Saburo Murakawa

Study of the effects of a river on the thermal environment in an urban area

Abstract This paper describes the results of field observations on the micro-climate in an around the Ota River flowing through Hiroshima City. At first, detailed measurements of temperature distribution within the river section were carried out along the bridge. Then, both the horizontal and vertical extent of a thermal river-effect were confirmed by moving observations along the streets crossing the river and by simultaneous balloon observations above the river and in the downtown area. In addition to these short-term observations on fine days, long-term temperature measurements were conducted at several stationary points in and around the river during 14 months. The drop in air temperature above the river exceeds 5°C on fine days in warmer seasons, and is proportional to the surface temperature difference between the river water and the asphalt pavement. These thermal effects were discernible at least a few hundreds meters horizontally and more than 80m vertically. However, temperatures were also affected by the building density and wind direction and velocity.

Vietnam’s Future Water Usage Model: A Controlled Living Experiment

The purpose of this study was to explore the water usage profile of future Vietnamese households by carrying out a controlled living experiment with Vietnamese high-income households. By studying showering time, flow rate and toilet-use frequency of these households, the study revealed the water usage believed to be representative of future households in light of continued urbanization. This study also determined that the average time of showering was 9.7 minutes per person per day with an average flow rate of 12 L/minute for the existing shower head and 6.6 L/minute for the water-saving shower head. Toilet usage frequency was 5.25 times per person per day, and there was no difference with the results for an average (middle-income) household.

ANALYSIS ON CONSCIOUSNESS AND EVALUATIONS STRUCTURE FOR IRRIGATION PONDS IN URBAN AREAS

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Study on the Indigenous Building Materials of Traditional Houses in Myanmar

In this paper, a study on the various indigenous materials used for the construction of the traditional houses of Myanmar is made. The aim of the study is to collect the basic data for further study about the influences and effects of the use of indigenous building materials on the human comfort inside of the house in correlation with the environment and weather condition. Detail investigation is made on the villages of some races; Bamar, Mon, Shan and Inn-thar. The authors show the type of structure of house in Myanmar and characters of the investigated houses based on the fieldworks and questionnaire, which are located at ten traditional villages and a new developed town. Various kinds of wood and bamboo used for construction materials and leaves and grasses used for roofing are shown as the common indigenous materials. Actual conditions of the indigenous materials used for structure, roofing, flooring and walling in each village and new town are clarified.