Simulating urban flow and dispersion in Beijing by coupling a CFD model with the WRF model

The airflow and dispersion of a pollutant in a complex urban area of Beijing, China, were numerically examined by coupling a Computational Fluid Dynamics （CFD） model with a mesoscale weather model. The models used were Open Source Field Operation and Manipulation （OpenFOAM） software package and Weather Research and Forecasting （WRF） model. OpenFOAM was firstly validated against wind-tunnel experiment data. Then, the WRF model was integrated for 42 h starting from 0800 LST 08 September 2009, and the coupled model was used to compute the flow fields at 1000 LST and 1400 LST 09 September 2009. During the WRF-simulated period, a high pressure system was dominant over the Beijing area. The WRF-simulated local circulations were characterized by mountain valley winds, which matched well with observations. Results from the coupled model simulation demonstrated that the airflows around actual buildings were quite different from the ambient wind on the boundary provided by the WRF model, and the pollutant dispersion pattern was complicated under the influence of buildings. A higher concentration level of the pollutant near the surface was found in both the step-down and step-up notches, but the reason for this higher level in each configurations was different： in the former, it was caused by weaker vertical flow, while in the latter it was caused by a downward-shifted vortex. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the coupled WRF-OpenFOAM model is an important tool that can be used for studying and predicting urban flow and dispersions in densely built-up areas.     

星系的恒星速度弥散度的归算方法

星系的恒星视向速度分布是星系动力学模型的重要观测约束,其特征参数包括速度弥散度、分布轮廓以及红移。这些参数对研究星系的动力学、结构和演化以及中央黑洞的质量等都具有重要的价值。该文全面总结了从星系光谱归算星系的恒星视向速度分布及其弥散度的各种方法,以及对观测和处理的一些要求。这些方法都假设星系谱线可看作是模板星光谱经多普勒位移并加宽后的线性叠加。提取尽可能多的星系内部恒星运动信息、减少模板星失配的影响、简化误差分析,是这些方法追求的目标。     

解流体动力弥散问题的等参数溶质质量均衡有限元法

本文根据流体动力弥散理论,按照地下水中溶质局部质量守恒原理,采用非线性基函数,导出了求解流体动力弥散问题的一种新的数值法,即等参数溶质质量均衡有限元法。该法与采用同样非线性基函数的等参数里茨(Ritz)法或伽辽全法相比,具有物理意义明确、能准确反映局部质量均衡关系、计算公式简单和易于应用等优点。     

Algebraic dispersion fields on ternary diagrams

Previously published dispersion fields on ternary diagrams have been constructed variously, and their derivations have not been well-specified. Here an explanation of their bases is provided through an algebraic method for calculating two related forms, designated thesilhouette dispersion field and thegirth dispersion field. Such dispersion estimates can be made more precise by specifying the percentage of samples that fall within the field. Because such fields represent a mechanistic rather than a probabilistic approach, their use in comparison of sample sets must be viewed with caution.     

Propagation of Extremely Low Frequency Waves Through the Ionosphere

The propagation features of extremely low frequency electromagnetic waves through the multicomponent ionospheric plasma are studied. It is shown that at relatively lower frequencies refractive index for right hand mode is higher than the left-hand mode, which is reversed at higher frequencies. The thermal temperature of plasma particle causes decrease in phase and group velocities of both right and left-hand modes. The crossover frequencies for different plasma models are computed and variation with ion concentration and thermal velocity is studied. Explicit expression for group velocity and travel time has been derived and studied numerically. Finally, we have presented simulation of the ion whistler spectrograms for Hydrogen, Helium and Oxygen ions present in the ionospheric plasma. The results are compared with the experimentally detected hydrogen and helium ion whistlers. The importance of the present study in the exploration of ionospheric plasma is illustrated.     

A Simple Model for the Movement of Fire Smoke in a Confined Tunnel

Fires in tunnels are unfortunately frequent occurrences often with tragic outcomes. A recent example is the fire on the funicular train at the ski resort in Kaprun (Austria), which caused nearly 160 deaths. Design engineers and risk analysts require knowledge of the fluid dynamics of the fire and smoke movement to answer questions such as how much oxygen can access and feed the fire, and what concentration of smoke will the people be exposed to. As an example in the Austrian accident the geometry was a long tunnel with fire doors closed at one end, and with a fire initiated near the closed (lower) end. The hot smoke from the fire is a source of buoyancy; the smoke reaches the ceiling of the tunnel, and then develops along the ceiling as a wall-bounded plume. The motion of the smoke is driven by a buoyancy force, but at the same time, mechanisms of turbulent heat and mass transfer act as a brake to this motion. In this paper we present how a generic model describing a semi-enclosed buoyancy-driven flow can be interpreted and used in the modelling of fire smoke movement in a confined tunnel. A consideration of the net pollutant volume flux through the tunnel leads to predictions for the variation of concentrations along the tunnel. The smoke concentrations near the fire smoke source scale linearly with the length of the tunnel, with higher concentrations at the lower section of the tunnel, as could be expected. Similarly the concentration of oxygen making its way through to the fire source decreases linearly with the length of the tunnel. A lower bound estimate of the smoke residence time can be obtained based on smoke concentration predictions from the model.     

Two-frequency timing of the pulsar B1937+21 in Kalyazin and Kashima in 1997–2002

We present the results from our timing of the millisecond pulsar B1937+21, performed jointly since 1997 on two radio telescopes: the RT-64 in Kalyazin (Russia) at a frequency of 0.6GHz and RT-34 in Kashima (Japan) at a frequency of 2.15 GHz. The rms value of the pulse time of arrival (TOA) residuals for the pulsar at the barycenter of the Solar system is 1.8 μs (the relative variation is ≈10^?14 over the observing period). The TOA residuals are shown to be dominated by white phase noise, which allows this pulsar to be used as an independent time scale keeper. The upper limit for the gravitational background energy density Ω_gh² at frequencies ≈6.5 × 10^?9 Hz is estimated to be no higher than 10^?6. Based on the long-term timing of the pulsar, we have improved its parameters and accurately determined the dispersion measure and its time variation over the period 1984–2002, which was, on average, ?0.00114(3) pc cm^?3 yr^?1.