Mean and Turbulent Flow Statistics in a Trellised Agricultural Canopy

Flow physics is investigated in a two-dimensional trellised agricultural canopy to examine that architecture’s unique signature on turbulent transport. Analysis of meteorological data from an Oregon vineyard demonstrates that the canopy strongly influences the flow by channelling the mean flow into the vine-row direction regardless of the above-canopy wind direction. Additionally, other flow statistics in the canopy sub-layer show a dependance on the difference between the above-canopy wind direction and the vine-row direction. This includes an increase in the canopy displacement height and a decrease in the canopy-top shear length scale as the above-canopy flow rotates from row-parallel towards row-orthogonal. Distinct wind-direction-based variations are also observed in the components of the stress tensor, turbulent kinetic energy budget, and the energy spectra. Although spectral results suggest that sonic anemometry is insufficient for resolving all of the important scales of motion within the canopy, the energy spectra peaks still exhibit dependencies on the canopy and the wind direction. These variations demonstrate that the trellised-canopy’s effect on the flow during periods when the flow is row-aligned is similar to that seen by sparse canopies, and during periods when the flow is row-orthogonal, the effect is similar to that seen by dense canopies.     

Characteristics of air flow above and within soybean canopies

Air flow was observed above and within canopies of a number of kinds of soybeans. The Clark cultivar and two isolines of the Harosoy cultivar were studied in 1979 and 1980, respectively. Wind speed above the canopy was measured with cup anemometers. Heated thermistor anemometers were used to measure air flow within the canopy. Above-canopy air flow was characterized in terms of the zero-plane displacement (d), roughness parameter (z _o) and drag coefficient (C _d). d and z _o were dependent on canopy height but were independent of friction velocity in the range 0.55 to 0.75 m s^?1 · C _d for the various canopies ranged from 0.027 to 0.035. Greater C _d values were measured over an erectophile canopy than over a planophile canopy. C _d was not measurably affected by differences in leaf pubescence. Within-canopy wind profiles were measured at two locations: within and between rows. The wind profile was characterized by a region of great wind shear in the upper canopy and by a region of relatively weak wind shear in the middle canopy. Considerable spatial variability in wind speed was evident, however. This result has significant implications for canopy flow modeling efforts aimed at evaluating transport in the canopy. In the lower canopy, wind speed within a row increased with depth whereas wind speed between two rows decreased with depth. The wind speeds at the two locations tended to converge to a common value at a height near 0.10 m. The attenuation of within-canopy air flow was stronger in canopies with greater foliage density. Canopy flow attenuation seemed to decrease with increasing wind speed, suggesting that high winds distorted the shape of the canopy in such a manner that the penetration of wind into the canopy increased.     

Assessment of Gradient-Based Similarity Functions in the Stable Boundary Layer Derived from a Large-Eddy Simulation

Most of our knowledge on forest-edge flows comes from numerical and wind-tunnel experiments where canopies are horizontally homogeneous. To investigate the impact of tree-scale heterogeneities (\({>}1\) m) on the edge-flow dynamics, the flow in an inhomogeneous forest edge on Falster island in Denmark is investigated using large-eddy simulation. The three-dimensional forest structure is prescribed in the model using high resolution helicopter-based lidar scans. After evaluating the simulation against wind measurements upwind and downwind of the forest leading edge, the flow dynamics are compared between the scanned forest and an equivalent homogeneous forest. The simulations reveal that forest inhomogeneities facilitate flow penetration into the canopy from the edge, inducing important dispersive fluxes in the edge region as a consequence of the flow spatial variability. Further downstream from the edge, the forest inhomogeneities accentuate the canopy-top turbulence and the skewness of the wind-velocity components while the momentum flux remains unchanged. This leads to a lower efficiency in the turbulent transport of momentum within the canopy. Dispersive fluxes are only significant in the upper canopy. Above the canopy, the mean flow is less affected by the forest inhomogeneities. The inhomogeneities induce an increase in the mean wind speed that was found to be equivalent to a decrease in the aerodynamic height of the canopy. Overall, these results highlight the importance of forest inhomogeneities when looking at canopy–atmosphere exchanges in forest-edge regions.     

Turbulence in Sparse, Organized Vegetative Canopies: A Large-Eddy Simulation Study

A large-eddy simulation study was performed to characterize turbulence in sparse, row-oriented canopies. This was accomplished by simulating a set of heterogeneous row-oriented canopies with varying row vegetation density and spacing. To determine the effects of heterogeneity, results were compared to horizontally homogeneous canopies with an equivalent ‘effective’ leaf area index. By using a proper effective leaf area index, plane-averaged mean velocities and bulk scaling parameters contained only small errors when heterogeneity was ignored. However, many cases had significantly larger second- and third-order velocity moments in the presence of heterogeneity. Some heterogeneous canopies also contained dispersive fluxes in the lower canopy that were over 20 % as large as the turbulent flux. Impacts of heterogeneity were most pronounced in the cases of large row leaf area density and widely spaced rows. Despite the substantial amount of open space in the sparse canopies, vertical velocity skewness and quadrant-hole analysis indicated that the flow behaved predominantly as a canopy layer even though integral length scales at the canopy top no longer followed mixing-layer scaling. This was supported by the fact that similar composite-averaged coherent structures could be readily identified in both the heterogeneous and homogeneous canopies. Heterogeneity had an effect on coherent structures, in that structure detection events were most likely to occur just upwind of the vegetation rows. In simulations with large row spacing, these structures also penetrated deeper into the canopy when compared to the equivalent homogeneous canopy.     

Turbulence Structure Within and Above a Canopy of Bluff Elements

Measurements of turbulence structure in a wind-tunnel model canopy of bluff elements show many of the features associated with vegetation canopies and roughness sublayers but also display features more characteristic of the inertial sublayer (ISL). Points of similarity include the existence of an inflexion point in the space-time averaged streamwise velocity at the canopy top, the variation with height of turbulent second moments and the departure of the turbulent kinetic energy budget from local equilibrium in and just above the canopy. Quadrant analysis shows characteristic dominance of sweep over ejection events within the canopy although sweeps are more frequent than usually seen in vegetation canopies. Points of difference are a u′, w′ correlation coefficient that is closer to the ISL value than to most canopy data, and a turbulent Prandtl number midway between canopy and ISL values. Within the canopy there is distinct spatial partitioning into two flow regimes, the wake and non-wake regions. Both time-mean and conditional statistics take different values in these different regions of the canopy flow. We explain many of these features by appealing to a modified version of the mixing-layer hypothesis that links the dominant turbulent eddies to the instability of the inflexion point at canopy top. However, it is evident that these eddies are perturbed by the quasi-coherent wakes of the bluff canopy elements. Based upon an equation for the instantaneous velocity perturbation, we propose a criterion for deciding when the eddies linked to the inflexion point will dominate flow structure and when that structure will be replaced by an array of superimposed element wakes. In particular, we show that the resemblance of some features of the flow to the ISL does not mean that ISL dynamics operate within bluff-body canopies in any sense.     

Daytime Turbulence Statistics above a Steep Forested Slope

Six levels of simultaneously sampled ultrasonic data are used to analyse the turbulence structure within a mixed forest of 13 m height on a steep slope (35°) in an alpine valley. The data set is compared to other studies carried out over forests in more ideal, flat terrain. The analysis is carried out for 30-min mean data, joint probability distributions, length scales and spectral characteristics.Thermally induced upslope winds and cold air drainage lead to a wind speed maximum within the trunk space. Slope winds are superimposed on valley winds and the valley-wind component becomes stronger with increasing height. Slope and valley winds are thus interacting on different spatial and time scales leading to a quite complex pattern in momentum transport that differs significantly from surface-layer characteristics. Directional shear causes lateral momentum transports that are in the same order or even larger than the longitudinal ones. In the canopy, however, a sharp attenuation of turbulence is observed. Skewed distributions of velocity components indicate that intermittent turbulent transport plays an important role in the energy distribution.Even though large-scale pressure fields lead to characteristic features in the turbulent structure that are superimposed on the canopy flow, it is found that many statistical properties typical of both mixing layers and canopy flow are observed in the data set.     

Analysis of canopy index values for various canopy densities

Canopy wind profiles can often be represented by an exponential function such that wind-speeds in these vegetative canopies are a function of height and the attenuation coefficient of this wind profile relationship. To be more precise, canopy flow is a function of canopy density, element flexibility, and height. An index of canopy flow, therefore, can be defined as a conservative measure of the gross flow response to the presence of various types of roughness elements. For this study, windspeed profile data of two quite different canopy density experiments — field and wind tunnel - have been analyzed based on least-square fittings. The results indicate that the two sets of index values of canopy flow behave in a similar manner with maxima occurring for optimum densities of one-third the potential full array of roughness elements. These index values also differ by some 0.2, but are still compatible when one accounts for the respective levels of turbulence within these dissimilar canopies.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF TURBULENT FLOW IN AND ABOVE PLANT CANOPIES

The turbulent flow in and above plant canopies is of fundamental importance to the understanding oftransport processes of momentum,heat and mass between plant canopies and atmosphere,and to microme-teorology.The Reynolds stress equation model(RSM)has been applied to calculate the turbulence in cano-pies in this paper.The calculated mean wind velocity profiles,Reynolds stress,turbulent kinetic energy andviscous dissipation rate in a corn canopy and a spruce forest are compared with field observed data and withWilson's and Shaw's model.The velocity profiles and Rynolds stress calculated by both models are in goodagreement,and the length scale of turbulence appears to be similar.     

On the downward transport of turbulent kinetic energy in the surface layer over plant canopies

Downward fluxes of turbulent kinetic energy have been frequently observed in the air layer just above plant canopies. In order to investigate the mechanism for such downward transport, analysis of observational data is attempted. Height-dependency of turbulent kinetic energy flux and turbulence statistics including higher order moments is represented as a function of a non-dimensional height z/H, where z is an observational height and H an average height of plant canopies. Downward fluxes and non-Gaussianity of wind velocity fluctuations are predominant just above plant canopies and decrease with increasing height. The downward flux is closely related to the high intensity of turbulence and the non-Gaussianity of wind velocity fluctuations, especially with a positive skewness in the longitudinal wind and a negative skewness in the vertical wind. The analysis method of conditional sampling and averaging is applied to the present observations. The results show that the predominance of the intermittent inrush phase over the intermittent ejection phase leads to the above-mentioned non-Gaussianity. Finally, a simple explanation is given in order to interpret the turbulent flow structure in the air layer near the plant canopies, which is associated with the downward energy transport process.     

Hilbert方法在大气边界层湍流特征分析中的有效性

介绍一种新的建立在经验模态分解(EMD)方法基础上的非线性、非平稳数据分析技术一Hilbert分析技术,并首次将其应用于大气边界层(PBL)湍流数据的分析,初步探讨了其在PBL湍流研究中的有效性.通过对城市与森林冠层上湍流资料的能量分布特征和统计平稳度进行分析、比较,结果表明:Hilbert谱分析能有效地对PBL湍流信号进行分析.它的边缘谱分析能够有效地探测PBL湍流信号的能量分布特征,统计平稳度分析也能有效地给出PBL湍流信号平稳性的定量化测量,这些将有助于建立合适的数据质量控制方法,以及对现有空气质量与扩散模式中扩散参数的计算加以改进.文中个例分析中,城市和森林冠层上空的湍流有一定相似性,湍流混合都比较充分,但森林冠层上湍流信号的能量更多地集中在大尺度湍涡,且扰动风速的高频部分具有更强的间歇性.对于相近高度的湍流信号来说,多数情况下,森林冠层上相同尺度的湍涡表现得比城市冠层上更不稳定,但湍涡的含能量要更低.     

CFD simulation of airflow over a regular array of cubes. Part II: analysis of spatial average properties

In the first part of this study, results of a computational fluid dynamics simulation over an array of cubes have been validated against a set of wind-tunnel measurements. In Part II, such numerical results are used to investigate spatially-averaged properties of the flow and passive tracer dispersion that are of interest for high resolution urban mesoscale modelling (e.g. non resolved obstacle approaches). The results show that vertical profiles of mean horizontal wind are linear within the canopy and logarithmic above. The drag coefficient, derived from the numerical results using the classical formula for the drag force, is height dependent (it decreases with height). However, a modification of the formula is proposed (accounting for subgrid velocity scales) that makes the drag coefficient constant with height. Results also show that the dispersive fluxes are similar in magnitude to the turbulent fluxes, and that they play a very important role within the canopy. Vertical profiles of turbulent length scales (to be used in k–l closure schemes, where k is the turbulent kinetic energy and l a turbulent length scale) are also derived. Finally the distribution of the values around the mean over the reference volumes are analysed for wind and tracer concentrations.     

A New Scheme for the Simulation of Microscale Flow and Dispersion in Urban Areas by Coupling Large-Eddy Simulation with Mesoscale Models

A coupling scheme is proposed for the simulation of microscale flow and dispersion in which both the mesoscale field and small-scale turbulence are specified at the boundary of a microscale model. The small-scale turbulence is obtained individually in the inner and outer layers by the transformation of pre-computed databases, and then combined in a weighted sum. Validation of the results of a flow over a cluster of model buildings shows that the inner- and outer-layer transition height should be located in the roughness sublayer. Both the new scheme and the previous scheme are applied in the simulation of the flow over the central business district of Oklahoma City (a point source during intensive observation period 3 of the Joint Urban 2003 experimental campaign), with results showing that the wind speed is well predicted in the canopy layer. Compared with the previous scheme, the new scheme improves the prediction of the wind direction and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in the canopy layer. The flow field influences the scalar plume in two ways, i.e. the averaged flow field determines the advective flux and the TKE field determines the turbulent flux. Thus, the mean, root-mean-square and maximum of the concentration agree better with the observations with the new scheme. These results indicate that the new scheme is an effective means of simulating the complex flow and dispersion in urban canopies.     

Turbulence Statistics Above And Within Two Amazon Rain Forest Canopies

The turbulence structure in two Amazon rain forestswas characterised for a range of above-canopystability conditions, and the results compared withprevious studies in other forest canopies and recenttheory for the generation of turbulent eddies justabove forest canopies. Three-dimensional wind speedand temperature fluctuation data were collectedsimultaneously at up to five levels inside and abovetwo canopies of 30–40 m tall forests, during threeseparate periods. We analysed hourly statistics, jointprobability distributions, length scales, spatialcorrelations and coherence, as well as power spectraof vertical and horizontal wind speed.The daytime results show a sharp attenuation ofturbulence in the top third of the canopies, resultingin very little movement, and almost Gaussianprobability distributions of wind speeds, in the lowercanopy. This contrasts with strongly skewed andkurtotic distributions in the upper canopy. At night,attenuation was even stronger and skewness vanishedeven in the upper canopy. Power spectral peaks in thelower canopy are shifted to lower frequencies relativeto the upper canopy, and spatial correlations andcoherences were low throughout the canopy. Integrallength scales of vertical wind speed at the top of thecanopy were small, about 0.15 h compared to avalue of 0.28 h expected from the shear lengthscale at the canopy top, based on the hypothesis that theupper canopy air behaves as a plane mixing layer. Allthis suggests that, although exchange is not totallyinhibited, tropical rain forest canopies differ from other forests in that rapid, coherentdownward sweeps do not penetrate into the lowercanopy, and that length scales are suppressed. This isassociated with a persistent inversion of stability inthat region compared to above-canopy conditions. Theinversion is likely to be maintained by strong heatabsorption in the leaves concentrated near thecanopy top, with the generally weak turbulence beingunable to destroy the temperature gradients over thelarge canopy depth.     

An Analytical Model for Mean Wind Profiles in Sparse Canopies

Existing analytical models for mean wind profiles within canopies are applicable only in dense canopy scenarios, where all momentum is absorbed by canopy elements and, hence, the effect of the ground on turbulent mixing is not important. Here, we propose a new analytical model that can simulate mean wind profiles within sparse canopies under neutral conditions. The model adopts a linearized canopy-drag parametrization and a first-order turbulence closure scheme taking into account the effects of both the ground and canopy elements on turbulent mixing. The resulting wind profile within a sparser canopy appears to be more like a logarithmic form, with the no-slip condition at the ground being satisfied. The analytical solution converges exactly to the standard surface-layer logarithmic wind profile in the case of zero canopy density (i.e., no-canopy scenario) and tends to be an exponential wind profile for a dense canopy; this feature is unique compared with existing analytical models for canopy wind profiles. Results from the new model are in good agreement with those from laboratory experiments and numerical simulations.     

The turbulent wind flow over an embankment

Under neutral conditions and with low winds, profiles of mean and turbulent wind components have been measured at various points across an embankment with aspect ratio 0.3. These measurements have been compared with and related to those of undisturbed flow in a horizontal homogeneous area on the windward side. The speed-up ratio, the turbulent and mean kinetic energy and the turbulent shear stress are examined. It is found that the flow stagnates on the windward side, accelerates above the crest, and separates behind the crest. The results show a remarkable dependence on the angle of attack. With an angle smaller than 90 °, the influence of the embankment on the mean wind field is reduced but is increased on the turbulent part, as lateral gustiness components are amplified. With the incoming flow normal to the embankment, maximum turbulence is found on the top of the ridge near the surface but at greater heights farther downwind. The same is true for the shear stress, but only for oblique flow, whereas for normal flow a minimum is found above the crest and a maximum on the windward side. Therefore, with varying angle of attack the embankment acts in different ways on mean wind, turbulent kinetic energy, and turbulent stress. Although the winds were low, all effects are clearly evident in the data.     

A wind tunnel study of air flow in waving wheat: Single-point velocity statistics

We analyse single-point velocity statistics obtained in a wind tunnel within and above a model of a waving wheat crop, consisting of nylon stalks 47 mm high and 0.25 mm wide in a square array with frontal area index 0.47. The variability of turbulence measurements in the wind tunnel is illustrated by using a set of 71 vertical traverses made in different locations, all in the horizontally-homogeneous (above-canopy) part of the boundary layer. Ensemble-averaged profiles of the statistical moments up to the fourth order and profiles of Eulerian length scales are presented and discussed. They are consistent with other similar experiments and reveal the existence of large-scale turbulent coherent structures in the flow. The drag coefficient in this canopy as well as in other reported experiments is shown to exhibit a characteristic height-dependency, for which we propose an interpretation. The velocity spectra are analysed in detail; within and just above the canopy, a scaling based on fixed length and velocity scales (canopy height and mean horizontal wind speed at canopy top) is proposed. Examination of the turbulent kinetic energy and shear stress budgets confirms the role of turbulent transport in the region around the canopy top, and indicates that pressure transport may be significant in both cases. The results obtained here show that near the top of the canopy, the turbulence properties are more reminiscent of a plane mixing layer than a wall boundary layer.     

Mean Winds Through an Inhomogeneous Urban Canopy

The mean flow within inhomogeneous urban areas is investigated using an urban canopy model. The urban canopy model provides a conceptual and computational tool for representing urban areas in a way suitable for parameterisation within numerical weather prediction and urban air quality models. Average aerodynamic properties of groups of buildings on a neighbourhood scale can be obtained in terms of the geometry and layout of the buildings. These canopy parameters then determine the spatially averaged mean wind speeds within the canopy as a whole. Using morphological data for real cities, computations are performed for representative sections of cities. Simulations are performed to study transitions between different urban neighbourhoods, such as residential areas and city centres. Such transitions are accompanied by changes in mean building density and building height. These are considered first in isolation, then in combination, and the generic effects of each type of change are identified. The simulation of winds through a selection of downtown Los Angeles is considered as an example. An increase in canopy density is usually associated with a decrease in the mean wind speed. The largest difference between mean winds in canopies of different densities occurs near ground level. Winds generally decrease upon encountering a taller canopy of the same density, but this effect may be reversed very near the ground, with possible speed-ups if the canopy is especially tall. In the vicinity of a transition there is an overshoot in the mean wind speed in the bottom part of the canopy. Mechanisms for these effects are discussed.     

植被内部及其上方湍流场的数值模拟

植被内部及其上方的湍流流场对于了解植被与大气之间的动量、热量和质量交换过程极其重要。本文把高阶湍流封闭模型的Reynolds应力方程模型(RSM)应用于植被湍流的计算,得到了风速、湍流动能、Reynolds应力及能量耗散率的垂直分布,与现场观测数据比较,甚为满意。     

Turbulence in an almond orchard: Vertical variations in turbulent statistics

Three-dimensional wind velocity components were measured above and within a uniform almond orchard. Turbulent statistics associated with the turbulent flow inside the canopy are examined in detail. Turbulence in an almond orchard is characterized by relatively high turbulent intensities and large skewness and kurtosis values. These results indicate that the frequency distribution of wind velocity components is non-Gaussian. Conditional sampling of the turbulent measurements show that large, infrequent sweeps provide the predominant mechanism for tangential momentum stress in the canopy crown. Deep inside the canopy, a secondary wind maximum and small, but positive, tangential momentum stresses are observed.     

Edge Flow and Canopy Structure: A Large-Eddy Simulation Study

Sharp heterogeneities in forest structure, such as edges, are often responsible for wind damage. In order to better understand the behaviour of turbulent flow through canopy edges, large-eddy simulations (LES) have been performed at very fine scale (2 m) within and above heterogeneous vegetation canopies. A modified version of the Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS), previously validated in homogeneous conditions against field and wind-tunnel measurements, has been used for this purpose. Here it is validated in a simple forest-clearing-forest configuration. The model is shown to be able to reproduce accurately the main features observed in turbulent edge flow, especially the “enhanced gust zone” (EGZ) present around the canopy top at a few canopy heights downwind from the edge, and the turbulent region that develops further downstream. The EGZ is characterized by a peak in streamwise velocity skewness, which reflects the presence of intense intermittent wind gusts. A sensitivity study of the edge flow to the forest morphology shows that with increasing canopy density the flow adjusts faster and turbulent features such as the EGZ become more marked. When the canopy is characterized by a sparse trunk space the length of the adjustment region increases significantly due to the formation of a sub-canopy wind jet from the leading edge. It is shown that the position and magnitude of the EGZ are related to the mean upward motion formed around canopy top behind the leading edge, caused by the deceleration in the sub-canopy. Indeed, this mean upward motion advects low turbulence levels from the bottom of the canopy; this emphasises the passage of sudden strong wind gusts from the clearing, thereby increasing the skewness in streamwise velocity as compared with locations further downstream where ambient turbulence is stronger.