may include preferences for factors
that are not captured within the range of variables
in the software. As a result, agents were permitted
to select from a range of available routes that were
within a specified deviation from the most efficient
route. This had the effect of distributing the
simulated pedestrian flows more smoothly
throughout the model and also resulted in statistical
results that were significantly better aligned to
survey data. The results suggest that the model
provides a very clear indication of how the station
will be used, and that the behavioural profile could
be applied to future scenarios with confidence.
After extensive simulation of the proposed Future
Concept Plan in its current configuration, Arup
concluded that the proposed layout of the station
in the Plan is appropriate from a pedestrian flow
perspective will also support the pedestrian
volumes estimated for 2021.

30 | research review
While there are some internal areas which
experience high densities of commuters during the
morning peak, the flow of traffic is consistent and
does not degrade to conditions of static
congestion. The external pedestrian routes at Union
Station provide adequate capacity for demand at all
areas except for the sidewalks and crosswalks at
corners of Front Street and Bay Streets, and the
corner of Front Street and York Street.

An additional benefit of the modelling was that it

allowed Arup to identify a number of underutilized
areas. Further testing of platform staircase
locations, retail and layouts may reveal the potential
for significant gains in terms of balancing passenger
flow patterns and improving the user experience.

Next Steps
The City of Toronto is currently considering
options for Union Station Revitalization, including
opportunities to reconfigure the internal Station

layout and connections in a way that supports
pedestrian movement and compliments the
highest and best use of space within the building.
Within this context, the City will continue to study
pedestrian movements within and beyond the
Station to increase its effectiveness as a major
transportation hub.
As the next step in the initiative (Phase 3), a
simulation is required for the commuter weekday
afternoon peak 15-minute period.
The model simulation and analysis envisioned in
Phase 3 will address the following questions:
• How will the proposed layout plan impact
pedestrian flow and queuing/waiting patterns,
particularly in the future pedestrian concourses?
• What are the opportunities for pedestrian flow
and station uses (for example, the expansion of
retail outlets in some areas?
• Where are the internal and external congestion
points, what conditions may be causing
Figure 5. Simulated morning peak activity in 2021
Conclusions
The process of policy development and
confirmation involved a wide range of interests
from the station operators, decision makers and
the public. The importance of pedestrian activities
at Union Station and its environs, and the need to
plan for and accommodate growth, are clearly
articulated in City policy and programs.
From a modelling perspective, the Phase 2 study
was an exceptional test for the MassMotion
toolset. The very high volumes of pedestrians
being simulated, in combination with the complex
layout of the station facility, demonstrated the
usefulness of an agent based approach to
pedestrian simulation and analysis.
During the study MassMotion has proved itself as
an invaluable tool. It allows visualization of
pedestrian flows, and identifies areas where
© Arup
References
Arup Canada (2005). Union Station Pedestrian
Movement Study-Phase 1
Arup Canada (2006). Union Station Pedestrian
Movement Study-Phase 2
City of Toronto (2002). Official Plan
City of Toronto (2002). Pedestrian Charter
City of Toronto (2004). Union Station Pedestrian
Planning Principles and Objectives
City of Toronto (2004b). Union Station Master Plan
City of Toronto (2006). Union Station District Plan
Fruin, J. ([1971] 1987). Pedestrian Planning and Design,
Revised Edition. Mobile, AL: Elevator World
Acknowledgments
Arup wishes to acknowledge and thank Tim Laspa and
Jeff Bateman of the City of Toronto Planning Department
for their co-authorship of the original version of this paper
which was presented at the Walk 21 conference in 2007.

congestion, and what measures may be further design refinements are required,
required to alleviate unacceptable levels particularly where pedestrian levels of service
of congestion? need improvement.

The work plan envisioned for the next phase of
pedestrian planning will apply the MassMotion
model and City database for Union Station to
create a simulation of current conditions, and
forecast conditions (2021) for existing and future
networks. The model will confirm anticipated levels
of service for all key locations (ie doorways, stairs,
ramps, escalators, corridors, etc.) within the
Station and adjacent pedestrian areas, and
provide visual pedestrian flow simulations
within the three-dimensional environment.
Arup has continued to develop MassMotion by
improving the software based on lessons learned
during studies of Union Station. User interface
improvements have significantly reduced setup
time and user input errors, while the way-finding
algorithms have been expanded to incorporate
signage and signals. In the future, it will be
possible to build on the Phase 2 work and
consider other station configurations and
traffic conditions.
As the cost of developing pedestrian modelling
applications decreases, or as applications
become more scalable and user friendly in nature,
pedestrian modelling and simulation work is likely
to become commonplace. In this context, an
integrated planning approach that merges
technology and the human experience will
become increasingly important.

research review | 31
32 | research review
Air Ventilation Assessment by External Wind
Modelling Using Different Turbulence Models
Author: Raymond Yau, Sui-Hang Yan, Rumin Yin

This system is aimed to provide effective air flow

in the external macro built-up environment which
Abstract would not lead to adverse or restricted conditions
to cause human discomfort or be unfavorable for
Hong Kong is one of the densest populated cities in the world. High-density
the predominant land use activities. The primary
living has the advantages of efficient land use, public transportation as well as objective of the assignment is to explore the
the closer proximity of daily amenities. However, this planning style has its feasibility of establishing some protocols to assess
disadvantage on the benefits of natural environment – wind ventilation. The the effects of major planning and development
wind performance at pedestrian level in Hong Kong is more and more proposals on external air movement for
achievement of enhanced macro wind environment.
concerned by the public due to more and more wall-type building cluster built
The objectives would involve examination of the
in Hong Kong that block the wind penetration. Recently, a guideline on building methodology, standards, scope and mechanism
ventilation performance, namely Air Ventilation Assessment (AVA) system has for possible application in assessing the external
been issued to provide a good practice on building design. Computational Fluid air movement impact of planning and development
Dynamics (CFD), as one of the accepted assessment tools, has been applied proposals; and examination of the practicality,
prima-facie reliability, cost-effectiveness and
for several Air Ventilation Assessment studies. However, there is always debate
limitations of the assessment protocols to support
on the accuracy of the simulation result. Conventional RANS turbulence model their feasibility for general application in future
may not be accurate enough for complex flow but more accurate Large Eddy planning and development proposals if considered
Simulation (LES) is impracticable for practical applications. Combining time- necessary. It is not the purpose of this assignment
efficient of RANS model and accuracy of LES model, hybrid model – Detached to address air ventilation performance of individual
building designs or indoor space designs, nor the
Eddy Simulation (DES) receives concern in modern flow modeling industry. This
air quality impact assessment for air pollutants
study was focused on comparing the turbulence model performance of RANS control that are respectively governed by the
type models, including Spalart-Allmaras model (SA), Renormalized Group k-e Buildings Ordinance and Environmental Impact
(RNG) and V2F model (V2F) and DES model. The simulation results were Assessment Ordinance.
verified with the full-scale wind measurement of Shijuku Area by Architectural
Institute of Japan (AIJ) Group. External wind modelling under environmental
Air Ventilation Assessment System
wind engineering approach will be discussed in detail. It was found that the
AVA system proposed an indicator, Wind Velocity
DES turbulence model could provide generally better results than other RANS
Ratio (VR), which is defined as pedestrian wind
turbulence models, especially at congested locations. However, it was also velocity over wind velocity at the top of wind
found the DES model is more sensible to grid resolution. boundary layer (usually at 600m or above city
centre). VR indicates how much wind availability
of a location could be experienced and enjoyed
by pedestrians on ground taking into account the
surrounding buildings, topography and the
Introduction proposed development. The site wind availability
Excessive urbanization makes some metropolis • Tight, narrow streets not aligning with the (incoming wind condition from surrounding) is
like New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong prevailing wind, and with very tall buildings on defined by the Meso-scale mathematics model
etc. paid for a heavy cost on poor ventilated both sides, resulting in very deep urban canyons. (eg MM5) or large-scale wind tunnel test. In
environment. Air pollutants, heat island effect, general, the characteristic of the site wind
• A lack of general urban permeability: few open availability data are reported in 16 directions with
lack of natural ventilation, these sunk costs of
spaces, no or minimal gaps between buildings respective wind frequency. Test points, where
high-density living are such that they have an
or within large and continuous buildings, and VRs are reported, are scattered over the proposed
adverse effect on living standard. Good planning
excessive podium structure reducing the air site area and its surrounding to identify the wind
and building designs are critically important. The
volume at pedestrian level. performance under pre- and post development.
unique urban fabric of Hong Kong creates a
special ventilation environment. Its pattern of • Large building lots with insufficient air Based on the VR of the test points, the resultant
streets, building heights, open spaces, density, spaces, and with building on them not wind environment of the project can be assessed.
features, landscape and so on determine the generally designed for wind permeability Computational Fluid Dynamics is a recommended
environmental quality (natural air ventilation, solar and forming wind barriers. tool for AVA study. The model area is one of the
radiation, daylight, air temperature, etc) both prime concerns under AVA system; the area
• Projections from building and obstruction
within buildings and outside. Some of the more under consideration is classified as project area,
on narrow streets further intrude into the
important views of built environment of Hong assessment area and the surrounding area. The
breezeways and air paths.
Kong could be summarized as follows: project area is defined by the project site boundaries
• A general lack of greenery, shading and and includes all open areas within the project that
• A lack of well considered network of
soft landscape in the urban area. pedestrians are likely to access. The assessment
breezeways and air paths towards the
prevailing wind. area of the project includes the project’s surrounding
• Wall-like buildings at waterfront prevent
up to a perpendicular distance H (H = tallest
wind penetrating to hinterland.
• Tall and bulky buildings closely packed building on site) from the project boundary. The
together forming undesirable windbreaks With the intention to improve the wind test points within the assessment area indicate the
to the urban fabric behind. environment of Hong Kong, Planning Department wind impact of the proposed site to its surrounding.
of Hong Kong SAR Government has issued a And the surrounding area is defined as 2H area
• Uniform building heights resulting in wind
guideline on building ventilation performance, from the project site boundary. This surrounding
skimming over the top and not being
namely Air Ventilation Assessment system area is found important as it can moderate the
rerouted into the urban fabric.
to provide a good practice on building design.

research review | 33
Air Ventilation Assessment by External Wind
Modelling Using Different Turbulence Models

Point 6 NNW
N
NNE Point 11 NNW
N
NNE
Key
NW NE NW NE

0.6 0.7 EXP

0.5 ENE 0.6
WNW
0.4
WNW 0.5 ENE SA
0.3 0.4
0.2
0.3
0.2
RNG
0.1
W E W
0.1
E
V2F
DES
WSW ESE
WSW ESE

SW SE
SW SE

SSW SSE
S SSW SSE
S

Point 17 NNW
N
NNE
Point 28 NNW
N
NNE

NW NE NW NE

0.8 0.8
0.7 0.7
WNW 0.6 ENE WNW 0.6 ENE
0.5 0.5
0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3
Figure 1. Measurement points 0.2
0.1
0.2
0.1
W E W E

incoming wind to give a much appropriate

incoming wind profile and turbulent structure
rather than a prescribed wind profile.However,
CFD still receives challenge on modeling accuracy
precisely, but it is still well accepted that it could
capture general wind flow behavior. One of the
modeling challenges on CFD modeling is selection
of turbulence model. Conventional RANS
turbulence model may not accurate enough for
complex flow but more accurate Large Eddy
Simulation (LES) is impracticable for practical
applications. Combining time-efficient of RANS
model and accuracy of LES model, hybrid model/
Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) receives concern
in modern modeling industry. In this study, it is
tried to compare the turbulence model
performance of RANS type models, including
Spalart-Allmaras model (SA), Renormalized Group
k-e (RNG), V2F model (V2F) and DES model.
Methodology
The simulation results would be verified with the
full-scale wind measurement of Shijuku Area by
Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Group.
The field measurement was undertaken in 1977,
over 30 measurement points data point were
available (Figure. 1). The area of concern is about
1km x 1km. The wind velocity was measured by
three-cup anemometers and the measurement
heights are different according to its locations
which are 3-9m above the ground surface.
The measured velocity was normalized by the
wind speed at reference point. These points were
at the top of Shinjuku Mitsui Building (237m)
for the NE-N-NW wind directions, and at the top
of the KDD Building (187m) for the other wind
directions. The site consists of high density and
low rise zone at the northern and eastern part
high-rise zone at the centre, and some open
spaces are found at the south-western part of
the site. Also some wind corridors can be clearly
identified at the site and therefore examination on
effectiveness of wind corridor can be held on
same simulation.
It gives a benefit to investigate how these highrise
and low-rise buildings interacted in terms of air
ventilation.The STAR-CD Version 3.26
WSW
SW
SSW
S S
Figure 2. Result on comparison for 16 wind directions
Computational Fluid Dynamics Program was
employed in this study to calculate the velocity
distribution within the flow domain of the CFD
model. STAR-CD is one of the leading multi-
purpose thermofluid analysis codes for engineering
and construction industry. It is widely favored by
engineers requiring a robust and efficient software
tool, capable of modeling fluid flow, heat transfer,
mass transfer and chemical reaction. To represent
the physical phenomena resulting from the wind,
the aforementioned turbulence model employed
while the fluid is specified as incompressible. In
present study, the high order scheme Monotone
Advection and Reconstruction Scheme (MARS)
scheme is applied to discretize the momentum
and turbulence equation. And the temporal
discretisation was handled by fully implicit scheme.
Then the PISO algorithm was employed the tackle
pressure-velocity linked equations CFD simulations
were conducted for 16 wind directions. The CFD
model was built-up according to the CAD data
found in data published by AIJ Group The
computational domain size was 3km x 3km which
is triple size of the building coverage in CAD to
ensure elimination of edge effect. The domain
consist 4,000,000 cells and cells were refined
at the buildings area to enhance the modeling
accuracy. Four turbulence models were chosen
in this study which are Spalart-Allmaras model
(SA), standard k-model (KE) and V2F model
(V2F) and DES model.
Result and discussion
Figure 2 shows some extracted point results
under 16 wind directions. The leftmost graphs
(point 6 and 17) show the points results which are
relatively accurate, and the rightmost graphs
(point 11 and 28) show those are inaccurate.
For the measurement point result point 2, 6, 15
and 17, it shows that CFD could give a good
prediction on general pattern over 16 wind
ESE WSW ESE
SE SW SE
SSE SSW SSE
directions if the point is located at the centre of
domain and surrounded by certain layers of
buildings. In contrast, point 11 and 28 could not
give a good wind prediction as they are located at
the edge of the building model. By this observation,
it can conclude that a “wind pre-conditioning”
layers of buildings is important for providing an
accurate simulation result. The VR of the
measurement is easily been over-predicted/
under-predicted even a pretreated wind profile is
plugged into the simulation. This finding is coherent
to the philosophy of the 2R surrounding area as
stipulated at the AVA system. ie there would have
1H area for the “wind pre-conditioning” layers of
buildings on ensuring modeling accuracy.
Windward condition
Figure 3 demonstrates some point results
under windward condition. The prediction for
all turbulence models could give relatively good
results except point 32. It may be due to the
aforementioned reason that there has not enough
preconditioning zone for the incoming wind for
giving a right incoming wind profile. Also, all
models tend to over-predict the VR for the points
where the prevailing wind is coming from an open
space (Point 7, 8 and 9), and under-predict the
incoming flow for wind coming from a wind
channel (Point 20). In general, DES model could
give better result among the others while
comparing with measurement result, and the
second accurate model would be V2F model.
Leeward condition
Figure 4 indicates some point results under
leeward condition. All RANS models give a fairly
good result in predictions but DES outperforms the
others obviously, especially for point 21, 22 and
26. In Kataoka et al’s urban wind study, it

34 | research review
compared RANS model and LES model 0.70 0.40
performance for the wake field behind building, Windward EXP Leeward EXP
0.60 SA 0.35 SA
it was found that wake zone produced by RANS RNG
RNG
was larger than LES and larger velocity defect was V2F 0.30 V2F
0.50 DES
DES
found. Current finding is coincident with Kataoka 0.25
0.40
etal’s observation that RANS would underestimate 0.20

VR

VR
the wind velocity at the wake zone.Here, DES 0.30
0.15
could give similar result as LES did at the wake
0.20
zone since DES was run as a LES model at this 0.10

far wall region. For point 16, it is located at the 0.10 0.05
gap building two high-rise building, all turbulence 0.00
0.00
models could give good prediction at this location 7,WSW 8,SSW 9,WSW 20,ESE 32,W 2,NE 16,W 21,SSE 22,SSE 26,E
Point Point
even the measurement point is located behind the
building. Aforementioned, RANS model trend to Figure 3. Windward condition comparison Figure 4. Leeward condition comparison
underestimated the wind velocity at wake zone,
however, in this case, the wake zone is destroyed 0.60 0.30
by the second building right behind the first Open Area EXP Congested EXP
SA SA
building. Vortex shedding created by first building 0.50 0.25
RNG RNG
may not used to entered to this wake zone as the V2F V2F
0.40 DES 0.20 DES
vortex was deflect by the second building. Hence,
RANS model may able to give a good estimation 0.30 0.15
VR

VR
in wind velocity there. There would be no great
difference between turbulence models in 0.20 0.10

velocity prediction.
0.10 0.05

Open Space
Figure 5 demonstrates some point results under
open space condition. All turbulence models fail
to give an accurate result at the open space area.
DES model gives a comparatively worst result
among all models. It may be the reason that the
grid size at the open space is relatively large which
makes the small turbulent is filtered out in the DES
model. According to Bunge et al, DES length scale
is determined by the minimal of RANS length scale
and grid scale times a model constant. Which
implies that grid should be fine enough to switch
on the LES sub-grid model, if not, it would be
functioned as a RANS model. From current study
results, it can be observed that predictions by
DES are similar to those for RANS model since the
grid size is not fine enough at open space region.
Congested Space
The incoming wind condition for congested space
measurement point is shown in Figure 6. As the
measurement point is located deep in the building
cluster, the flow behavior for these measurement
locations is similar to the flow over a street
canyon. On the extensive review on CFD modeling
of street canyons flow by Li et al, it was
summarized that RANS type model could reproduce
the general flow pattern but under estimated the
velocity within the cavity. Similar conclusion was also
found in some numerical studies (Walton et al and
Sahm et al). On current simulation results, it is also
observed that RANS model trend to under-predict
the flow velocity in this region. The under-estimation
problem would worse if the canyon depth becomes
deeper, ie point 10. DES could give a relative
better results but it is still under-estimation the
wind velocity within the cavity.
0.00
29,NE 31,W 13,NE
Point
Figure 5. Open space condition
Conclusion
This paper introduces the Air Ventilation
Assessment (AVA) system of Hong Kong, which
providing a constructive guideline to the building
industry on evaluating the “air-right” building
design. As Computational Fluid Dynamics is the
recommended assessment tool for this system,
prediction accuracy of this tool is one of the prime
concerns of assessor. This study presents some
modeling concern on urban wind modeling and a
comparative study on difference turbulence model
including Spalart-Allmaras model (SA), standard
k-model (KE) and V2F model (V2F) and DES model.
The simulation results suggested that the
“pre-conditioning” layer of building is important
for providing a good incoming wind condition.
The measurement location should be located
well within the buildup area in order to capture a
well-conditioned incoming wind. This philosophy is
already reflected in the 2H area of the AVA system
RANS models are the industrial standards in
engineering practices due to its simplicity and
relativity low computational demand. However,
this type of model has its limitations on prediction
accuracy. Implementation of DES model is
relatively complex and the computational cost may
be 10 times of RANS one. The simulation results
shown that DES model outperforms the others
at both windward, leeward and congested
locations although DES model may not give a
good prediction at open space due to grid
resolution issue. DES model is recommended
for studying external wind modeling.
0.00
3,NE 5,W 10,NE
Point
Figure 6. Congested space condition
References
A. Walton, A.Y.S. Cheng and W.C. Yeung. Large-eddy
simulation of pollution dispersion in an urban street
canyon–part I: comparison with field data. Atmospheric
Environment. Vol. 36 (2002) 3601-3613
Architectural Institute of Japan. Guidebook for practical
applications of CFD to pedestrian wind environment around
buildings. Architectural Institute of Japan, Japan, 2007
CD adapco Group. STAR-CD – Methodology.
CD adapco Group.UK, 2003
H. Kataoka, T. Tamura, Y Okuda and M. Ohashi.
Numerical evaluation of the wake field behind high-rise
building by RANS and LES. 12th International
Conference on Wind Engineering. Australia, 2007.
P. Sahm, P. Louka,M. Ketzel, E. Guilloteau and J. Sini.
Numerical and experimental modeling of pollutant
dispersion in a street canyon. Journal of Wind Engineering
and Industrial Aerodynamics. Vol. 90 (2002) 321-339
Planning Department of HKSAR. Feasibility study
for establishment of air ventilation assessment system.
Hong Kong, 2005
U. Bung, C. Mockett and F. Thiele. Guidelines for
implementing Detached-Eddy Simulation using different
models. Aerospace science and Technology.
Vol. 11, (2007) 376-385
X.X. Li, C.H. Liu, D.Y.C. Leung and K.M. Lam, Recent
progress in CFD modeling of wind field and pollutant
transport in street canyons. Atmospheric environment.
Vol. 40 (2006) 5640-5658
Acknowledgments
Prof. Mochida, Prof. Yoshie, Dr. Kataoka, and Prof. Tominaga
of AIJ CFD Group for providing the experimental data and
invaluable comments. Arup Group Ltd’s Building Sector Board
and Design and Technology Executive for providing the
joint funding to this enabling technology research project.
Collaboration
Professor Akashi Mochida - Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Professor Ryuichiro Yoshie – Tokyo Polytechnic University,
Tokyo, Japan. Professor Yoshihide Tominaga - Niigata
Institute of Technology, Niigata, Japan. Dr Hiroto Kataoka –
Technical Research Institute, Obayashi Corp. Tokyo, Japan

research review | 35
36 | research review
Innovative Façade Technology Based on
Pultruded Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites
Author: Mikkel Kragh

There is a need for façade systems, which

respond to the building energy regulations as
Abstract well as prepare for significantly more stringent
requirements in the future. The technology must
Sustainability is increasingly on the global agenda. In the construction industry,
be environmentally responsible as planning and
standards are imposed by legislation such as the EU Energy Performance legislation are increasingly used as instruments
of Buildings Directive. At times the requirements conflict with architectural to drive a more sustainable development.
trends of curtain walling and transparency. The paper outlines some of Visionary clients will often rank sustainability
the limitations of current façade technology and identifies scope and very highly from the outset, while comparatively
more conservative clients will need to address
opportunities for development.
the issues in order to comply with building
regulations and/or get planning permission.
A consortium has launched a development project, exploring innovative use
of known technology. The aim is to facilitate high quality, high performance Sustainability is a complex topic, which lies
architectural solutions in a cost effective way. And high performance is meant to beyond the scope of this introductory paper.
It is, however, important to note that high
include sustainability in this context. Novel applications of composite materials
performance should not be achieved at the
and emerging technologies are rendered feasible by a blurring of traditional expense of architectural expression. Rather,
component boundaries and a rethink of industrialised manufacturing. high performance façade systems should ideally
facilitate interesting and exciting architecture as
The emphasis is on integration of design and procurement processes as part of the sustainability agenda. As someone
well as integration of components and subsystems within a modular product once said: “All good architecture should also be
architecture. The paper introduces the aspects of integration, identifies some of sustainable design, whereas sustainable design
the key challenges and unfolds a scenario for a novel approach to economically is not necessarily good architecture”.

and environmentally sustainable building envelope systems.

Introduction
This paper introduces a commercial development
project, which in a number of ways challenges
conventional thinking and modes of working in
the construction industry. In essence, the project
deals with prefabrication and industrialised
architectural technology in a time where
construction needs to focus on the agendas
of climate change and sustainability.
The project originated under the Building Lab DK
programme, which, over a limited period of time,
facilitates innovation in the construction sector.
Within this context, it is key that the project explores
ways of working across traditional boundaries
between disciplines and commercial players.
The project focuses on integration at several
levels – Integration of physical systems and
façade components as well as integration of the
design, procurement and production processes.
After an exploratory pre-project stage, a consortium
has been set up with founding partners spanning
across business advice, design and engineering,
design and manufacturing, materials and
components supply, installation and architectural
design. The result is a unique combination of
highly specialised know-how and differentiated
commercial drivers, which poses both challenges
and truly unusual opportunities. The aim is to
draw upon existing technologies and develop
novel applications. The short (22 months)
programme and the constituent partners will not
High performance facade systems in
a changing world
The building envelope has a major impact on
both the indoor environment and the energy
consumption of any modern building.
The performance of commercially available curtain
walling systems is enhanced incrementally through
design optimisation and development of glazing
technology. In terms of thermal performance, the
principal limiting factor is the framing, which is
typically based on use of thermally broken
aluminium extrusions. The combination of
aluminium frames and the glazing edge conditions
leads to linear thermal losses and relatively high
thermal transmittance (U-value). The benefit of
high performance insulation is somewhat limited
by the performance of the framing and it can
therefore be hard to justify the associated costs.
© Cabot Corporation
A systemic and integrated solution
The aim of the project is to develop a commercial
framework and set a new benchmark in terms of
façade performance and procurement. The brief is
both ambitious and challenging:
• An integrated façade system, utilising
‘new’ materials
• Marked performance advantages over
conventional solutions
• High degree of integration of standard
and bespoke sub-systems
• Industrialised manufacturing
• Facilitation of mass customisation
• A business model for commercialisation
of systems and processes
In addition to these material and performance
attributes, the system needs to respond to
variables associated with architectural degrees
of freedom and still be commercially viable.
The project explores the use of fibre reinforced
polymers (FRP) in construction, initially with
particular emphasis on pultruded FRP, which has
had a substantial uptake in applications such as
bridges, off-shore and transportation, where its
attributes are key to its success.
While most of the challenges the consortium has
set itself can be said to be generic, and many of
them are already dealt with in currently available
solutions, it is the opportunities offered by the
properties of the FRP material, which have led

allow for fundamental research to be carried out to the initial brief.

as part of the project. The decision to design an entirely new curtain
walling system brings about interesting
Figure 1. Aerogel - example of high performance opportunities in terms of optimisation.
translucent insulation material

research review | 37
Innovative Façade Technology Based on
Pultruded Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites
© Permasteelisa
Figure 2. Installation of unitised curtain wall
In a truly integrated way, the system can be
prepared to receive a range of products, including
emerging technologies, with interfaces that are
well-defined from the very early stages.
Materials/Methods
Curtain walling
Curtain walling is a form of vertical building
enclosure, which supports no load other than its
own weight, that of ancillary components and the
environmental forces which act upon it (CWCT, 2000).
Unitised curtain walling is the preferred method of
construction in high rise buildings as installation
can be carried out from within the building, without
the need for external access and scaffolding.
Moreover, prefabrication in a controlled (factory)
environment facilitates quality assurance.
Unitised systems comprise narrow, storey-height
units of steel or aluminium framework, glazing and
panels pre-assembled under controlled, factory
conditions. Mechanical handling is required to
position, align and fix units unto pre-positioned
brackets attached to the concrete floor slab or the
structural frame. Unitised systems are more complex
in terms of framing systems, have higher direct costs
and are less common than stick systems (based
on profiles and panels assembled on site). The
smaller number of site sealed joints in the unitised
curtain walling simplifies and hastens enclosure of
the building, requires fewer site staff and can make
such systems cost effective. The reduced number of
site-made joints compared with stick systems,
generally leads to reduction in air and water leakage
resulting from poor installation (CWCT, 2000).
Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites
In general engineering terms, a composite is a
combination of two or more materials used together
for any reason. This paper is only concerned with
fibre-reinforced polymer composites.
38 | research review
Resin injection
Heating and curing
Reinforcement
Figure 3. Diagrammatic illustration of pultrusion process
© Fiberline
Figure 4. Example of structural FRP profile
Fibre-reinforced polymer composites is a general
term used to describe a wide range of products
made up of a combination of fibres in a matrix
material. These materials are used extensively,
particularly in the marine, aerospace and wind
turbine industries, where their high strength to
weight ratios and good performance in harsh
environments mean that they are the best choice
(Cripps, A. 2002).
In the construction industry fibre-reinforced polymer
composites are widely used in applications such as
cladding, pipes, for repair and in strengthening
work. Construction makes up around 30 percent of
the total market for FRP composites, second only
to the automotive sector. However, there are many
situations where they are not used. This may be
because alternative and better understood
materials are able to meet the requirements of the
project, for significantly lower initial costs. There
are other conditions however, where the best
solution would be the use of FRP composites, but
they are still not being used (Cripps, A. 2002).
Pultruded FRP
With a view to maximising the industrialisation of
the manufacturing processes and develop a
modular product architecture the project explores
the use of pultruded FRP profiles. In the pultrusion
process, tightly packed tows of fibres, impregnated
with catalysed resin, are pulled through a shaped
die to form highly aligned, continuous sections of
simple or complex geometry. Curing of the resin
may be achieved either by heating the die itself
or by the use of dielectric heating (Cripps, A. 2002).
Solid and hollow sections may be produced by
this process, and because of the high fibre
content (70 percent by volume is achievable) and
the high degree of the fibre alignment resulting
from the tensile force used to pull the fibre bundle
through the die, extremely good mechanical
properties can be obtained (the highest achievable
in any variety of composite). Off-axis fibres may
Ventilation
© Fiberline
Pulling devices Saw
© Fiberline
Figure 5. Pultrusion plant. Glass fibres entering
and finished pultrusions leaving the die
also be introduced into the structure if required
(Cripps, A. 2002). Typical applications of pultruded
shapes are concrete reinforcing bars and
pre-stressing tendons, I-beams and other sections,
roof trusses, space frames, walkways, shear
stiffeners, electrification gantries, racking, etc.
These racking systems are produced by joining
pultruded sections together in the same manner as
for timber or steel frameworks (Cripps, A. 2002).
In many current structural applications the FRP
material is typically replacing steel or timber and
the design of the connections is similar to
conventional steel or timber designs. This approach
to some extent disregards the unique (and variable)
properties of the FRP material. In contrast, the
novel facade concept is being developed with a
focus on the intrinsic properties of the material
and the opportunities offered in terms of detailing
and bonding of interfaces and joints.
FRP material properties
One of the advantages of FRP is that it is possible
to modify the characteristics of the composite by
varying the matrix, the type and content of fibres.
Table 1 on the following page sets out typical
properties for the most common fibres and resins,
and demonstrate how strength and stiffness are
bound with other factors such as cost and weight
(Cripps, A. 2002).
A full description of the material properties lies
beyond the scope of this paper. The specific
composition of the FRP composite for the
façade application is being determined by careful
consideration of the manufacturing (pultrusion)
process, required façade performance (fire,
strength, thermal insulation, etc) and cost. The initial
choice of matrix aims to reduce the risk involved in
the early stages of development, while future
stages will explore alternative matrix designs.
The ability to manufacture large hollow sections,
potentialy without significant thermal bridging,

© Make Architects
Figure 6. Studies of façade panels
impacts on the way the system is conceived and
detailed. The fact that the structural material has a
low thermal conductivity means that the overall
system depth can be minimised, which in turn
leads to a compact (or slim) facade system.
Results and discussion
An innovative approach to development work
An important aspect of the project is the close
collaboration between leading industry partners
and non-manufacturing partners with a range of
highly specialised skills and a global presence.
The collaboration will only be successful as long
as the commercial framework, or the business
model, allows for all of the partners to benefit,
albeit in very different ways. In addition to the
measurable benefits of return on investment, the
cross-company collaboration allows each of the
partners to develop and optimise solutions beyond
their own core business. This is potentially a very
important aspect, as it is exactly the facilitation of
holistic thinking that can lead to truly innovative
products and solutions.
Less tangible benefits to the partners result from
the generous access to technical expertise and
general networking opportunities and a number of
collaborations are already taking place. Architects
within the consortium will challenge the direction of
the technical development and demand aesthetic
and functional flexibility. While the architects are
influencing the brief, they will also gain an
understanding of the potential of the system, which
will inform their thinking on their projects. Ultimately,
the architectural partners identify the first projects,
which are best suited for this innovative technology.
It is easily a win-win situation.
There is no formal obligation by the supporting
institutions to disseminate the results or generate
income. There is no intention to carry fundamental
research as part of the project. The sole focus is on
the development of a commercially viable product
and a business model, which will successfully
attract funding for a second stage of the venture.
The project has identified numerous areas of
research, which are being discussed with research
centres and academia in parallel with product
development and commercialisation work.
Moreover, the consortium partners are reaching
out to a series of possible networking partners as
Fibre Tensile strength (GPa) Young’s Modulus (GPa)
Aramid 3.15-3.60 58-130
Carbon 2.10-5.5 200-500
Glass 2.4-3.5 72-87
Resin Tensile strength (MPa) Young’s Modulus (GPa)
Polyester 50-75 3.1-4.6
Epoxy 60-85 2.6-3.8
Phenolic 60-80 3.0-4.0
Table 1. Typical properties for the most common fibres and resins
the project progresses. These partners are in a
position to inform the development work, thereby
facilitating integration of proprietary products.
Conversely, learning about the integrated design
concept enables network partners to develop and
adapt their products to seamlessly integrate with
the system. The network partners are materials
suppliers, glass processors, and suppliers of
systems such as heating, ventilation,
photovoltaics, lighting etc.
The first concept
A first concept has been developed. The concept
is aimed at maximum utilisation of the intrinsic
properties of the composite material within the
context of curtain walling:
• Low thermal conductivity
• Large pultruded FRP sections
• Compact (slim) system
• Structurally bonded connections
• Lightweight
• Limited number of parts
• Appearance (potentially translucent)
The current concept addresses the fabrication and
assembly processes and actively aims to minimise
the number of parts and the need for machining. The
result is a potentially highly rationalised manufacturing
process and reduced risk in terms of workmanship.
The architects within the consortium have been
part of the process and have reacted very positively
to the opportunities. Rather than attempting to
replicate solutions based on conventional
technology, the new generation of systems
potentially offers a new architectural language.
This perspective have been embraced by the
architects, who have responded with studies of
new interpretations of the building envelope.
An important attribute of the development version
of the facade system is its compactness. The
reduction in facade depth as compared with
conventional products can translate into
maximisation of lettable floor area for a given
building outline. The value proposition to the
investors consequently not only covers high
performance and low carbon design, but also return
on investment in a direct and measurable way.
Density (10³kg/m³) Cost (£/kg)
1.39-1.47 20
1.74-2.20 10-200
2.46-2.58 2.5
Density (10³kg/m³) Cost (£/kg)
1.11-1.25 ~ 2.5
1.11-1.20 ~ 5-10
1.00-1.25 ~2
Conclusion
In parallel with the development work, a more or
less formal network is being be established in
order to both let the industry know about the
initiative and invite manufacturers of materials and
emerging technologies to develop compatible
and complementary components and solutions.
The ability to respond to the different architectural
requirements on a project-to-project basis will drive
the development of more versions of the system,
until one can finally speak of a ‘family of systems’
or even a catalogue of configurable solutions.
The success of the concept depends entirely
on the way it is used on real buildings and pilot
projects will prove instrumental to getting the
technology ‘off the ground’. The project team is
already testing the concepts against live projects
as a way of ensuring that the solutions are both
buildable and relevant.
In the first instance, the main objective is to
develop a sound concept, which is thoroughly put
through the tests needed to be deemed truly fit
for purpose as well as commercially viable.
A network is beginning to form and a host of
emerging technologies will eventually more or less
seamlessly integrate with the system. The aim is a
highly modular set of solutions, where high
performance is not penalised, but rather encouraged
through integration and maximised utilisation of the
core of the system – the materials and the design.
References
Cripps, A. 2002. Fibre-reinforced polymer
composites in construction. CIRIA C564.
CWCT. 2000. Curtain Wall Types. Technical Note
No. 14. Centre for Window and Cladding Technology.
Acknowledgments
The project entitled The Integrated Building Envelope
is supported by the Danish Realdania foundation
(www.realdania.dk) under the Building Lab DK programme
(www.buildinglab.dk). For further information visit the
project website: www.integratedbuildingenvelope.com.
Collaboration
Permasteelisa Group: www.permasteelisa.com
Fiberline Composites: www.fiberline.com
Art Andersen: www.art-andersen.dk
Cabot: www.cabot-corp.com
3XN: www.3xn.com
Make: www.makearchitects.com
research review | 39
40 | research review
Using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS)
to Predict and Model Fire Propagation
Author: Andrew Coles and Armin Wolski

This “extreme” ignition source, unlikely to be

present in an actual car fire, was selected because
Abstract most of the interior lining materials are fire
retardant and it was felt that a small (trash bag
The most promising long-term prospect for modeling flame spread and fire
sized) fire would not cause significant flame
growth at building scales is the coupling of condensed phase fuel generation propagation. Using a large ignition source strength
models to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models that simulate the ensures that fire spread occurs after a minimal
gas-phase fluid mechanics, combustion, and heat transfer aspects of a incubation period, ultimately requiring shorter
fire. The primary advantage of this approach is its flexibility, and it has been simulation times in the modeling phase of the
project. Figure 2a shows the heat release rate of
suggested that this type of fire growth modeling will become an ‘invaluable tool
the sand burner (full HRR reached after 75 s) and
for researchers and engineers’ due to this flexibility. With a coupled pyrolysis/ the total heat release rate measured by oxygen
CFD fire model, it should be possible to consider complex geometries and consumption calorimetry. Figure 2b shows the
ignition scenarios, evaluate the impact of design changes on expected temperature measured 0.5m below the ceiling at
fire behavior, and assist in forensic fire reconstruction. the door, and the heat flux measured by thin skin
calorimeter at the floor. Additional experimental
To date, there have been few rigorous attempts to validate CFD-based fire data are presented later in the paper where they
are compared with the model calculations.
growth models, and flame spread prediction remains largely a research area.
Most fire model validation work has involved ‘gas burner’ type problems where A peak net heat release rate of 1.4MW
the movement of heat and smoke from a fire having a predetermined heat (1.9MW total HRR) occurs approximately 110s
into the test. Temperatures near the ceiling
release rate (HRR) is predicted and compared to experimental measurements,
approach 730ºC, and heat flux levels at the floor
eg the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s reports. Typically, a fire growth approach 30kW/m2. These temperatures and heat
model is evaluated by comparing its prediction of large-scale behavior to fluxes exceed the threshold rule of thumb for onset
experimental HRR measurements, thermocouple temperatures, or pyrolysis of flashover (heat flux to the floor of 20 – 25kW/m2
front position. The overall predictive capabilities of a fire growth model depends and upper layer temperature rise of 500 – 600ºC)
yet flashover did not occur as evidenced by the
on decomposition, heat and mass transfer physics in the pyrolysis model and
unburned seats that can be seen in Figure 1b.
treatment of gas-phase fluid mechanics, turbulence, combustion chemistry, Flashover may not have occurred due to the
and convective/radiative heat transfer in the CFD model. relatively small section of carpet installed at the
floor and the relatively small combustible wall lining
In this research, Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) Version 5 is used to simulate fire area. At the time of peak heat release rate, one
growth in a full scale rail car mockup. Model calculations of heat release rate, double seat was completely burning. It is also likely
temperatures, and heat flux levels are compared to analogous experimental that the phenolic panels contributed significantly to
data. The rail car mockup consists of actual seat, carpet, wall, and ceiling lining the heat release rate, but smoke obscured the
visual record. Post-test inspection of the burn
materials removed from a rail car inserted in a standard-sized fire test
damage (see Figure 1b) showed that the phenolic
compartment and arranged to simulate the as-built configuration. wall panels became detached from the walls.
The material properties required for the FDS 5.0 pyrolysis model are estimated
from bench-scale Cone Calorimeter test data using an automated optimization
algorithm. In standalone simulations, the pyrolysis behavior of these “complex”
real-world materials (which contain fire retardants and char heavily) can be
simulated reasonably well with the FDS pyrolysis model.

Real-Scale Rail car Mokup Fire Test

The mockup fire test configuration is shown in
Figure 1a (pre-test) and Figure 1b (post-test). It
consists of seats, wall linings, ceiling linings, and
carpet inserted in a standard sized (8ft by 8ft by
12ft) ISO room calorimeter. Two transverse double
seats are installed against a wall of the burn room
to mimic the standard seat arrangement in the rail
car. A single seat is installed in front of the two
double seats. The seats consist of a foam/fabric
cushion and seat shrouds. The burn room is lined
with gypsum board. A false ceiling of three
phenolic composite panels and one gypsum board
panel is installed above the seating at a height of
2m from the floor to mimic the as-built ceiling
height. The rear wall is lined with one phenolic
panel extending downward from the false ceiling.
A 1.1m by 2.3m section of carpet is placed in
the vicinity of the seats and is fixed to the floor to
Figure 1a. Mockup fire test configuration.
prevent curling of the edges. The ignition burner
Pre-test photograph;
(a 0.3m by 0.6m rectangular propane sand burner)
is placed between two transverse seats located
approximately 0.05m from the wall.
Instrumentation includes a single thermocouple
rake consisting of 24 thermocouples installed
vertically at a spacing of 0.1m; additional
thermocouples with different bead diameters are
installed at five locations to allow for radiation
correction of the thermocouple temperatures.
Eight thin skin calorimeters are installed at floor
level near the seats to measure heat flux.
The ignition burner’s peak HRR is 500kW, Figure 1b. Mockup fire test configuration.
roughly approximating a flammable liquids spill Post-test photograph.
of 4 litres (1 gallon).

research review | 41
Using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS)
to Predict and Model Fire Propagation

Solid-Phase material property estimation 2000 16

Total HRR Experiment
One of the most challenging aspects of fire growth Burner HRR
14
FDS
modeling is characterizing solid materials or 1500 12

Mass loss rate (g/m2-s)

assemblies in terms of the material properties that

Heat release rate (kW)

10
control their overall reaction to fire. For the present
1000 8
application where it is desired to simulate fire
6
development in a compartment fire, this means
500 4
quantifying each material in terms of the input
parameters needed by the FDS 5.0 pyrolysis 2

submodel. While based on a sound physical and 0 0

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
chemical treatment of solid-phase pyrolysis as it Time (s) Time (s)
is presently understood, material property Figure 2a. Heat release rate Figure 3a. Phenolic liner
estimation for the FDS 5.0 pyrolysis model is
onerous. Each condensed-phase species (ie virgin
800 25 45
wood, char, ash, etc.) must be characterized in Temperature Experiment
700 0.5 m below ceiling 40
terms of its bulk density, thermal properties 20
FDS
Heat flux at floor (TSC 3) 35
600
(thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity,

Heat rflux rate (kW/m2)

Mass loss rate (g/m2-s)

Heat release rate (kW)

30
both of which are usually temperature-dependent), 500 15
25
emissivity, and in-depth radiation absorption 400
20
coefficient. Similarly, each condensed-phase 300 10
15
reaction must be quantified through specification 200
10
of its “kinetic triplet” (pre-exponential factor, 5
100 5
activation energy, reaction order), heat of reaction,
0 0 0
and the reactant/product species. For a simple 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
charring material with temperature-invariant Time (s) Time (s)

thermal properties that degrades by a single-step Figure 2b. Temperature and heat flux Figure 3b. Seat cushion
reaction, this amounts to 12 parameters that
must be specified. Each combustible solid surface is assigned material 16
properties estimated above by genetic algorithm 14
Experiment
In the present work, an automated computer FDS
optimization and handbook values for gypsum
program based on genetic algorithm optimization 12
wallboard are used. Since FDS can accommodate
Mass loss rate (g/m2-s)

is used to estimate the required material 10

only a single gas-phase combustion reaction, its
properties for the four materials used in the 8
properties are selected to represent a mixture of
real-scale rail car mockup from Cone Calorimeter
propane and the combustible solid materials in the 6
experiments. For each material, multiple Cone
mockup. Apart from the reaction and material 4
Calorimeter tests are conducted at irradiance
properties, all default FDS values are used. 2
levels between 15kW/m2 and 80kW/m2. In addition
0
to the quantities normally measured in Cone Figure 5 compares the measured and modeled 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Calorimeter tests (mass loss rate, heat release heat release rate curves. The overall shapes of Time (s)

rate, etc.) measurements of surface temperature the curves match well, but the peak heat release Figure 3c. Seat shroud
and back-face temperature are made and used in rate is over predicted by 15% and the modeled
the optimization process. For modeling purposes, peak occurs 45s later than the experimental peak. 16
the flame heat flux is estimated at 30kW/m2 based The temperature and heat flux calculations 14
Experiment
FDS
on the work of Rhodes and Hopkins. (Figures 6 and 7) trend with the calculated HRR
12
behavior. That is, the peak modeled temperatures
Mass loss rate (g/m2-s)

Figure 3 shows a comparison of the measured 10

and heat flux levels agree well with the analogous
and modeled mass loss rate for each of the four 8
peak experimental quantities, but the modeled
materials. Although surface temperature and back
peak temperatures and heat flux levels occur later 6
face temperature measurements are also used in
than seen experimentally. Figures 6 and 7 show a 4
the optimization process, for clarity of presentation
slight bias toward underprediction of peak 2
only mass loss rates are shown. It can be seen
temperatures and heat flux levels.
0
that the pyrolysis model reproduces the major 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
features of the mass loss rate curves but certainly Time (s)

does not capture every detail. Figure 3d. Carpet

Comparison of real-scale fire growth
calculations to experimental data
An FDS model of the experimental geometry
shown in Figure 1 is assembled using cubic cells 5
cm on edge. A side view of the FDS representation
of the experiment is shown in Figure 4 (rotated 90º
from the “head on” view shown in Figure 1).
Discussion
If a fire growth model gives sensible predictions of
fire development in a rail car mockup fire test, it is
reasonable to extend that model to predict the
expected fire development in fire scenario involving
a full rail car. While beyond the scope of the present
paper, such predictions should be considered
engineering estimates subject to considerable
uncertainty bars rather than absolute predictions.
In addition to making engineering estimates of
full-scale fire development in an as-built rail car Figure 4. FDS representation of mockup fire test.
configuration, one of the biggest promises of this
type of fire growth modeling is that it allows the
designer to answer “what if” questions.

42 | research review
For example, expected fire development could be 2500
assessed for several different wall lining materials, Experiment
FDS calculation
allowing the designer to select a material that 2000
balances fire performance with other considerations
Heat release rates (kW)
that must be contemplated in the design of rail 1500
cars such as cost, durability, ease of maintenance,
1000
acoustic damping properties, etc. Additionally, fire
development from several different initiating fires
500
can be investigated.
As an example, the model is used here to predict 0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250
the expected fire development from a trash bag Time (s)
fire, often used in rail industry fire tests. In this Figure 5. Comparison of measured and modeled
example the trash bag fire is assumed to reach a heat release rate.
peak HRR of 290kW after approximately 2 minutes.
The heat release rate of the assumed trash bag fire 700
and the calculated total heat release rate (including 0.5m-FDS
600 1.5m-FDS
the contribution from the rail car) are shown in Figure
8. The model predicts that only localized burning 500
Temperature (ºc)
occurs, consistent with actual fire tests (not reported 400
here). A peak net heat release rate of 100kW
300
occurs around 120s. In comparison, the peak
net heat release rate is 1,700kW with the 500kW 200
ignition source (see Figure 5). This modeling 100
suggests that while extreme ignition sources
0 ISO 5660-1, 2002, Reaction-to-fire Tests Heat release,
(flammable liquids spills akin to malicious arson) may 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Time (s)
cause fire spread beyond the area of the initiating
fire, “nuisance” vandalism fires such as burning Figure 6. Comparison of measured and modeled
trash should cause only localized burning. gas temperatures.
25
Concluding remarks and future work #3 - FDS
#1 - FDS
The modeling results shown here for fire spread in a 20
real-scale rail vehicle mockup indicate that the peak
Heat flux (kW/m2)
15
heat release rate is well-predicted, but it occurs
slightly later in the model than in the experiment.
10
The modeling results show that temperatures and
heat flux levels are well-predicted when the heat
5 Rehm, R., (2007) Fire Dynamics Simulator (Version 5)
release rate is well-predicted.
0
Fire development predictions are strongly 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
sensitive to the specified material properties. Time (s)
Consequently, the material property estimation Figure 7. Comparison of measured and modeled
process (here, accomplished by genetic algorithm heat flux levels.
optimization) is of critical importance for
predicting fire development. There are no widely The accuracy of “blind” fire growth predictions
accepted, standardized methods for determining (comparing model predictions to actual-scale fire
all of the material properties required for fire testing without prior knowledge of the test data)
modeling, and additional research in this area remains to be demonstrated with FDS 5.0, so
is strongly encouraged. actual-scale fire testing remains an integral part
of the model calibration process. Additional
With careful model verification/validation and
research to assess the capabilities of FDS for
calibration, use of FDS 5.0 to make engineering
predicting fire development for other scenarios
estimates of mockup-scale fire development
is currently being studied.
may be viable, even for non-simple geometries
such as rail cars. Although FDS-based fire Related to the fire performance of the rail car
development predictions are potentially very investigated in this paper, it is unlikely that a
useful in design applications, it is prudent to view nuisance arson fire, such as a trash bag fire,
such calculations as engineering estimates rather would lead to fire spread beyond the area of
than absolute predictions. origin. However, extreme ignition sources
(flammable liquids spills akin to malicious arson)
may cause fire spread beyond the area of the
initiating fire. The magnitude and growth rate of
such fires could potentially be investigated with
FDS, subject to the caveats stated above.
450
400
Total heat release rate
Initiating fire (trash bag)
350
Heat release rate (kW)
300
250
200
150
100
50
300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Time (s)
Figure 8. Calculated heat release rate from trash
bag initiating fire.
0.5m-Exp. References
1.5m-Exp.
Grosshandler, W., Bryner, N., Madrzykowski, D., and
Kuntz, K., (2005) Report of the Technical Investigation
of the Station Nightclub Fire, NIST NCSTAR 2: Vol. I.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute
of Standards and Technology.
Hopkins, D., (1995) Prediction the Ignition Time
and Burning Rate of Thermoplastics in the Cone
Calorimeter. NIST GCR-95-667, Building and Fire
Research Laboratory, National Institute of
Standards and Technology.
350 400
Smoke Production and Mass Loss Rate Part 1: Heat
Release Rate (Cone Calorimeter Method)
Karlsson, B., North, G., and Gojkovic, D., (2002) Using
Results from Performance-based Test Methods for
Material Flammability in Fire Safety Engineering Design.
Journal of Fire Protection Engineering 12: 93–108, 2002.
Lautenberger, C., Rein, G., and Fernandez-Pello, A.C.,
#3 - Exp. (2006) The Application of a Genetic Algorithm to Estimate
#1 - Exp. Material Properties for Fire Modeling from Bench-Scale
Fire Test Data. Fire Safety Journal 41: 204-214.
Lautenberger, C., (2007) A Generalized Pyrolysis Model
for Combustible Solids”, Ph.D. Dissertation, Department
of Mechanical Engineering, University of California,
Berkeley. Available electronically at http://me.berkeley.
edu/~clauten/lautenberger_dissertation.pdf.
McGrattan, K., Hostikka, S., Floyd, J., Baum, H., and
Technical Reference Guide, NIST Special Publication
1018-5. Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National
350 400 Institute of Standards and Technology.
Rein, G., Lautenberger, C., Fernandez-Pello, A.C.,
Torero, J.L., and Urban, D.L., (2006) Application of
Genetic Algorithms and Thermogravimetry to Determine
the Kinetics of Polyurethane Foam in Smoldering
Combustion. Combustion and Flame 146: 95-108.
Rhodes, B.T., (1994) Burning Rate and Flame Heat Flux
for PMMA in the Cone Calorimeter. NIST GCR-95-664,
Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute
of Standards and Technology.
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, (2006) Verification
and Validation of Selected Fire Models for Nuclear Power
Plant Applications, Volume 1: Main Report, Office of
Nuclear Regulatory Research, Rockville, MD.
Acknowledgments
Nicholas Dembsey, Associate Professor, Worcester
Polytechnic Institute, Department of Fire Protection
Engineering
research review | 43
44 | research review
Behaviour of Tunnel Rock
Subject to Fire Loading
Author: David Moorehead

Abstract

A number of recent incidents involving fires in tunnels have indicated the need
to investigate the properties and characteristics of tunnel materials under fire
situations. Most studies so far have focussed on concrete and related materials
rather than natural materials such as the supporting rock. If the behaviour of
different rock types under fire can be better understood, there may be the
potential to reduce the use of expensive concrete linings.
Figure 1. Aftermath of fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel
In this project, core samples of Sydney sandstone of varying diameters were
subjected to a controlled 2-hour fire regime, with thermocouple sensors related materials to fire, there is little information on
recording the temperature at varying distances from the heat source. behaviour of other material such as natural rock
supporting structure in the tunnel.
Examination of the results indicated that the temperatures recorded in the This project was initiated in April 2003 to study
sample cores were progressively lower as the diameter of the core increased the effects of fire on the physical, chemical and
from 50 to 100mm and as the distance from the heated surface increased. mineralogical properties of Sydney sandstone.
Inspection also showed that all samples had experienced cracking at This material was chosen as the focal point of
the work because there are currently a number
15-22mm from the heated surface. A thin section made for microscopic
of major tunnelling projects in Sydney, Australia.
examination of one of the 50mm diameter core samples showed quartz It is hoped that with appropriate data, effective fire
grains, cavities and cracking in the microstructure. protection can be provided to different sections
of the Sydney tunnel structures in the most cost
A Point Load Testing device was used to evaluate the influence of hydrocarbon effective way.
fire regimes on strength of the sandstone cores. These results showed that the
The experimental part of this work was carried
effect of the 2 hour hydrocarbon fire regime was most severe on the 50mm out at the University of New South Wales School
diameter cores. Where the maximum temperatures exceed 300°C, there was a (UNSW) of Materials Science and Engineering
20% loss of strength, and if the maximum temperature exceeds 500°C, a 70% under a collaboration arrangement between David
loss. There was no loss in strength where the maximum temperature does not Moorehead of Arup, Charles Sorrel and George
Yang of UNSW.
exceed 250°C.

The results suggest that a heated sandstone surface does not spall due to a
Sydney Sandstones
build up of water vapour pressure, as the water vapour pressure resulting from
the decomposition of the clay minerals and the residual moisture content of the Sandstones around Sydney are medium- to
coarse-grained and contain about 80% quartz
stone can escape freely through permeability paths opened up by the
and about 20% clay. Most of the city lies on
decomposing minerals. This is in contrast to the explosive spalling noted with Hawkesbury sandstone and the Narrabeen
dense concrete where water vapour pressure at 300°C can reach 8.5MPa Group sandstone, which lies directly below the
and this pressure can exceed the tensile strength of the concrete. Hawkesbury group. Sydney sandstone is found
in almost horizontal layers ranging in thickness
A scale up of the testing to an unrestrained sandstone slab 1.1 x 1.1m x 200mm from centimetres to several metres. The layering
thick element was tested by the CSIRO. This test showed that the unrestrained usually consists of beds of coarse/fine/pebbly
sands. The common types of clay minerals in
block failed. It is believed this was due to a tensile force that developed close
Sydney sandstone are kaolinite and sericite/illite
to the heated surface. groups, as well as the less stable swelling clays
of illite/smectite. Siderite (a carbonate mineral)
Further work will involve the testing of samples of sandstone or other
and other iron bearing minerals such as limonite,
sedimentary rock while the samples are restrained to closer simulate the goethite and hematite are also present in Sydney
conditions of the rock in a tunnel. sandstone at notable percentages.

A small number of studies have been carried out

Introduction
The stability of underground tunnels during and
after a fire has become an issue due to a number
of recent incidents:
• On March 24, 1999, a fire started in the Mont
Blanc Tunnel connecting France and Italy. It
burned for 2 days, and over 40 people died.
• During the English Channel Tunnel Fire, the
air temperature reached more than 1000°C,
heating the concrete to around 1300°C.
on the effects of fire on sandstone. These are
summarised below:
• On October 24th 2001, a fire occurred in the
• Research by Hajpal (2002) investigated the
Gotthard Alpine Tunnel. The threat of cave-in
effects of fires caused by natural disasters on
along the tunnel hampered the effort of the
historical monuments. The study recorded the
rescuers to reach the accident site.
changes in the physical, chemical and
One aspect of the issue that needs to be mineralogy of various sandstones sourced in
addressed is a clearer understanding of the Germany and Hungary.
properties and characteristics of tunnel materials
under fire situations. While research has been
carried out on the responses of concrete and

research review | 45
Behaviour of Tunnel Rock
Subject to Fire Loading

• In an earlier study, Hajpal (1998) found that

1400 1200
sandstones of different cement types may
0 mm
show different fire resistance. The comparison 1200 1000
of results provided useful information in the 1000 1014 1078 1080
1068
800
choice of the replacement or repair materials 928 22 mm

Temperature (ºC)

Temperature (ºC)
867
800
for historical monuments. 600 43 mm
600 63 mm
• in a paper entitled “The Effect of Fire Damage
400 82 mm
on Natural Stonework in Buildings” 3, 400
103 mm
Chakiabarichas review the earlier work on 200 Hydrocarbon
200 123 mm

the effects of fire on stone masonry. 50 mm Diameter, No.1

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 0 50 100 150
While these works were of interest they did not
Time (min) Time (min)
relate to or simulate the effects of a hydrocarbon
Figure 2. Hydrocarbon fire temperature-time curve Figure 3. Temperature vs. time for 50mm
fire directed to one surface of a sandstone unit
or indeed to Sydney sandstone. diameter core samples

For the purpose of the engineering design for fire

1200 1200
protection to a sandstone tunnel, we needed
0 mm 0 mm
specific information that could only be obtained 1000 1000
by simulating a hydrocarbon fire directed at one
surface of a Sydney sandstone element. 800 800
Temperature (ºC)

Materials and experimental set up
The sandstone used in the experiments was
obtained from the New South Wales Department
of Commerce. The core samples were taken from
a site at Pyrmont. They were taken at right angles
to the bedding plane, and were described as
“1st grade stone”.
The experimental set up was capable of
accommodating sandstone cores up to 100mm
diameter. It consisted of an LPG burner, ceramic
insulation blankets and ceramic fibreboards.
Prior to fire testing, the stone samples were
conditioned indoors at 23°C for several weeks to
obtain consistent moisture content. The moisture
content was measured at 0.4% by determination
of weight loss at 105°C.
Three samples for each core size were used,
with of 50, 75 and 100mm diameters and
approximately 250mm in length. Thermocouples
(Type K) were inserted into 5mm holes drilled to
a depth of 15mm into the cylinder surface, and
spaced at approximately 20mm intervals along
the length of the sample, with an additional
thermocouple placed at the centre of the heated
surface. The square sawn face of the core was
presented to the heat source.
The Incorporation of a stainless steel mesh at
the exposed surface of the core caused excessive
heat loss, making it difficult to match the
temperature-time curve at the sample surface to
the desired hydrocarbon fire curve. The mesh
was abandoned in the set-up for the bulk of the
experimental work.
Several experiments were also carried out on
spare cores to verify the heating conditions were
repeatable and that the temperature time curves
measured on the surface of the cylinder closely
matched to that shown in the Time-temperature
curve in Figure 2.
Temperature (ºC)
22 mm
600 600
22 mm
43 mm
400 63 mm 400 43 mm
82 mm 63 mm
103 mm 82 mm
200 123 mm 200 103 mm
123 mm
75 mm Diameter, No.1 100 mm Diameter, No.1
0 0
0 50 100 150 0 50 100 150
Time (min) Time (min)
Figure 4. Temperature vs. time for 75mm Figure 5. Temperature vs. time for 100mm
diameter sandstone cores. diameter sandstone cores
Results and Discussion The results suggest that there is a difference in
The results of the temperature measurements the sandstone microstructure across the cracking,
made on the three cores from each of the 50, 75 particularly in the features of the quartz grains and
and 100mm diameter cores are shown in the apparent visual change in the clay binder.
Figure 3, 4 and 5. A Point Load Testing device was used to evaluate
The results indicated that the temperatures the influence of hydrocarbon fire regimes on
recorded were progressively lower as the diameter strength of the sandstone cores. The procedure
of the core increased from 50 to 100mm and as used was similar to that described in Australian
the distance from the heated surface increased. Standard AS 4133.4.14 diameter cores. These
results suggested that the sandstone cores had
Inspection of the cores after 2 hours of firing similar properties.
showed that they had all cracked parallel to the
heated surface at a distance of about 15-20mm The following guidelines are given in the
from the heated surface. Australian Standard AS 17265
The cracking of the 50mm diameter cores and Based on these guidelines, the sandstone used
the 100mm diameter cores appeared at very in this work would be classified as High-strength
similar depth from the heated surface. The heating material. The implication is that a protective/
regimes as measured did not affect the surface support lining may not be required for this stone,
cracking of the samples. particularly in wall situations.
It is also suspected that the cracking occurred The results of point load testing after the heat
during heating rather than cooling since the treatment have been summarised in Table 1, 2
cooling rate (as with the heating rate) would be and 3. In all cases, conservative approximations
very different for different core sizes. have been used.
These results show that the effect of the fire
The microstructure of one of the 50mm cores was
testing regimes was more severe on the 50mm
examined using a stereomicroscope. Additionally,
a cross-sectional sample (thin section) of this core cores in comparison with the larger cores. It is
near the heated surface was also taken for suggested the results for the 50mm core should
microscopic examination. A microscopic be taken as a guide, since the temperature
examination of this section show the quartz distribution across this core would have been
grains, which are up to 1mm in size, and the more uniform.
cracks left in the microstructure after the Therefore, a general approximation of the effect of
2-hour hydrocarbon-fire heating regime. 2-hour regime of hydrocarbon fire on Sydney
sandstone is follows:

46 | research review
 XRD traces. This suggests that experimental lead to additional safety issues related to the
Maximum Point load strength index
methods used in preparation of samples for explosive nature of concrete exposed to fire?
temperature
XRD work may need to be refined in future work.
reached Conclusions and steps
The kaolinite mineral was characterised by major
> 600 °C ~ 0 (due to delamination) peaks at 7.15, 3.58 and 2.34Å and quartz by major The information gathered during the core sample
> 500 °C ~ 0.6MPa (70% reduction) peaks at (among others) 3.342, 4.257 and 1.8179Å. project is useful for a number of reasons;

> 400 °C ~ 1.0MPa (50% reduction) While the XRD data were not ideal for detailed i) Data has been gathered on the heat flow from the
analysis, it is evident that the kaolinite in the surface of Sydney sandstone that has been
> 300 °C ~ 1.7MPa (20% reduction)
sandstone at depths of up to 40mm from heat heated to about 1050°C for a period of two hours.
<250 °C ~ 2.1MPa (no apparent reduction)
surface underwent dehydroxylation. This is based
ii) A good estimate has been provided of the
Table 1. Fire testing of 50mm core samples on the replacement of the peak at 7.15Å with
physical, chemical and mineralogical changes
a broad hump of XRD traces in samples taken
that take place as the distance from the heated
Maximum Point load strength index from 50mm diameter core.
surface increases.
temperature It is known that kaolinite undergoes a hydroxylation
reached iii) Confidence has been gained that a heated
process at about 550°C, and that this process
sandstone surface does not spall due to a build
> 600 °C ~ 0 (due to delamination) can start at temperatures as low as 450°C.
up of water vapour pressure, as the water
Temperature-time curves measured at 43mm
> 500 °C ~ 1.2MPa (65% reduction) resulting from the decomposition of the clay
from the heat source in the 50mm diameter core
minerals and the residual moisture content of
> 400 °C ~ 1.44MPa (25% reduction) samples suggested that the 550°C had been
the stone can escape freely. This is in contrast
> 300 °C ~ 1.92MPa (no apparent reduction) reached for a reasonable length of time after 2 hours
to the spalling noted with dense concrete.
of hydrocarbon fire testing. The dehydroxylation
<250 °C ~ 1.92MPa (no apparent reduction)
of kaolinite is accompanied by shrinkage and iv) A useful test rig for rock has been established
Table 2. Fire testing of 75mm core samples formation of amorphous metakaolinite. at the UNSW Department of Materials Science.

Maximum Point load strength index
temperature
reached
> 600 °C ~ 0 (due to delamination)
> 500 °C ~ 0.87 MPa (55% reduction)
> 400 °C ~ 1.25 MPa (35% reduction)
> 300 °C ~ 1.81 MPa (10% reduction)
<250 °C ~ 1.95MPa (no apparent reduction)
Table 3. Fire testing of 100mm core samples
• Loss of 20mm surface layer
• 70% reduction of strength in layer where
maximum temperature exceeds 500°C
• 50% reduction of strength in layer where
maximum temperature exceeds 400°C
• 20% reduction of strength in layer where
maximum temperature exceeds 300°C
• No strength reduction in layer where maximum
temperature does not exceed 250°C
It must be stressed that the above suggestions
are only applicable to a 2-hour hydrocarbon fire
regime. Different criteria would need to be
established for other hydrocarbon fire durations.
This is due to the temperature-time effect, which
cannot be fully covered by using maximum
temperature as an indicator. The above guidelines
are also limited to unprotected Sydney sandstone.
Other situations, such as that of sandstone lined
with a shotcrete layer, are not covered in this work.
Limited work using the X-ray diffraction method
(XRD) (Cu Kα radiation) was used on samples
taken from different distances from the heated
surfaces of 50mm and 100mm cores. The two
main minerals found in the samples were quartz
and kaolinite. Other expected minerals including
iron-bearing minerals were not detectable in the
Besides the observed dehydroxylation of kaolinite,
the – conversion of quartz (~575 °C) can also be
expected. Other possible effects in the zone near
the heated surface include the melting of minor
clay minerals such as feldspar (~920°C); the
decomposition of iron-bearing compounds;
and formation of mullite (~ 950°C).
The general indication is that serious strength loss
of Sydney sandstone in fire situation appears to be
associated with the extent of thermal degradation
of the clay binder, in this case the dehydroxylation
of kaolinite. The cracking would have been caused
by densification of the surface layer, similar to that
occurring in industrial firing of mixtures of quartz
and other clays (for example kaolinite).
Upscale Fire Testing
A further development of this work was carried
out in 2006 was to determine the effect of fire on
a larger scale sample. To this end a sandstone
block from the same source 1.1 x 1.1m x 200mm
thick was tested at the CSIRO to the same
hydrocarbon fire profile.
Results of this testing are recorded in an internal
report dated the 7 February 2006. This work was
jointly funded by The Road and Traffic Authority
and Arup. This work showed the failure of the
unrestrained block a few minutes after its exposure
to the fire. It is believed that the failure was caused
by the thermal expansion of the heated surface
relative to the cooler upper surface. The resulting
tensile stresses exceeded the tensile strength of the
block. The failure resulted in a crack developing
right through the block and its rapid disintegration.
This failure mode was not anticipated although a
finite element analysis subsequently gave some
insights into possible stress conditions near the
exposed surface in an unrestrained block. It should
also be noted that apart from the possible saving in
the cost of fire protection for tunnel this work may
v) A scale up of the testing to a large unrestrained
sandstone block was inconclusive as an attempt
to extrapolate to real tunnel conditions in that
the rock mass lacked restraining stresses.
The next step proposed will be to carry out further
testing on samples that are restrained during the
heating regime. The work planned could involve
testing at the Institute for Materials Research and
Testing Leipzig GmbH. Contact with Dr Frank
Dehn of this institute has confirmed that they have
equipment capable of carrying out this fire testing
while the test sample is subjected to various
conditions of restraint.
The information gained will give us more
confidence in designing the appropriate level of
fire protection needed in sandstone tunnels and
reduce the risk of lining over design.
References
Australian Standard AS 4133.4.1 Methods of testing
rocks for engineering purposes – Method 4.1:
Rock strength Tests – Determination of point load
strength index 5i Australian Standard AS 1726 (1993)
Geotechnical site investigation, Table A8 – Strength
of Rock Material.
Chakrabarti, B T Yates, A Lewry-Construction and
Building Materials, 1996, Elsevier Effect of fire damage
on natural stonework in buildings.
Hajpal, M Changes in sandstones of historical
monuments exposed to fire or high temperature.
Fire Technology 38: Issue 4, 2002 October, 373-378.
Hajpal, M and Torok, A Petro physical and Mineralogical
studies of burnt sandstones 2nd Int. PhD Symposium in
Civil engineering, 1998, Budapest.
Acknowledgments
University of New South Wales, CSIRO, New South Wales
Department of Commerce and more recently the Leipzig
Institute for Materials Research and Testing.
George Yang (UNSW) for carrying out much of the
laboratory work.

research review | 47
48 | research review
Full Scale Fire Tests in Tunnels and the use of Advanced
CFD modelling to Predict Fire and Smoke Behaviour
Author: Gabriele Vigne and Jimmy Jönsson

Abstract

Arup Fire in Madrid took part in an European Construction Technology Platform

(ECTP) research project in Spain. The goal of the subproject that Arup Fire was
involved in was to look into factors that have a significant influence on fires in
underground spaces and how those could be modelled in a reliable way.

Full scale test fires were undertaken in tunnels in Spain, each one being
repeated at least once to verify results. The first series of tests were done
in January 2007 and the second in March 2008. Figure 1. TST Tunnel

Research into the modelling of watermist was also performed as

part of the project.

Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) models were developed to

simulate the test fires and compare results with those of the real fire tests.

The research showed that the CFD program used was capable of producing
appropriate and reliable results for fires in a tunnel.

Up to this point the main benefits gained from the research project by
Arup Fire are the following:
Figure 2. La mina Escuela Tunnel
• A
 better understanding of how to construct tunnel models and simulate
fires in tunnels, using advanced CFD models.

• V
 aluable experience regarding the planning/design of test setups
and test runs.

• W
 e have developed a technical knowledge that enables us to be in the
forefront of what can be done with CFD programs. This will give us a
business advantage over our competitors.

• A
 lthough the work was directed by the Madrid office, a number of people
from other offices were also involved, generating a great synergy and
knowledge exchange.
Figure 3. TST tunnel-15MW fire

Introduction Test Setup

Arup Fire in Madrid formed part of an ECTP
research project in Spain; The Multidimensional
City, Subproject SP-6, Task T362: “Extinguishing
systems and ventilation control in case of fire”.
The global aim of the project is to look into more
extensive use of underground spaces. The specific
goal of the T362 task is to look into factors that
have a significant influence on fires in underground
spaces (specifically extinguishing systems and
ventilation), and how these factors could be
simulated and quantified in a reliable way.
Arup Fire’s specific role was to investigate how
computer simulations could be used to predict
the effects of fire in underground spaces taking
into account different ventilation regimes and
water based extinguishing systems on the fire
environment. Arup Fire is part of a team
(consultants, research institutes, testing facilities,
etc) that are investigating the topic by means of
large scale fire tests and computer simulations.
The main aim is to determine how effective CFD
programs are at reliably predicting the interaction
mentioned earlier and identify where improvements
need to be made if there are shortcomings.
The work will result in datasets that can be used
in collaboration with research centres to validate
the CFD programmes and to further enhance
their capability.
Overview
Two different series of fire tests were performed
in two different tunnels. The first series of tests
was done in the January 2007 in the TST Tunnel
(San Pedro de Anes, Spain) and the second in
March 2008 in La Mina Escuela (Ponferrada,
Spain), (See Fundación Santa Barbara).
Both tunnels were equipped with the relevant
instrumentation necessary to be able to post
process the data produced during the tests.
The tunnels are quite different in nature and due
to this different fire sizes and ventilation set-ups
were used in each tunnel.
Because of a lack of rigor observed in the
instrumentation set-up in the January 2007 tests,
Arup Fire ensured that they were closely involved
in the test setup for all the subsequent tests
carried out in La Mina Escuela. This included
advice on the instrumentation, the development
of tests runs (fire sizes, ventilation set-ups, etc.)
Arup Fire also had significant input regarding
how to measure and calculate the heat release
rate (HRR) during the test.
Instrumentation
Both tunnels were instrumented with
thermocouples and bi-directional probes. Some
thermocouples were placed in the open inside the
tunnel to measure gas temperatures, while other
thermocouples were placed behind metal sheets
in such a way that heat flux measurements could
be obtained. The bi-directional probes were used
to measure air velocity along the tunnel.

research review | 49
Full Scale Fire Tests in Tunnels and the use of Advanced
CFD modelling to Predict Fire and Smoke Behaviour
© Marioff
Figure 4. Water Mist
Experimental Fires
Due to the difference in shape and size of the
tunnels different fire sizes were used for the test fires.
In the San Pedro de Anes test tunnel (TST) fires of
up to 20MW were tested, in the La Mina Escuela
Tunnel significantly smaller fire sizes, up to 2MW,
were used.
Water Mist
This part of the investigation project was carried
out in conjunction with Marioff who provided
technical data of their watermist system and
also provided results from the full scale fire tests
they commissioned in the San Pedro Tunnel
(Leon, Spain) extinguishing a HGV fire with the
Hi-Fog Water mist system.
Water mist is a fine water spray consisting of
a wide range of droplet sizes, many of which
are true mist particles and some of which are
considerably larger. The nozzles produce sprays
that have a high fraction of very fine droplets,
significantly smaller than what is typical for standard
sprinklers or water spray nozzles (see Figure 4).
The aim of this study was to investigate the
features of the water mist systems and the
possibility to model it accurately with FDS ie how
effective FDS simulations are at reliably predicting
the behaviour of water mist and the interaction of
the droplets with the fire.
The Models
The fire modelling of the tunnel utilised the
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) program
called Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS).
FDS is a software package developed by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) of the USA. FDS numerically solves a “form
of the Navier-Stokes equations appropriate for
low-speed, thermally-driven flow with an emphasis
on smoke and heat transport from fires”. Version
5.1.4 of FDS has been used for La Mina’s test
whilst version 4.0.7 was used for the TST tests.
For further information on the background and
modelling equations of FDS, refer to the FDS
User Guide and Technical Guide. These can be
downloaded from the FDS website.
50 | research review
Figure 5. FDS models
Models geometry
It was necessary to construct advanced computer
models to simulate the fire tests.
For the second model (La Mina) one of the most
challenging goals was to model the rough rock
surface of the tunnel. This was achieved with
several measurements of the tunnel and by
capturing the vast experience Arup Fire has to
offer in the creation of complex models.
Both models have their peculiarities and a
particular attention had to be given to enable
us to model the tunnels as close to reality
as possible.
The Water Mist model
Water Mist is not covered in the FDS software as a
standard feature. The only way to model Water Mist
to date is to work iteratively by adjusting the
different sprinkler parameters.
The suppression feature that is implemented in
FDS is in fact based on a normal sprinkler system.
Water particles are introduced in the models using
a Lagrangian approach.
There are three important FDS inputs that govern
the behaviour of the watermist. These three
parameters have lots of sub-variables that have
to be defined. The aim of this analysis is to use
all the parameters and sub-variables available
without leaving any variable to default values
(if no sub-variables are defined the FDS software
assigns a default value to each variable).
Shaft
Thermocouples
Fire seat
Results and Discussions
Both models showed that FDS is capable of
producing reliable results for non-sprinklered
fires in tunnels.
FDS is not yet totally capable of producing
accurate results for water mist systems, but
we have identified practical ways in which the
software could be further developed to address
this shortcoming.
This research programme did not cover the real
fire tests and simulations of fire controlled with
standard sprinkler systems, as these would not
normally be used in tunnels.
During the validation work it was seen that a well
defined fire was essential to be able to properly
validate the model. The reliability of the simulation
results was heavily dependent on the quality of
the output data from the instrumentation and on
the accuracy of the constructed model.
The second series of tests (Tunnel La Mina
Escuela) permitted us to accurately predict the
Heat Release Rate (HRR) produced by the fire,
eliminating a major source of uncertainty that
influenced the reliability in the case of the
simulations for the TST tunnel.
Main conclusions
FDS accurately predicted the temperature trend
measured by the thermocouples during the real
fire tests.
The behaviour of the smoke in the tests and in
the simulations was very similar. Back-layering
occurred in both tunnels and FDS was able to
predict it well.
 Ceiling Centreline Temperature
800
700
600
Temperature (ºC)
500
400
300
200
100
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
Distance from fire (m)
Temperature along tunnel at 925s
800
700
600
Temperature (ºC)
500
400
300
200
100
-20 -15 -10 -5
Downward distance from fire (m)
Figure 6. Results graph
For the tests in the “La Mina Escuela” tunnel the
ventilation conditions had a strong influence on
the flame shape and the Heat Release Rate (HRR).
The first models that were used overestimated the
real HRR. The subsequent models that were
carried out later, using the mass loss obtained
from the load cells placed below the pool fire,
showed a much better correlation with the real
test results. For the validation process it could
be seen how important it was to create
subsequent models.
The experiments demonstrated that the burning
rate of a pool fire is strongly dependent on the
longitudinal ventilation velocity used. A reduction
factor of approximately 1.5 and up to a factor of 2
in the associated burning rate was observed
between the low-velocity and high-velocity
transverse ventilation scenarios.
The work done indicated that FDS can sufficiently
account for turbulent fluctuations in large-scale
tunnel fires due to rough walls and obstructions,
by using specific parameters that represent large
deviations in the geometry.
The modelling of Water Mist in FDS is still an
open issue and the current capabilities to
model the mist spray within FDS are insufficient.
Additional research is needed to develop
methods to measure and define the initial spray
characteristics. Further research is needed to
refine the interactions with the sprays with FDS’s
flow model. More work is needed on investigating
this subject, with international collaboration
between institutions such as NIST, VTT and a
number of Universities.
Smoke view 5.1.5
4.50
4.05
01:30 3.60
Test TC 3.15
FDS TC 2.70
FDS Gas
2.25
1.80
1.35
0.90
0.45
0.00
Figure 7. FDS visual results (temperature) Figure 8. FDS visual results (smoke)
Outcome of research project Water Particles
FDS HRR The research project is still ongoing and we are
FDS HRR Tc
FDS Pyrol involved in the planning of future tests etc. Until
FDS Pyrol Tc
now the main benefits gained from the research
Test 10
project by Arup Fire are the following:
FDS – Construction of models
Arup Fire has gained a lot of experience in building
large and complex models. A lot was learned
about how to divide a large space into different
meshes, to take obstructions into account and
0 5 10 15 20
to include complex ventilation systems. Figure 9. FDS, water particles
In recent tunnel projects done by Arup Fire some
of the tunnel models had a length of nearly 1.5km, Business benefit
they included on and off ramps, vehicle objects The research program has given us technical
and complicated ventilation systems. The results knowledge that enables us to be in the forefront
from the research project have been of great of what can be done with FDS. We have developed
benefit for these projects. our contacts with research facilities and clients.
This will give us a business advantage over
FDS – Simulations our competitors.
Different techniques for easily and quickly
comparing large amounts of simulations data
(output from FDS) with test data were developed
References
during the research project. The influence of
European Construction Technology Platform,
different kind of objects on air movement within a
www.ectp.org
tunnel was investigated and important lessons
FDS, Fire Dynamic Simulator, http://fire.nist.gov/fds
were learned. The importance of dividing large
Fundación Santa Barbara, www.fsbarbara.com
volumes into different types of meshes was easily
NIST, National Institute of Standard and Technology,
seen while simulating the large models. The USA, www.nist.gov
influence from grid size and mesh size on Tunnel Safety Testing S.A., www.tunneltest.com
simulation results was noted, something which VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland, www.vtt.fi
needs to be investigated further.
The experience gained from the research project so
far has helped us to run models more efficiently.
Acknowledgments
Marioff, Finland
Full scale fire testing
Fundación Santa Barbara, Spain
Arup Fire took part in many full and medium scale
Aitemin, Spain
tests, which has given us valuable experience
NIST, USA
regarding test set ups etc.
Arup Fire-Manchester
For the latter tests (Mina Escuela) Arup Fire Arup Fire-London
developed the whole test setup strategy Arup Fire-Leeds
including the schedule for the fire tests that were
conducted. This is very valuable for future fire
tests, whatever the type of tests to be conducted.
research review | 51
52 | research review
Climate Scenarios for Urban Design:
A Case Study for the London Urban Heat Island
Author: Jake Hacker

Introduction

Abstract The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a term used to

describe the tendency for temperatures in urban
Temperatures in urban areas are typically higher than in the rural surroundings, areas to be elevated above those in the rural
surroundings. The origins of this effect are the
particularly at night, a phenomenon called the Urban Heat Island (UHI). Heat
manner in which the urban land surface, which
islands exacerbate the impacts of heatwaves by affecting thermal comfort, is relatively dry, lacking in vegetation, and highly
human health and the ability to passively night-cool buildings. Urban heat heterogeneous and irregular, affects the storage
islands are produced because cities have a climatology that is distinct from their and release of heat, principally from the sun but
rural surroundings, because of the different way the urban land surface stores also anthropogenic heat inputs – waste heat
from buildings and transport. Substantial UHIs
and releases heat, and also because of the concentration of anthropogenic
have been observed in cities around the world,
heat sources – buildings, traffic and other transport and infrastructure. including London.

In recent years there has been growing interest in the planning community in London has a city population of around 8m and
using urban design to reduce the summertime UHI of cities. The objective is to a metropolitan area population of 12-14m people,
reduce the need for cooling in buildings and infrastructure and thereby assist making it one of the world’s ‘megacities’. The
modern form of the London UHI and its spatial
efforts to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. It can also help
distribution has been revealed through a
improve ameniety, by increasing the thermal comfort of outdoor spaces and programme of monitoring across the city, analysis
making natural ventilation of buildings more feasible. Management of the UHI of meteorological station data, and satellite
can also help deal with the impacts of climate change. Since climate change is observations. The UHI in London is mainly a night
expected to increase temperatures in most parts of the world, reducing the time effect, with minimum temperatures in the city
being on average around 3–4°C degrees higher
magnitude of UHIs can help to locally offset some of the projected warming.
than in the rural surroundings, and broadly
The measures that urban designers can take to reduce the intensity of the speaking shows an intensification towards the
UHI include the use of shading, greenspace, water and building massing. centre of the city (Figure 1). The UHI is typically
In order to understand the relative benefit of these approaches, it is largest under warm summer weather, on clear,
necessary to better understand, quantitatively, the contribution of the still nights, for which instantaneous values up to
9°C have been recorded.
various elements to UHI generation.
Within the general spatial distribution of the UHI
Here, two models are used to examine how different meteorological and land-use there are also significant local variations according
factors contribute to the urban heat island and what the future impact of climate to local land-use characteristics, with more densely
change on the UHI might be. The ultimate aim is to provide urban designers and built up areas showing stronger UHI intensities.
Figure 2b shows the variation of the maximum
policy makers with tools that can be used to produce climate scenarios for urban
urban heat island intensity with the percentage of
areas, to assess design options that can have a beneficial affect on the climate “continuous urban” land-use within a 1km radius
of cities and to assist the development of climate change adaptation policies. centred on the temperature measurement site.
There is an increase in the maximum heat island
intensity with urban land-use, from 4°C at 30%
continuous urban to 6°C at 70% continuous urban.

A
10
10
26
24
10

5 22
15
20
15
18
Number of Occasions
Northing, miles

0 16
14

15 12
-5 10
15
© Crack (2003)

8
6
-10 10 10 4
Figure 2a. Land-use types from the Centre for
2
Ecology and Hydrology land use dataset: white
0 is ‘continuous urban’, red is ‘suburban’, green
-15 is ‘vegetated’, blue is ‘water’; the cross hair is
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
© GLA (2005)

centred on the British museum, the small circles

Easting, miles indicate the positions of the temperature sensors,
and the larger shaded circle indicates a circle
Figure 1. The spatial pattern of the UHI across London averaged over urban heat island events during of radius 1km. Figure 2b shows the UHI at
August 2003, with Borough boundaries superimposed. The scale shows the number of occasions the these locations.
temperature exceeded 19ºC for more than 48 hours.

research review | 53
Climate Scenarios for Urban Design:
A Case Study for the London Urban Heat Island

25 0.6
UHIMax >3C Data
UHIMax >4C Model
UHIMax >5C 0.5
20
Average number of days

UHIMax >6C
UHIMax >7C

Percentage hours
0.4
15
0.3
10
0.2

5
0.1

0 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Month Heat Island intensity

Figure 3. The Heathrow – Beaufort Park heat island: Average number of days Figure 4. Distribution of Heathrow’s heat island: values calculated with
of occurrence in each month of the heat island. Data from 1993-1999. the statistical model and compared with measurements for 1996

100 Figure 3 shows the number of occurrences of cover and compared with the observed values of
90 Inner UHImax values of given magnitude, and UHI for 1996. The parameters used for this analysis
80 Outer demonstrates that LHR experiences a significant in equations 1 and 2 were: Δt d = 1°C, ΔT max = 6°C,
UHI, which is largest in summer. U e = 4 knots, Ce = 4 oktas, and T’ was chosen
% Continous urban

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Maximum heat Island Intensity (ºC)
Figure 2b Maximum UHI recorded at the stations
shown in 2a) as a function of the percentage of
continuous urban land use in the 1km areas about
each site; blue symbols are stations on the outer
ring of stations and red are stations on the inner
ring shown in 2a). [From Crack 2003]
The understanding that has been built up of the
London UHI is that it is produced by the different
urban land surface types altering the vertical heat
exchange with the atmosphere. Lateral heat
exchange across the heterogeneous land surface
also causes a ‘smearing’ out of the UHI, leading
to the type of distribution shown in Figure 1. This
is why the UHI tends to be most intense during
periods of low wind speed. At the present time,
it is thought that anthropogenic heat inputs
(from transport and buildings) play a relatively
minor part in the London UHI, although these
effects are important for the UHI of cities with
areas of intensive use of air conditioning, such as
Tokyo, and even in London may be significant locally.
The urban heat island as a statistical
phenomenon
To investigate further the characteristics of the
London UHI, hourly temperature observations from
an urban and a rural site have been examined for
the period 1993–98. The urban site was London
Heathrow Airport (LHR), and the rural site was
Beaufort Park, 50km west of central London. The
maximum UHI (UHImax) at LHR is taken to be the
maximum daily difference in temperature between
LHR and Beaufort Park.
Further analysis shows that the UHI varies during
the course of the day when averaged across a
number of months. This diurnal cycle shows a
characteristic shape. During the day the UHI is
nearly constant, with a mean value of about 1°C.
Following sunset the heat island intensity builds
6 7 to a maximum and then reduces following sunrise.
B Based on these observations, the night time
UHI amplitude, A, can be approximated by a
sinusoidal form:
A(t) = ∆Td + (∆Tmax – ∆Td) sin π t – td (
{
(
tu – td
Equation 1
where tu and td are sun-up and sun-down times
and t is the hour of the day, ΔT d is the constant
urban heat island intensity during the day and
ΔTmax is the maximum night time urban heat island.
The London UHI tends to be larger during periods of
calm, cloudless conditions. The inverse relationship
between UHImax and wind speed and cloud cover
during conditions conducive to UHI development
can be described by an exponential decay. Although
there is some scatter in observed results, a simple
empirical model can be constructed to provide a
predictive model of the UHI, as follows:
∆T(t) = A(t)e – U(t)/Ue – C(t)/Ce +T’
Equation 2
where ΔT is the heat island intensity as a function
of hour of the day, t; A(t) is the amplitude function
given by equation (1); the two exponential decay
terms represent the dependency on wind-speed,
U, and cloud cover, C, with respective decay rates
U e and Ce; and the last term T’ is a stochastic
term which imparts a degree of randomness into
the prediction of the model, to mimic the scatter
shown in the data.
Figure 4 shows the distribution of Heathrow’s heat
island calculated from the statistical model using
hourly observed data for wind speed and cloud
from a Gaussian distribution with zero mean and
standard deviation of 0.25°C.
The statistical model is in reasonable agreement
with the measurements, particularly for heat island
events stronger than 1°C. The poorer agreement
between the model and the measurements for
UHI<1°C is because the model is designed to
capture the strong events: weaker temperature
differences are treated with the random
temperature fluctuation.
The urban heat island as a dynamic phenomenon
The empirical model developed in the previous
section provides a useful framework for examining
how different factors influence the statistical
characteristics of the UHI at a given location. It
may also be used as a predictive model for the
statistical characteristics of the UHI for given
meteorological conditions.
Examination of heat island events in London
indicates that the summertime UHI builds over the
course of a period of warm weather, typically
reaching a maximum on or around the hottest day
of the warm spell. Analysis of the development of
UHI events at the London Weather Centre
(situated at the centre of the city, close to the
British Museum) relative to Beaufort Park as the
rural reference shows that in both cases the nights
with strong UHI occur during the period where
maximum daily temperatures are rising.
A dynamic thermal model of the UHI
In order to investigate the causative processes
governing the heat island, a dynamic thermal
model which represents essential aspects of the
underlying physics has been developed at Reading
University. The model is a 1-dimensional column
model that solves for the vertical heat balance
above an area of land surface, which can be

54 | research review

Urban land surface effect of building height
(heavyweight facades and roofs)
Temperature (atmosphere first model level) (ºC)
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0.5
Figure 5. Modelling results from the dynamic
thermal models effect of building height
(building spacing and width are kept fixed at 20m)
written mathematically as:
Q*+ QF = QH + QE + ∆QS + ∆QA ,
Equation 3
where Q* is the net radiation, which forces the
heat balance, composed of the energy gained
from the sun and loss due to long-wave radiative
cooling; QF is the anthropogenic heat source
eg from transport, domestic and industrial fuel
combustion; Q H is the outgoing sensible heat
flux; Q E is the outgoing latent heat flux; ΔQS is
the change in heat storage; and ΔQ A is the heat
transfer by advection.
The dynamic model solves the heat balance
equation at a fine temporal resolution according to
the changing heat inputs (eg from solar radiation
during the day) to provide a prediction for the land
surface temperature and the temperature in the
atmosphere above. Here only the vertical heat
balance is modelled, corresponding in simple
terms to situations existing in windless conditions.
Two versions of the model have been developed:
the Surface Energy Balance–Boundary Layer
model (SEBBL), and the Urban Boundary Layer
energy balance model (UrbanBL). The formulation
of the two models is similar but the essential
difference is that SEBBL models a flat surface
whereas UrbanBL models a corrugated land
surface composed of repeating street canyons
and roofs. Both models essentially have three
components: a diffusion model for the transport of
heat in the substrate; the flow of heat, momentum
and long wave radiation in the atmospheric
boundary layer; and the budget of heat at the land
surface. In UrbanBL, each of the four facets of
the land surface has a separate surface energy
balance that takes into account the incoming
radiation, and the penetration of heat into the
substrate. Each of the four urban facets can have
different material properties and the height, width
and spacing of the buildings can be varied. In both
models, initial vertical profiles of temperature in
the atmosphere and substrate are specified.
A geostrophic wind speed and the latitude of the
site form the other inputs.
Modelling results
A number of ‘experiments’ were carried out by
Arup, with the model running in all cases with
parameters for LHR during August for a period
of three days.
Figure 5 shows an example from a model
experiment using the UrbanBL model to examine
the role of building height. As the building height is
increased, the ‘thermal mass’ of the land surface
increases, but other effects also come into play:
Field-dry
ho - 5.0m an increase in the effective surface roughness and
ho - 10.0m
the reduction of the ‘sky view’ through which the
ho - 20.0m
street and walls cool by long-wave radiation to
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 the sky. As the building height is increased the
Time (days) near-surface air temperature shows a reduced
diurnal temperature range, cooling much less at
night than the flat surface. The overall effect is
qualitatively very similar to the observed nature of
the UHI: an elevation of night-time temperature
and a slight suppression of daytime temperatures.
Similar experiments, using both models, have
been used to analyse the roles of surface moisture,
surface reflectance (albedo) and aerodynamic
roughness. The results of these experiments also
point to a potentially significant role of these
factors in generating aspects of the UHI,
particularly the generally drier nature of the urban
land surface and its greater aerodynamic roughness.
Currently we are developing these models further
so that more detail regarding the urban land
surface at the building scale can be built in and the
effect of different design options investigated.
Climate change and the UHI
A set of regional climate change models has been
developed by the UK government for climate
change adaptation studies called the UKCIP02
scenarios. These are presented on a 50km ×
50km grid. In common with most climate change
models, the underpinning model uses a single
(rural) land surface type for all land areas.
For this work, changes in London’s climate have
been obtained by taking an average of the four
relevant model grid squares. The main changes
projected for summer include:
• increased summer temperatures of up to 7°C
(High emissions, 2080s) and increased diurnal
range (around 1°C);
• small changes in wind speed (<10%);
• moderate changes in solar irradiance (<20%);
• a decrease in relative humidity and an increase
in specific humidity;
• a decrease in summer precipitation (<54%).
In order to assess how climate change might affect
the London UHI, the statistical model developed
above has been applied to data for Heathrow
airport, adjusted (‘morphed’) to modify hourly
weather data consistently across a set of variables
using timeseries adjustment. The results for the
2080s under the High scenario (the most extreme
case in terms of projected changes in UKCIP02)
indicate only modest changes in the magnitude
of the UHI under climate change. However, it is
possible that dynamic changes not captured by
the statistical models will lead to changes in the
UHI. Further research by the University of Reading
is applying meteorological forecast models to
examine these and other issues relating to the
London UHI. This work is being done under the
EPSRC funded LUCID project, on which Arup
are also project partners.
Conclusions
Dynamic thermal modelling of urban temperatures
under different land use scenarios qualitatively
produces observed features of the London UHI,
principally the elevation of night-time temperatures
and the surpression of diurnal temperature range.
This model also indicates a high degree of sensitivity
to various urban morphology factors. These results
indicate that the observed UHI across London may
be interpreted as being due to the amalgamation of
numerous ‘local UHIs’, produced by particular types
of local land use and building morphology.
The existence of the UHI and its complexity across
the heterogeneous urban land surface present
challenges to both researchers investigating its
cause and to urban designers looking to create
beneficial modifications. Increasing urbanisation
trends mean that understanding and modelling
of urban climate is likely to be an important and
developing aspect of managing the impacts of
climate change.
References
Belcher, S.E., Hacker, J.N., Powell, D.S. (2005)
Constructing design weather data for future climates.
Building Services Engineering Research and Technology
Vol 26(1) pp. 49–61.
Crack, R. (2003) Parameters Controlling the Spatial
Distribution and Temporal Development of London’s
Heat Island. MSc Thesis. University of Reading
GLA (2006) London’s Urban Heat Island: A summary
for decision makers. Greater London Authority.
Graves, H, Watkins, R, Westbury, P and Littlefair, P.
(2001) Cooling buildings in London: Overcoming the heat
island. Building Research Establishment, Garston, UK.
Harman, I.N. (2003) The energy balance of urban
areas. PhD Thesis, University of Reading
Harman, I.N. and Belcher, S.E. (2007) The surface energy
balance and boundary layer over urban street canyons.
Quart J Roy Meteorol Soc 132, 2749-2768.
Oke, TR (1987) Boundary layer climates. Routledge
Acknowledgments
Prof. Stephen Belcher, (University of Reading,
Department of Meteorology)
Mel Allwood (Arup)
Alex Nickson (Greater London Authority)
research review | 55
The importance of research to Arup
Author: Michael Willford, Arup Fellow
As an Arup Fellow and leader of Arup’s
Advanced Technology and Research practice,
Michael Willford has been involved in research
projects at Arup for many years, including his
work on human induced vibration and on
damping systems for structures. In this article
Michael outlines his views on the importance of
research to keep Arup at the forefront of
business and deliver best value to our clients.
We are in business, and I believe that our research
programme should be informed by the potential
for business opportunity. One of the hallmarks of
Arup is our attitude to innovation as a generator of
value for our clients: research and development
has to be an integral part of this.
Research becomes commercially useful when it
enables us to deliver one of two things to our
clients: either something of value to their business
that could not have been achieved before, or
something that was available before but which we
can now offer at lower cost or with better
performance. Ultimately clients will always want
‘more for less’ and our research and development
capability can enable us to deliver this tangible
value to them. At the same time this maintains
Arup’s position as a leader in its fields, and the
market advantage that follows from that.
Whilst significant investment may be required to
move us to a new position of expertise, very often
we conduct research on a modest scale to
improve our service incrementally - continually
working to keep Arup at the forefront. We do this
by self-investing in the areas where we see the
most benefit for our business and our clients.
Ideas and influences for research are many, but
often research that delivers the best value is
generated either to address the stated needs of
our clients, or from exploiting a new idea or an
idea prevalent in one industry but not in another;
technical transfer if you like.
56 | research review
For example, ten years ago we conducted novel
research into better prediction of vibrations due to
footfalls in laboratories and other sensitive facilities.
This was driven by the needs of clients on a
number of buildings under design at the time,
and they benefited directly by getting better
performance with lower cost and lower risk. This
work put us in the forefront of understanding and
technical expertise in this area, and publishing
the results led to its adoption in a number of
industry standards.
Validation is very important to us. Often there is
inertia to the adoption of new concepts and
methods in the engineering and construction
industries. There is a perception that bringing in
new things increases risk: can it be built, will it
perform as predicted, will it be accepted by the
regulators and authorities, will it actually lead to
delay and increased cost? Validation of our
research with measurements means that we can
demonstrate that our methods are reliable thereby
reducing the perceived risk.
As well as conducting our own internal research
we remain close to academic and research
institutions around the world. Our awareness of
the developments in universities, and our constant
interaction with academics helps us to deliver
more innovative projects than our competitors.
The belief that Arup can shape a better world
continues to drive everything that we do. We
genuinely believe in pushing the state of design
and construction practice forward. We continue
to fight for change and improvement, not simply
repeating what has always been done. We want
to be, and are, seen as different.
This attitude allows us to recruit some of the best
technical people and innovative thinkers in the
industry. We can talk with authority and influence
to our clients, at conferences and in academia.
This commitment to research and fresh thinking
whilst remaining at the practical end of projects
means we can lead with relevance. This is one
of the qualities that make Arup unique.
Michael Willford
michael.willford@arup.com
www.arup.com/advancedtechnologyandresearch
Arup Research Priorities

Arup has doubled in size over the last 10 years. This makes the sharing of
research priorities, monitoring client needs and research projects challenging.
The many research projects Arup funds need to be put in the context of the
firm’s needs as a whole.

Arup uses roadmapping techniques to inform our research planning process.

Business opportunities are plotted on a timeline against a context of market
trends, global drivers of change and competitor activity

Roadmaps provide a strategic focus for our research. They help us to

• Inform priorities for research funding

• Reveal new market opportunities

• Identify client needs and business directions

• Leverage Arup resource investment

• Plan collaborative partner engagement

The following research priorities chart is based on our corporate roadmap and
shows some of our short to medium term research priorities across the firm.
Research in these topics will ensure that we are ready for future markets and
can capitalise on opportunities to improve our business performance.

The drivers in the chart have been categorised according to the work
conducted by our Foresight team on Drivers of Change. The relevant themes
for each driver have been highlighted in the chart, as well as the research
priorities and the examples of business opportunities.

The research priorities chart gives a picture of how Arup as a whole is

responding to these key world trends and the resulting opportunities. It helps
to communicate the focus of our research investment and highlight areas of
current or potential external collaborative research.

research review | 57
Research Team DTX Region Leaders

Prof. Jeremy Watson Australasia

Director, Global Research Richard Hough
T +44 (0)20 7755 4210 T +61 (0)2 9320 9321
E jeremy.watson@arup.com E richard.hough@arup.com.au

Dr Jennifer Schooling
East Asia
Research Business Manager Jack Pappin
T +44 (0)20 7755 2912 T +852 2268 3437
E jennifer.schooling@arup.com E jack.pappin@arup.com

Dr Marta Fernandez Europe

Research Relationships Manager
T +44 (0)20 7755 5105
E marta.fernandez@arup.com
Richard Terry
T +44 (0)20 7755 3925
E richard.terry@arup.com

Arup Research Wiki: Americas

http://oasys.intranet.arup.com/ Fiona Cousins
ArupResearch/index.php/Main_Page T +1 212 229 1057
Investment in Arup: E richard.terry@arup.com

http://oldcorporate.intranet.arup.
com/fx/investinarup/

DTX Sector Leaders

Buildings
Tristram Carfrae
T +61 (0)2 9320 9477
E tristram.carfrae@arup.com.au

Consulting
Andrew Hall
T +44 (0)20 7755 3025
E andrew-j.hall@arup.com

Infrastructure
Peter Chamley
T +1 212 510 2660
E peter.chamley@arup.com

Research Team DTX Region Leaders Arup

Prof. Jeremy Watson Australasia 13 Fitzroy Street

Director, Global Research Richard Hough London W1T 4BQ
T +44 (0)20 7755 4210 E richard.hough@arup.com.au T +44 (0)20 7636 1531
E jeremy.watson@arup.com F +44 (0)20 7580 3924
East Asia
W www.arup.com
Dr Jennifer Schooling Jack Pappin
Research Business Manager E jack.pappin@arup.com
T +44 (0)20 7755 2912 Europe
E jennifer.schooling@arup.com
Richard Terry
E richard.terry@arup.com
Dr Marta Fernandez
Research Relationships Manager Americas
T +44 (0)20 7755 5105 Fiona Cousins
E marta.fernandez@arup.com E fiona.cousins@arup.com

Arup Research Wiki:

Arup
http://oasys.intranet.arup.com/
13 Fitzroy Street
ArupResearch/index.php/Main_Page
London W1T 4BQ
Investment in Arup:
T +44 (0)20 7636 1531
F http://oldcorporate.intranet.arup.
W
+44 (0)20 7580 3924
com/fx/investinarup/
www.arup.com A