ENVI-met calibration for thermodynamic simulations of open urban spaces during hot days

Abstract

This article presents the procedure to perform the calibration of an ENVI-met climate model, with its methodological steps, for the evaluation of open urban spaces in portions of the city of São Paulo in the condition of a hot and dry day, marked by high temperatures. and solar incidence, low humidity and low cloudiness. The calibration process was carried out through successive simulations based on microclimatic data from measurements performed at the location represented in the simulations, in addition to data from the Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG/USP) meteorological stations and from the Congonhas Airport climate file, and its results were evaluated by comparing the main microclimatic variables (air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and radiation) between simulation and measurements. The calibrated model presented  adherence to the measurements, within the expected tolerance limits and, in the calibration process, it was possible to highlight the advantages of using the ENVI-met, its suitability and adaptability for representative models of São Paulo, and also the main difficulties of the simulation process, mainly due to the significant needs of computation capacity and time for the processing of the simulations.