Takashi Asaeda

A k-*epsiv Turbulence Closure Model For The Atmospheric Boundary Layer Including Urban Canopy

A numerical model for the computation of the wind field,air temperature and humidity in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) including the urbancanopy was developed for urban climate simulation. The governing equations of the modelare derived by applying ensemble and spatial averages to the Navier–Stokes equation, continuityequation and equations for heat and water vapour transfer in the air. With the spatial averagingprocedure, effects of buildings and other urban structures in the urban canopy can be accounted for byintroducing an effective volume function, defined as the ratio between the volume of air in acomputational mesh over the total volume of the mesh. The improved k - ε model accounts for the anisotropyof the turbulence field under density stratification. In the improved k - ε model, the transportof momentum and heat in the vertical direction under density stratification is evaluated based onthe assumption of a near-equilibrium shear flow where transport effects on the stresses andheat fluxes are negligible. The heating processes at surfaces of buildings and ground are alsomodelled. The comparison of the computational results obtained with the present modeland existing observational data and numerical models shows that the present model is capableof predicting the structure of turbulence in the urban canopy layer under density stratification.Numerical experiments with the new model show that the flow behaviour of the air in the urbancanopy layer is strongly affected by the existence of buildings and density stratification.