COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS APPLICATIONS IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Applications in the Built Environment offers a clear, practice-oriented guide to using CFD for building and urban design. Written for non-specialist users, it bridges the gap between CFD theory and real-world application, guiding readers through the full modelling workflow from geometry and meshing to validation and interpretation.

The book integrates academic benchmark studies with industry and research case examples drawn from decades of professional experience. Coverage includes ventilation, wind-driven rain, indoor air quality, thermal comfort, urban microclimate, vegetation effects, pollutant dispersion, fire safety, and hydrogen infrastructure.

Aligned with performance-based design and green building certification, and supported by tutorial questions and working examples, this book is an essential reference for sustainable, high-performance built environments.

POH Hee Joo is an Associate Professor in the Department of the Built Environment, College of Design and Engineering, at the National University of Singapore. He has more than 25 years of professional, research, and teaching experience in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Building Performance Simulation (BPS), with a strong focus on applications in buildings and urban environments. His work integrates fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, and environmental modelling to support performance-based design and sustainable development in the built environment.

Dr Poh began his CFD career in the mid-1990s, working on airflow and heat transfer problems during his undergraduate and master's studies in mechanical engineering. He later contributed to Singapore's national research ecosystem, undertaking high-impact CFD projects involving airport and underground infrastructure ventilation, high-rise residential airflow, fire and smoke safety engineering, and urban microclimate studies. He subsequently obtained his PhD in advanced transport phenomena and multiphysics CFD modelling, further strengthening his expertise in coupled flow, thermal, and environmental systems.

At NUS, Dr Poh teaches and develops undergraduate and postgraduate modules in total building performance, smart facilities, green building integration, and CFD applications in the built environment. His teaching philosophy emphasizes strong engineering fundamentals, simulation literacy, and the integration of analysis and design across the full building life cycle — from early-stage design to operation, resilience, and sustainability assessment. He actively supervises PhD students, master's theses, and undergraduate final-year projects in areas such as natural and hybrid ventilation, wind-driven rain, indoor air quality, fire safety, urban heat island mitigation, and nature-based climate solutions.

Dr Poh is an active researcher and has led or contributed to competitive research grants and industry-collaborative projects with government agencies and professional consultancies. His research outputs include journal publications, applied CFD methodologies, and technical guidelines that inform green building standards and performance-based design frameworks, particularly for tropical climates. He also serves the academic community through journal reviewing, special issue editorship, and professional advisory roles. Notably, Dr Poh won the President Technology Awards (Team) 2019, highest honours bestowed on exceptional research scientists and engineers in Singapore for the excellent achievements in science and technology, for development of the Integrated Environmental Modeller (IEM), an advanced modelling tool that is capable of integrating combined wind-solar-noise environmental factors, their interrelationship, and their total impact on an urban setting.