Pollutant Concentrations in Street Canyons of Different Aspect Ratio with Avenues of Trees for Various Wind Directions

This study summarizes the effects of avenues of trees in urban street canyons on traffic pollutant dispersion. We describe various wind-tunnel experiments with different tree-avenue models in combination with variations in street-canyon aspect ratio W/H (with W the street-canyon width and H the building height) and approaching wind direction. Compared to tree-free street canyons, in general, higher pollutant concentrations are found. Avenues of trees do not suppress canyon vortices, although the air ventilation in canyons is hindered significantly. For a perpendicular wind direction, increases in wall-average and wall-maximum concentrations at the leeward canyon wall and decreases in wall-average concentrations at the windward wall are found. For oblique and perpendicular wind directions, increases at both canyon walls are obtained. The strongest effects of avenues of trees on traffic pollutant dispersion are observed for oblique wind directions for which also the largest concentrations at the canyon walls are found. Thus, the prevailing assumption that attributes the most harmful dispersion conditions to a perpendicular wind direction does not hold for street canyons with avenues of trees. Furthermore, following dimensional analysis, an estimate of the normalized wall-maximum traffic pollutant concentration in street canyons with avenues of trees is derived.     

Flow and Pollutant Transport in Urban Street Canyons of Different Aspect Ratios with Ground Heating: Large-Eddy Simulation

A validated large-eddy simulation model was employed to study the effect of the aspect ratio and ground heating on the flow and pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons. Three ground-heating intensities (neutral, weak and strong) were imposed in street canyons of aspect ratio 1, 2, and 0.5. The detailed patterns of flow, turbulence, temperature and pollutant transport were analyzed and compared. Significant changes of flow and scalar patterns were caused by ground heating in the street canyon of aspect ratio 2 and 0.5, while only the street canyon of aspect ratio 0.5 showed a change in flow regime (from wake interference flow to skimming flow). The street canyon of aspect ratio 1 does not show any significant change in the flow field. Ground heating generated strong mixing of heat and pollutant; the normalized temperature inside street canyons was approximately spatially uniform and somewhat insensitive to the aspect ratio and heating intensity. This study helps elucidate the combined effects of urban geometry and thermal stratification on the urban canyon flow and pollutant dispersion.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of Flow and Pollutant Transport in Urban Street Canyons with Ground Heating

Our study employed large-eddy simulation (LES) based on a one-equation subgrid-scale model to investigate the flow field and pollutant dispersion characteristics inside urban street canyons. Unstable thermal stratification was produced by heating the ground of the street canyon. Using the Boussinesq approximation, thermal buoyancy forces were taken into account in both the Navier–Stokes equations and the transport equation for subgrid-scale turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). The LESs were validated against experimental data obtained in wind-tunnel studies before the model was applied to study the detailed turbulence, temperature, and pollutant dispersion characteristics in the street canyon of aspect ratio 1. The effects of different Richardson numbers (Ri) were investigated. The ground heating significantly enhanced mean flow, turbulence, and pollutant flux inside the street canyon, but weakened the shear at the roof level. The mean flow was observed to be no longer isolated from the free stream and fresh air could be entrained into the street canyon at the roof-level leeward corner. Weighed against higher temperature, the ground heating facilitated pollutant removal from the street canyon.     

城市街谷几何结构对街谷内流场及污染物浓度场影响的数值模拟

利用数值模拟方法研究了微尺度街道峡谷范围内街谷几何结构及街道两侧建筑物高度对称性对街谷内流场及机动车排放污染物扩散规律的影响。结果表明:当街道峡谷高宽比>2.1时,街谷内的流场结构由一个完整的垂直涡旋变为上下两个反向运动的强弱不同的垂直涡旋。各类型街谷内污染物扩散水平从强到弱依次为迎风面建筑物高度大于背风面建筑物高度的街道峡谷,迎风面建筑物高度小于背风面建筑物高度的街道峡谷;平行型街道峡谷。     

城市街道峡谷对称性对内部气流场的影响研究

应用雷诺应力湍流模型,模拟了不同高度比的城市街道峡谷的气流场。结果表明:峡谷的对称性对其内部气流场有显著影响。前高后低型峡谷下部为逆时针旋涡,上部为顺时针旋涡,峡谷越深,流场发展的越充分;峡谷内部墙面存在明显的驻点。前低后高型峡谷只存在一个大的顺时针旋涡,随着峡谷的加深,内部气流速率有减小的趋势;峡谷达到一定深度后出现驻点。对称型峡谷内部形成了顺时针旋涡,强度不大;随着峡谷的加深,内部流场转为一顺一反2个旋涡的二元结构;仅当峡谷很深时才出现明显驻点。前低后高型峡谷的气流场形式更有利于污染物的迁移、扩散,在城市规划中应尽量结合主导风向设计这类建筑布局。     

Numerical studies on flow fields around buildings in an Urban street canyon and cross-road

The questions on how vortices are constructed and on the relationship between the flow patterns and concentration distributions in real street canyons are the most pressing questions in pollution control studies. In this paper, the very large eddy simulation (VLES) and large eddy simulation (LES) are applied to calculate the flow and pollutant concentration fields in an urban street canyon and a cross-road respectively. It is found that the flow separations are not only related to the canyon aspect ratios, but also with the flow velocities and wall temperatures. And the turbulent dispersions are so strongly affected by the flow fields that the pollutant concentration distributions can be distinguished from the different aspect ratios, flow velocities and wall temperatures.     

Numerical Study on the Impact of Ground Heating and Ambient Wind Speed on Flow Fields in Street Canyons

The impact of ground heating on flow fields in street canyons under different ambient wind speed conditions was studied based on numerical methods.A series of numerical tests were performed,and three factors including height-to-width(H/W) ratio,ambient wind speed and ground heating intensity were taken into account.Three types of street canyon with H/W ratios of 0.5,1.0 and 2.0,respectively,were used in the simulation and seven speed values ranging from 0.0 to 3.0 m s 1 were set for the ambient wind speed.The ground heating intensity,which was defined as the difference between the ground temperature and air temperature,ranged from 10 to 40 K with an increase of 10 K in the tests.The results showed that under calm conditions,ground heating could induce circulation with a wind speed of around 1.0 m s 1,which is enough to disperse pollutants in a street canyon.It was also found that an ambient wind speed threshold may exist for street canyons with a fixed H/W ratio.When ambient wind speed was lower than the threshold identified in this study,the impact of the thermal effect on the flow field was obvious,and there existed a multi-vortex flow pattern in the street canyon.When the ambient wind speed was higher than the threshold,the circulation pattern was basically determined by dynamic effects.The tests on the impact of heating intensity showed that a higher ground heating intensity could strengthen the vortical flow within the street canyon,which would help improve pollutant diffusion capability in street canyons.     

城市湍流边界层内汽车尾气扩散规律数值模拟研究

以纳维斯托克斯方程组、大气平流扩散方程、湍流动能及湍流动能耗散率方程组为基础．采用伪不定常方法,建立了一个数值模式．利用该模式列城市湍流边界层内流场结构及汽车排放污染物扩散规律进行了研究。结果表明：街谷内会形成一个涡旋型流场．汽车排放污染物浓度在地面及建筑物背风面产生堆积,且其沿高度方向的梯度变化在背风面大．迎风而小。随着街谷两侧建筑物屋顶风速的增大,峡谷内形成的涡旋流场的强度增大,污染物扩散速率增大：当屋顶来流与街道之间的夹角逐渐增大时．涡旋中心位置由街道中心偏向于背风面及更高层且污染物扩散速度加快。     

Model of air flow and air pollution concentration in urban canyons

A model for the calculation of the turbulence flow field and air pollutant concentrations in urban canyons is developed. A two-dimensional set of hydrodynamical equations and a threedimensional diffusion equation are solved numerically with a personal computer. Different boundary conditions were investigated. Three flow regimes were found: without vortex, with one vortex, and with two vortexes, within an urban canyon. The influence of building density and wind speed components along the street was also investigated.     

Micrometeorological Measurements in a Street Canyon during the Joint ATREUS-PICADA Experiment

In order to investigate the microclimatic conditions in a street canyon, a physical model was used to conduct the Joint ATREUS-PICADA Experiment (JAPEX) in situ experimental campaign. Four lines of buildings simulated by steel containers were installed to form three parallel street canyons at 1:5 scale, with width/height aspect ratio approximately 0.40. The reference wind and atmospheric conditions were measured, as well as the flow velocity and direction in the street. Preliminary results concern street canyon ventilation and thermal effects on in-canyon airflow, and show that vortical motions appear for reference wind directions perpendicular to the street axis. The presence of adjacent rows of buildings did not appear to significantly influence the flow character within the canyon for the case of a low aspect ratio corresponding to a skimming flow regime. The flow structure was not significantly affected by the thermal effects although some slight interference occurred in the lower part of the canyon. An analysis of horizontal temperature gradients indicated that a thin boundary layer develops near the heated facade. These facts imply that the thermal effects are considerable only very close to the wall.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of Pollutant Removal from a Three-Dimensional Street Canyon

Large-eddy simulations were conducted to investigate the mechanism of pollutant removal from a three-dimensional street canyon. Five block configurations with aspect ratios (building height to length) of 1, 2, 4, 8 and $\infty $ were used to create an urban-like array. A pollutant was released from a ground-level line source at the centre of the target canyon floor. For smaller aspect ratios, the relative contribution of the turbulent mass flux to net mass flux at the roof level, which was spatially averaged along the roof-level ventilation area, was closer to unity, indicating that turbulent motions mainly affected pollutant removal from the top of the canyon. As aspect ratio increased, the relative contribution became smaller, owing to strong upwind motions. However, the relative contribution again reached near unity for the infinite aspect ratio (i.e. a two-dimensional street canyon) because of lowered lateral flow convergence. At least 75 % of total emissions from the three-dimensional street canyon were attributable to turbulent motions. Pollutant removal by turbulent motions was related to the coherent structures of low-momentum fluid above the canyons. Though the coherent structure size of the low-momentum fluid differed, the positions of low-momentum fluid largely corresponded to instantaneous high concentrations of pollutant above the target canyon, irrespective of canyon geometry.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of Flow and Pollutant Dispersion in High-Aspect-Ratio Urban Street Canyons with Wall Model

A large-eddy simulation (LES) with a one-equation subgrid-scale (SGS) model was developed to investigate the flow field and pollutant dispersion inside street canyons of high aspect ratio (AR). A 1/7th power-law wall model was implemented near rigid walls to mitigate the demanding near-wall resolution requirements in LES. This LES model had been extensively validated against experimental results for street canyons of AR = 1 and 2 before it was applied to the cases of AR = 3 and 5. A ground-level passive pollutant line source, located in the middle of the street, was used to simulate vehicular emissions. Three and five vertically aligned primary recirculations were developed in the street canyons of AR 3 and 5, respectively. The ground-level mean wind speed was less than 0.5% of the free stream value, which makes it difficult for the pollutant to be transported upward for removal. High pollutant concentration and variance were found near the buildings where the air flow is upwards. It was found that the velocity fluctuation, pollutant concentration and variance were all closely related to the interactions between the primary recirculations and/or the free surface layer. Several quantities, which are non-linear functions of AR, were introduced to quantify the air quality in street canyons of different configurations.     

Numerical and experimental studies on flow and pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons

In this study numerical simulations and water tank experiments were used to investigate the flow and pollutant dispersion in an urban street canyon. Two types of canyon geometry were tested. The studies indicate that in a step-up notch canyon （higher buildings on the downstream side of the canyon）, the height and shape of the upstream lower buildings plays an important role in flow pattern and pollutant dispersion, while in a step-down notch canyon （lower buildings on the downstream side）, the downstream lower buildings have little influence. The studies also show that the substitution of tall towers for parailelepiped buildings on one side of the canyon may enhance the street ventilation and decrease the pollutant concentration emitted by motor vehicles.     

Effects of Street-Bottom and Building-Roof Heating on Flow in Three-Dimensional Street Canyons

Using a computational fluid dynamics(CFD)model,the effects of street-bottom and building-roof heating on flow in three-dimensional street canyons are investigated.The building and street-canyon aspect ratios are one.In the presence of street-bottom heating,as the street-bottom heating intensity increases,the mean kinetic energy increases in the spanwise street canyon formed by the upwind and downwind buildings but decreases in the lower region of the streamwise street canyon.The increase in momentum due to buoyancy force intensifies mechanically induced flow in the spanwise street canyon.The vorticity in the spanwise street canyon strengthens.The temperature increase is not large because relatively cold above-roof-level air comes into the spanwise street canyon.In the presence of both street-bottom and building-roof heating,the mean kinetic energy rather decreases in the spanwise street canyon.This is caused by the decrease in horizontal flow speed at the roof level,which results in the weakening of the mean flow circulation in the spanwise street canyon.It is found that the vorticity in the spanwise street canyon weakens.The temperature increase is relatively large compared with that in the street-bottom heating case,because relatively warm above-roof-level air comes into the spanwise street canyon.     

城市街道峡谷汽车尾气污染的数值模拟

建立了一个简单的三维街道峡谷空气污染模式,并用实测资料进行了验证。利用建立的模式设计了7种试验方案,对街道峡谷内的污染状况进行了模拟。以CO为模拟对象的数值试验结果表明,街道峡谷上空的风速风向条件是决定街道峡谷内的污染状况的重要因素。峡谷上空风向与街道轴线的夹角越大、风速越小,则街道地面CO浓度越高。以现有的兰州典型车流量和排放因子,兰州街道地面CO浓度容易超标;若不控制车流量,到2008年,即使兰州上路汽车排放达标,但街道地面CO浓度仍然容易超标。     

Scalar fluxes from urban street canyons. Part I: Laboratory simulation

Flow over urban surfaces depends on surface morphology and interaction with the boundary layer above. However, the effect of the flow on scalar fluxes is hard to quantify. The naphthalene sublimation technique was used to quantify scalar vertical fluxes out of a street canyon under neutral conditions. For an array of eight canyons with aspect ratio H/W=0.75 (here, H is building height and W is the street width), increased flux was observed in the first two or three canyons for moderate and low roughness upstream. This is consistent with predictions of the length scale for initial adjustment of flow to an urban canopy. The flux was constant after the initial adjustment region and thus dependent only on local geometry. For a street canyon in the equilibrium part of the array, each facet of the street canyon was coated with naphthalene to simulate scalar release from street, walls and roof, to evaluate the effect of street canyon geometry on fluxes for H/W=0.25, 0.6, 1 and 2. Fluxes from the roof and downstream wall were considerably larger than fluxes from the street and upstream wall, and only the flux from the downstream wall exhibited a simple decrease with H/W. For each H/W there was a monotonic decrease between downstream wall, street and upstream wall transfer. This suggests that flow decelerates around the recirculation region in the lee of the upstream building, i.e. a recirculating jet rather than a symmetrical vortex. The addition of a second source within the street canyon resulted in reduced fluxes from each facet for H/W>0.25, due to increased concentration of naphthalene in the canyon air.     

Mass Transfer Velocity and Momentum Vertical Exchange in Simulated Deep Street Canyons

A box model to simulate mass transfer inside deep street canyons and with atmospheric flow above is introduced and discussed. Two ideal deep street canyons with aspect ratios of 3 and 5 (the aspect ratio being the ratio between building height and street width H/W) are considered. This range of aspect ratios, found in many densely populated historical centres in Mediterranean cities as well as in other cities around the world, potentially creates high air pollutant concentration levels. Our model is based on a combination of analytical solutions and computation fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using carbon monoxide (CO) as a tracer pollutant. The analytical part of the model is based on mass transfer velocity concepts while CFD simulations are used both for a preliminary validation of the physical hypothesis underlying the model (steady-state simulations) and to evaluate the concentration pattern with time (transient or wash-out simulations). Wash-out simulation curves were fitted by model curves, and mass transfer velocities were evaluated through a best-fitting procedure. Upon introducing into the model the contribution of traffic-produced turbulence, the modelled CO concentration levels became comparable with those obtained in real-world monitoring campaigns. The mass transfer rate between the canyon and the above atmosphere was then expressed in terms of an overall mass transfer velocity, which directly allows the evaluation of the mass transfer rate between the bottom volume of the canyon (pedestrian level) with the above atmosphere. Overall mass transfer velocities are reported as a function of the operating conditions studied (H/W = 3–5 and wind speeds = 2–8 ms⁻¹). Finally, a simple expression is reported for determining pollutant concentrations at the pedestrian level based on the overall mass transfer velocity defined.     

街谷大气扩散试验研究

为研究机动车辆排出的污染物在大气中的扩散规律，在北京做了小风条件下的街谷示踪试验。当楼顶风速u接近或大于1米/秒时，街谷内可形成一稳定的原生涡；u＜0.6米/秒时原生涡将消失。对于楼之间空间较小的街谷，背风面和迎风面的示踪剂浓度平均比值可达8。浓度值沿楼层高度无明显变化；由于快车路旁松墙的阻挡和抬升作用，可能造成沿高度方向楼层中段的浓度偏高。在街谷外，除下风方路面上有一按下风距离的负幂指数衰减的浓度分布外，上风方路面上也有一按较大负幂指数衰减的分布。根据上述试验，给出了用以预测街谷中机动车辆排出的惰性气体污染物的扩散模式；模式中，对原生涡和小尺度湍流，做了分别处理。     

The influence of street architecture on flow and dispersion in street canyons

Summary The paper presents an overview of the influence of street architecture on the wind and turbulence patterns in street canyons and discusses the effects on local air quality. The findings of recent experimental and numerical studies are summarized and wind-tunnel data sets are presented that illustrate the flow-field variability. It is shown that small-scale features of the street architecture play an important role. The formation of a vortex inside the street canyon is affected by the roof configuration. In shorter street canyons, the flow component along the street becomes important for pollutant transport. These results are of importance for urban air quality modeling in particular when dealing with pollution problems caused by road traffic. Furthermore, the findings should be taken into account in fast response models that are used to assess critical areas in the case of accidental or non-accidental releases of hazardous material in urban areas.     

An Improved Three-Dimensional Simulation of the Diurnally Varying Street-Canyon Flow

The impact of diurnal variations of the heat fluxes from building and ground surfaces on the fluid flow and air temperature distribution in street canyons is numerically investigated using the PArallelized Large-eddy Simulation Model (PALM). Simulations are performed for a 3 by 5 array of buildings with canyon aspect ratio of one for two clear summer days that differ in atmospheric instability. A detailed building energy model with a three-dimensional raster-type geometry—Temperature of Urban Facets Indoor-Outdoor Building Energy Simulator (TUF-IOBES)—provides urban surface heat fluxes as thermal boundary conditions for PALM. In vertical cross-sections at the centre of the spanwise canyon the mechanical forcing and the horizontal streamwise thermal forcing at roof level outweigh the thermal forces from the heated surfaces inside the canyon in defining the general flow pattern throughout the day. This results in a dominant canyon vortex with a persistent speed, centered at a constant height. Compared to neutral simulations, non-uniform heating of the urban canyon surfaces significantly modifies the pressure field and turbulence statistics in street canyons. Strong horizontal pressure gradients were detected in streamwise and spanwise canyons throughout the day, and which motivate larger turbulent velocity fluctuations in the horizontal directions rather than in the vertical direction. Canyon-averaged turbulent kinetic energy in all non-neutral simulations exhibits a diurnal cycle following the insolation on the ground in both spanwise and streamwise canyons, and it is larger when the canopy bottom surface is paved with darker materials and the ground surface temperature is higher as a result. Compared to uniformly distributed thermal forcing on urban surfaces, the present analysis shows that realistic non-uniform thermal forcing can result in complex local airflow patterns, as evident, for example, from the location of the vortices in horizontal planes in the spanwise canyon. This study shows the importance of three-dimensional simulations with detailed thermal boundary conditions to explore the heat and mass transport in an urban area.