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.     

Impacts of Realistic Urban Heating. Part II: Air Quality and City Breathability

Urban morphology and inter-building shadowing result in a non-uniform distribution of surface heating in urban areas, which can significantly modify the urban flow and thermal field. In Part I, we found that in an idealized three-dimensional urban array, the spatial distribution of the thermal field is correlated with the orientation of surface heating with respect to the wind direction (i.e. leeward or windward heating), while the dispersion field changes more strongly with the vertical temperature gradient in the street canyon. Here, we evaluate these results more closely and translate them into metrics of “city breathability,” with large-eddy simulations coupled with an urban energy-balance model employed for this purpose. First, we quantify breathability by, (i) calculating the pollutant concentration at the pedestrian level (horizontal plane at \(z\approx 1.5\)–2 m) and averaged over the canopy, and (ii) examining the air exchange rate at the horizontal and vertical ventilating faces of the canyon, such that the in-canopy pollutant advection is distinguished from the vertical removal of pollution. Next, we quantify the change in breathability metrics as a function of previously defined buoyancy parameters, horizontal and vertical Richardson numbers (\(Ri_\text {h}\) and \(Ri_\text {v}\), respectively), which characterize realistic surface heating. We find that, unlike the analysis of airflow and thermal fields, consideration of the realistic heating distribution is not crucial in the analysis of city breathability, as the pollutant concentration is mainly correlated with the vertical temperature gradient (\(Ri_\text {v}\)) as opposed to the horizontal (\(Ri_\text {h}\)) or bulk (\(Ri_\text {b}\)) thermal forcing. Additionally, we observe that, due to the formation of the primary vortex, the air exchange rate at the roof level (the horizontal ventilating faces of the building canyon) is dominated by the mean flow. Lastly, since \(Ri_\text {h}\) and \(Ri_\text {v}\) depend on the meteorological factors (ambient air temperature, wind speed, and wind direction) as well as urban design parameters (such as surface albedo), we propose a methodology for mapping overall outdoor ventilation and city breathability using this characterization method. This methodology helps identify the effects of design on urban microclimate, and ultimately informs urban designers and architects of the impact of their design on air quality, human health, and comfort.     

An Urban Surface Exchange Parameterisation for Mesoscale Models

A scheme to represent the impact of urban buildings on airflow in mesoscale atmospheric models is presented. In the scheme, the buildings are not explicitly resolved, but their effects on the grid-averaged variables are parameterised. An urban quarter is characterised by a horizontal building size, a street canyon width and a building density as a function of height. The module computes the impact of the horizontal (roof and canyon floor) and vertical (walls) surfaces on the wind speed, temperature and turbulent kinetic energy. The computation of the shortwave and longwave radiation, needed to compute the temperature of the urban surfaces, takes into account the shadowing and radiation trapping effects induced by the urban canyons. The computation of the turbulent length scales in the TKE equation is also modified to take into account the presence of the buildings.The parameterisation is introduced into a mesoscale model and tested in a bidimensional case of a city over flat terrain. The new parameterisation is shown to be able to reproduce the most important features observed in urban areas better than the traditional approach which is based only on the modification of the roughness length, thereby retaining the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory. The new surface exchange parameterisation is furthermore shown to have a strong impact on the dispersion characteristics of air pollutants in urban areas.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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。     

Scalar Fluxes from Urban Street Canyons Part II: Model

A practical model is developed for the vertical flux of a scalar, such as heat, from an urban street canyon that accounts for variations of the flow and turbulence with canyon geometry. The model gives the magnitude and geometric dependence of the flux from each facet of the urban street canyon, and is shown to agree well with wind-tunnel measurements described in Part I. The geometric dependence of the flux from an urban street canyon is shown to be determined by two physical processes. Firstly, as the height-to-width ratio of the street canyon increases, so does the roughness length and displacement height of the surface. This increase leads to a reduction in the wind speed in the inertial sublayer above the street canyons. Since the speed of the circulations in the street are proportional to this inertial sublayer wind speed, the flux then reduces with the inertial sublayer wind speed. This process is dominant at low height-to-width ratios. Secondly, the character of the circulations within the street canyon also varies as the height-to-width ratio increases. The flow in the street is partitioned into a recirculation region and a ventilated region. When the street canyon has high height-to-width ratios the recirculation region occupies the whole street canyon and the wind speeds within the street are low. This tendency decreases the flux at high height-to-width ratios. These processes tend to reduce the flux density from the individual facets of the street canyon, when compared to the flux density from a horizontal surface of the same material. But the street canyon has an increased total surface area, which means that the total flux from the street canyon is larger than from a horizontal surface. The variations in scalar flux from an urban street canyon with geometry is over a factor of two, which means that the physical mechanisms responsible should be incorporated into energy balance models for urban areas.     

Experimental study of the transfer velocity for urban surfaces with a water evaporation method

A major problem in urban climate modelling is determining how the heat fluxes from various canyon surfaces are affected by canyon flow. To address this problem, we developed a water evaporation method involving filter paper to study the distribution of the convective transfer velocity in urban street canyons. In this method, filter paper is pasted onto a building model and the evaporation rate from the paper is measured with an electric balance. The method was tested on 2D (two-dimensional) street canyon models and 3D model arrangements. Moreover, in this technique, it is easy to restrict the flux within an arbitrary surface in question. That is, the evaporation distribution on a surface can be studied by using several small pieces of filter paper. In the 2D case, the wall transfer velocity was strongly dependent on the canyon aspect ratio for perpendicular wind directions and it varied widely with height within both windward and leeward wall surfaces. For 3D cubic arrays, the relation to canyon aspect ratio was largely different from that of the 2D canyon. And, as a case study, the variation of wind direction was investigated for a city-like setting. The area-averaged transfer velocity was insensitive to wind direction but its local deviation was significant. Finally, we measured the transfer velocity for a clustered block array surrounded by relatively wide streets. The effect of spatial heterogeneity on the transfer velocity was significant. Moreover, for a fixed total building volume, the transfer velocity was considerably larger when the building height varied than when it was uniform. Therefore, the water evaporation method with filter paper is expected to be useful for studying the transfer velocity and ventilation rates in urban areas with various canyon shapes.     

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.     

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.     

Physical experiments to investigate the effects of street bottom heating and inflow turbulence on urban street-canyon flow

The effects of street bottom heating and inflow turbulence on urban street-canyon flow are experimentally investigated using a circulating water channel. Three experiments are carried out for a street canyon with a street aspect ratio of 1. Results from each experiment with bottom heating or inflow turbulence are compared with those without bottom heating and appreciable inflow turbulence. It is demonstrated that street bottom heating or inflow turbulence increases the intensity of the canyon vortex. A possible explanation on how street bottom heating or inflow turbulence intensifies the canyon vortex is given from a fluid dynamical viewpoint.     

二维街谷地面加热引起的流场特征的水槽实验研究

利用拖曳式水槽,采用激光粒子成像速度场测量系统(PIV),模拟了街谷存在地面加热时流场特征;讨论了环境风场对其的影响。我们发现在静风条件下,街谷中环流完全由热力驱动,对流活动可伸展至街谷上方;在建筑物层顶以上,也可发现水平和垂直方向的运动。这些对流活动有助于基本风场为零时,街谷内外动量和物质的交换。当街谷较宽时,对流形成的涡旋可能为两个以上,形态较为复杂并随时间变化,当街谷变窄时,涡旋蜕化成只有一个。当有弱环境风场存在时,街谷中的对流呈现为一个主涡旋,随着风速增加,涡旋形状更加规则,其中心并向下风向移动。     

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。     

A Backward-Lagrangian-Stochastic Footprint Model for the Urban Environment

Built terrains, with their complexity in morphology, high heterogeneity, and anthropogenic impact, impose substantial challenges in Earth-system modelling. In particular, estimation of the source areas and footprints of atmospheric measurements in cities requires realistic representation of the landscape characteristics and flow physics in urban areas, but has hitherto been heavily reliant on large-eddy simulations. In this study, we developed physical parametrization schemes for estimating urban footprints based on the backward-Lagrangian-stochastic algorithm, with the built environment represented by street canyons. The vertical profile of mean streamwise velocity is parametrized for the urban canopy and boundary layer. Flux footprints estimated by the proposed model show reasonable agreement with analytical predictions over flat surfaces without roughness elements, and with experimental observations over sparse plant canopies. Furthermore, comparisons of canyon flow and turbulence profiles and the subsequent footprints were made between the proposed model and large-eddy simulation data. The results suggest that the parametrized canyon wind and turbulence statistics, based on the simple similarity theory used, need to be further improved to yield more realistic urban footprint modelling.     

Turbulent Transfer Between Street Canyons and the Overlying Atmospheric Boundary Layer

The turbulent exchange of momentum between a two-dimensional cavity and the overlying boundary layer has been studied experimentally, using hot-wire anemometry and particle image velocimetry (PIV). Conditions within the boundary layer were varied by changing the width of the canyons upstream of the test canyon, whilst maintaining the square geometry of the test canyon. The results show that turbulent transfer is due to the coupling between the instabilities generated in the shear layer above the canyons and the turbulent structures in the oncoming boundary layer. As a result, there is no single, unique velocity scale that correctly characterizes all the processes involved in the turbulent exchange of momentum across the boundary layer. Similarly, there is no single velocity scale that can characterize the different properties of the turbulent flow within the canyon, which depends strongly on the way in which turbulence from the outer flow is entrained into the cavity and carried round by the mean flow. The results from this study will be useful in developing simple parametrizations for momentum exchange in the urban canopy, in situations where the street geometry consists principally of relatively long, uniform streets arranged in grid-like patterns; they are unlikely to be applicable to sparse geometries composed of isolated three-dimensional obstacles.     

A Laboratory Model for the Flow in Urban Street Canyons Induced by Bottom Heating

Water tank experiments are carried out to investigate the convection flow induced by bottom heating and the effects of the ambient wind on the flow in non-symmetrical urban street canyons based on the PIV (Particle Image Visualization) technique. Fluid experiments show that with calm ambient wind,the flows in the street canyon are completely driven by thermal force, and the convection can reach the upper atmosphere of the street canyon. Horizontal and vertical motions also appear above the roofs of the buildings. These are the conditions which favor the exchange of momentum and air mass between the street canyon and its environment. More than two vortices are induced by the convection, and the complex circulation pattern will vary with time in a wider street canyon. However， in a narrow street canyon， just one vortex appears. With a light ambient wind, the bottom heating and the associated convection result in just one main vortex. As the ambient wind speed increases, the vortex becomes more organized and its center shifts closer to the leeward building.     

Thermal bioclimate in idealized urban street canyons in Campinas, Brazil

Among several urban design parameters, the height-to-width ratio (H/W) and orientation are important parameters strongly affecting thermal conditions in cities. This paper quantifies changes in thermal comfort due to typical urban canyon configurations in Campinas, Brazil, and presents urban guidelines concerning H/W ratios and green spaces to adapt urban climate change. The study focuses on thermal comfort issues of humans in urban areas and performs evaluation in terms of physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), based on long-term data. Meteorological data of air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation over a 7-year period (2003–2010) were used. A 3D street canyon model was designed with RayMan Pro software to simulate the influence of urban configuration on urban thermal climate. The following configurations and setups were used. The model canyon was 500 m in length, with widths 9, 21, and 44 m. Its height varied in steps of 2.5 m, from 5 to 40 m. The canyon could be rotated in steps of 15°. The results show that urban design parameters such as width, height, and orientation modify thermal conditions within street canyons. A northeast–southwest orientation can reduce PET during daytime more than other scenarios. Forestry management and green areas are recommended to promote shade on pedestrian areas and on façades, and to improve bioclimate thermal stress, in particular for H/W ratio less than 0.5. The method and results can be applied by architects and urban planners interested in developing responsive guidelines for urban climate issues.     

Dispersion of a Passive Scalar Within and Above an Urban Street Network

The transport of a passive scalar from a continuous point-source release in an urban street network is studied using direct numerical simulation (DNS). Dispersion through the network is characterized by evaluating horizontal fluxes of scalar within and above the urban canopy and vertical exchange fluxes through the canopy top. The relative magnitude and balance of these fluxes are used to distinguish three different regions relative to the source location: a near-field region, a transition region and a far-field region. The partitioning of each of these fluxes into mean and turbulent parts is computed. It is shown that within the canopy the horizontal turbulent flux in the street network is small, whereas above the canopy it comprises a significant fraction of the total flux. Vertical fluxes through the canopy top are predominantly turbulent. The mean and turbulent fluxes are respectively parametrized in terms of an advection velocity and a detrainment velocity and the parametrization incorporated into a simple box-network model. The model treats the coupled dispersion problem within and above the street network in a unified way and predictions of mean concentrations compare well with the DNS data. This demonstrates the usefulness of the box-network approach for process studies and interpretation of results from more detailed numerical simulations.     

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.