Alan Robins

A WIND TUNNEL INVESTIGATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF SOLAR-INDUCED WALL-HEATING ON THE FLOW REGIME WITHIN A SIMULATED URBAN STREET CANYON

A wind tunnel study has been undertaken to assess theinfluence of solar-induced wall heating on the airflowpattern within a street canyon under low-speed windconditions. This flow is normally dominated by large-scalevortical motion, such that the wind moves downwards at thedownstream wall. In the present work the aim has been toexamine whether the buoyancy forces generated at this wallby solar-induced heating are of sufficient strength tooppose the downward inertial forces and, thereby, changethe canyon flow pattern. Such changes will also influencethe dispersion of pollutants within the street. In theexperiments the windward-facing wall of a canyon has beenuniformly heated to simulate the effect of solar radiation.Four different test cases, representing different degreesof buoyancy (defined by a test Froude number, Fr), havebeen examined using a simple, 2-D, square-section canyonmodel in a wind tunnel. For reference purposes, the neutralcase (no wall heating), has also been studied. The approachflow boundary layer conditions have been well defined, withthe wind normal to the main canyon axis, and measurementshave been taken of canyon wall and air temperatures andprofiles of mean velocities and turbulence intensities.Analysis of the results shows clear differences in the flowpatterns. As Fr decreases from the neutral case there arereductions of up to 50% in the magnitudes of the reverseflow velocities near the ground and in the upward motionnear the upstream wall. A marked transition occurs at Fr ≈ 1, where the single dominant vortex, existing at higher Fr values, weakens and moves upwards whilst a lower region of relatively stagnant flow appears. This transition hadpreviously been observed in numerical model predictions butat a Fr at least an order of magnitude higher.

DISPERSION EXPERIMENTS IN CENTRAL LONDON The 2007 Dapple Project

In the event of a release of toxic gas in the center of London, emergency services personnel would need to determine quickly the extent of the area contaminated. The transport of pollutants by turbulent flow within the complex streets and building architecture of London, United Kingdom, is not straightforward, and we might wonder whether it is at all possible to make a scientifically reasoned decision. Here, we describe recent progress from a major U.K. project, Dispersion of Air Pollution and its Penetration into the Local Environment (DAPPLE; information online at www.dapple.org.uk). In DAPPLE, we focus on the movement of airborne pollutants in cities by developing a greater understanding of atmospheric flow and dispersion within urban street networks. In particular, we carried out full-scale dispersion experiments in central London from 2003 through 2008 to address the extent of the dispersion of tracers following their release at street level. These measurements complemented previous studies because 1...

Numerical considerations for simulations of flow and dispersion around buildings

Abstract This paper presents some aspects of computational work undertaken as part of a multipartner European Union project on flow and dispersion around buildings. Attention is concentrated on those features of the numerical methods which need particular care if adequate predictions are to be obtained. Some results from a few of the 15 or so test cases being computed by all the partners using a commercially available CFD code are used to illustrate the dangers that attend such calculations. It is shown that typical numerical solutions obtainable in an industrial context are likely to be strongly dependent not only on the turbulence model but also, and often more importantly, on mesh design and the numerical method. For example, a solution obtained with, say, the standard k − e turbulence model on a course grid can give results closer to experimental laboratory data than would be obtained with improved gridding and/or numerical schemes. Statements concerning apparent accuracy can therefore be misleading.

Comparison of the behaviour of manufactured and other airborne nanoparticles and the consequences for prioritising research and regulation activities

Currently, there are no air quality regulations in force in any part of the world to control number concentrations of airborne atmospheric nanoparticles (ANPs). This is partly due to a lack of reliable information on measurement methods, dispersion characteristics, modelling, health and other environmental impacts. Because of the special characteristics of manufactured (also termed engineered or synthesised) nanomaterials or nanoparticles (MNPs), a substantial increase is forecast for their manufacture and use, despite understanding of safe design and use, and health and environmental implications being in its early stage. This article discusses a number of underlining technical issues by comparing the properties and behaviour of MNPs with anthropogenically produced ANPs. Such a comparison is essential for the judicious treatment of the MNPs in any potential air quality regulatory framework for ANPs.

An overview of experimental results and dispersion modelling of nanoparticles in the wake of moving vehicles

Understanding the transformation of nanoparticles emitted from vehicles is essential for developing appropriate methods for treating fine scale particle dynamics in dispersion models. This article provides an overview of significant research work relevant to modelling the dispersion of pollutants, especially nanoparticles, in the wake of vehicles. Literature on vehicle wakes and nanoparticle dispersion is reviewed, taking into account field measurements, wind tunnel experiments and mathematical approaches. Field measurements and modelling studies highlighted the very short time scales associated with nanoparticle transformations in the first stages after the emission. These transformations strongly interact with the flow and turbulence fields immediately behind the vehicle, hence the need of characterising in detail the mixing processes in the vehicle wake. Very few studies have analysed this interaction and more research is needed to build a basis for model development. A possible approach is proposed and areas of further investigation identified.

Large-eddy simulation of dispersion: comparison between elevated and ground-level sources

Large-eddy simulation (LES) is used to calculate the concentration fluctuations of passive plumes from an elevated source (ES) and a ground-level source (GLS) in a turbulent boundary layer over a rough wall. The mean concentration, relative fluctuations and spectra are found to be in good agreement with the wind-tunnel measurements for both ES and GLS. In particular, the calculated relative fluctuation level for GLS is quite satisfactory, suggesting that the LES is reliable and the calculated instantaneous data can be used for further post-processing. Animations are shown of the meandering of the plumes, which is one of the main features to the numerical simulations. Extreme value theory (EVT), in the form of the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD), is applied to model the upper tail of the probability density function of the concentration time series collected at many typical locations for GLS and ES from both LES and experiments. The relative maxima (defined as maximum concentration normalized by the local mean concentration) and return levels estimated from the numerical data are in good agreement with those from the experimental data. The relative maxima can be larger than 50. The success of the comparisons suggests that we can achieve significant insight into the physics of dispersion in turbulent flows by combining LES and EVT.

Spatial Variability and Source-Receptor Relations at a Street Intersection

A wind tunnel study of dispersion at a simple urban intersection comprising two perpendicular streets is described. Concentration and flow field measurement were undertaken to determine the importance of the exchange of pollutants between the streets and to investigate source-receptor relationships at the intersection. The results showed that only in a symmetrical situation were exchanges negligible and that small departures from symmetry, brought about in the experiments through an off-set in the street alignment or a change of orientation relative to the wind, were sufficient to establish significant exchanges. The results also showed that significant structure appeared in the concentration fields in the streets as a result. Examples are shown where concentrations on one side of a street are entirely due to emissions from the perpendicular street, whereas on the opposite side concentrations depend on emission upwind in the same street as the receptor. The results imply that exchanges between street systems are likely to be the norm in practice and that the consequences of such exchanges are not confined to the immediate vicinity of the intersection.

Three-dimensional modelling of concentration fluctuations in complicated geometry

The strong fluctuating component in the measured concentration time series of a dispersing gaseous pollutant in the atmospheric boundary layer, and the hazard level associated to short-term concentration levels, demonstrate the necessity of calculating the magnitude of turbulent fluctuations of concentration using computational simulation models. Moreover the computation of concentration fluctuations in cases of dispersion in realistic situations, such as built-up areas or street canyons, is of special practical interest for hazard assessment purposes. In this paper, the formulation and evaluation of a model for concentration fluctuations, based on a transport equation, are presented. The model is applicable in cases of complex geometry. It is included in the framework of a computational code, developed for simulating the dispersion of buoyant pollutants over complex geometries. The experimental data used for the model evaluation concerned the dispersion of a passive gas in a street canyon between 4 identical rectangular buildings performed in a wind tunnel. The experimental concentration fluctuations data have been derived from measured high frequency concentrations. The concentration fluctuations model is evaluated by comparing the models predictions with the observations in the form of scatter plots, quantile-quantile plots, contour plots and statistical indices as the fractional bias, the geometrical mean variance and the factor-of-two percentage. From the above comparisons it is concluded that the overall model performance in the present complex geometry case is satisfactory. The discrepancies between model predictions and observations are attributed to inaccuracies in prescribing the actual wind tunnel boundary conditions to the computational code.

Dense gas vertical diffusion over rough surfaces: results of wind-tunnel studies

Abstract A cooperative program of measurements of vertical diffusion of continuous, dense gas plumes over rough surfaces in neutral boundary layers has been carried out in three wind tunnels in the USA and the UK. The three environmental boundary layer tunnels were at the Chemical Hazards Research Center (CHRC) at the University of Arkansas, the Fluid Modeling Facility (FMF) of the US Environmental Protection Agency in North Carolina, and the Environmental Flow Research Centre (EnFlo) at the University of Surrey. A simple and consistent set of definitions was adopted for the plume variables like plume depth, mean plume transport speed, vertical entrainment velocity, we, and plume Richardson number Ri ∗ , where Ri 1/2 ∗ is a ratio of buoyancy-induced flow velocities to u ∗ , the upstream-of-source ambient friction velocity. The present experiments focus on how Ri ∗ affects the ratio w e /u ∗ . In order to maintain nearly constant Ri ∗ in distance and time, continuous line sources of dense gas, primarily CO2, were employed. Good agreement was found among the three tunnels. The results also agree with the classic Prairie grass field experiment for the “passive limit” ( Ri ∗ =0): w e /u ∗ =0.6–0.7. For Ri ∗ up to 20, the results fit the equation w e /u ∗ =0.65/(1+0.2 Ri ∗ ). For Ri ∗ >20, molecular diffusion and viscosity effects were apparently quite strong because we was observed to collapse to values nearly commensurate with molecular diffusion alone.

Water tank measurements of buoyant plume rise and structure in neutral crossflows

In this paper, an experimental study of the rise and development of a single buoyant plume and a pair of in-line buoyant plumes is presented. The investigations were carried out at small scale in a water filled towing tank using both quantitative flow visualisation and local concentration measurements. The measured plume trajectories for a single plume were compared with the Briggs plume rise equation and predictions from a numerical integral model. Plume trajectories were studied for twin in-line plumes, with particular attention to changes in the plume trajectory, especially any additional rise that resulted from the interaction between the two plumes. Concentration field distributions in cross-sections through both single and interacting twin plumes were obtained from the local concentration measurement system. These showed how the interaction affected the plume structure, notably the double vortex system that occurs in a fully developed plume.