The influence of angular configuration of two buildings on the local wind climate

•The flow between two buildings with different angular configurations is studied.•Wind speeds and turbulent kinetic energies are measured in a wind tunnel with PIV.•For converging cases wind speeds and turbulence levels are lowest for small angles.•For diverging cases wind speeds and turbulence levels are highest for small angles.

Understanding flows in urban areas is important for a wide range of research areas. In this study the influence of different angular configurations of two buildings on the local wind climate is analysed. PIV (particle image velocimetry) measurements are conducted in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. Blocken et al. (2008a) showed that, counterintuitively, the wind speeds in the passage of diverging configurations is higher compared to converging configurations. Blocken et al. focused on the wind climate at pedestrian level. The results of this new study show that from the ground to the roof level the wind speeds in the passage are increasing with increasing angles between the buildings for the converging cases, while they are decreasing for the diverging cases. For all cases the highest turbulent kinetic energies can be found downstream of the passage. For the converging cases these regions are located downstream of the buildings and mostly above the pedestrian level, while for diverging cases these regions are located between the buildings at the pedestrian level, where the probability that pedestrians are present is higher.