Comparative CFD Modelling of Weather Station Protective Screens

Details

Supervisors

Contino, Francesco

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil mécanicien, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

Meteorological temperature sensors are housed in protective screens that block solar radiation while allowing ventilation. The presence of the screen itself introduces a thermal bias in the measurement, whose magnitude depends on screen geometry, meteorological forcing, and sensor placement. Existing CFD studies address one configuration at a time, limiting the ability to compare designs on a common physical basis. This work presents a conjugate heat transfer framework implemented in OpenFOAM v12 and applied to three screen configurations: a double-door Stevenson screen (S2), a single-door Stevenson screen (S1), and a compact multi-plate shield (MP). Validated against published numerical data to within 7.4%, the framework is used to assess the sensitivity of the bias to meteorological forcing and geometric parameters, and to compare the three designs under identical conditions. Repositioning the sensor toward the lower quarter of the enclosure and selecting a low-conductivity material such as cedar are identified as the most effective levers for bias reduction. The S2 screen outperforms the other two designs under all conditions investigated, with the MP shield performing worst under high solar irradiance.