Grantee Research Project Results
1998 Progress Report: Air Pollutant Concentrations in the Vicinity of Buildings: Model Development and Evaluation
EPA Grant Number: R826156Title: Air Pollutant Concentrations in the Vicinity of Buildings: Model Development and Evaluation
Investigators: Peterson, Holly G. , Lamb, Brian , Stock, David , Schulman, Lloyd
Institution: Montana Tech of the University of Montana
Current Institution: Montana Tech of the University of Montana , Washington State University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: October 1, 1997 through September 30, 2000
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 1997 through September 30, 1998
Project Amount: $360,011
RFA: Exploratory Research - Physics (1997) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Water , Air , Safer Chemicals , Land and Waste Management
Objective:
Overall goals of this project are to improve our understanding of plume dispersion near buildings and to evaluate the PRIME building downwash model. Specific objectives are: 1) to conduct full-scale field campaigns to characterize the behavior of tracer gases in the vicinity of a building; 2) to employ advanced numerical finite element modeling to aid interpretation of field data; and 3) to link results from the field work and numerical studies to test and improve PRIME.Progress Summary:
Preliminary tracer experiments were conducted near an isolated, industrial-sized building during summer of 1998. Throughout 1-hr tests, an acoustic sounder operated in a nearby field to characterize vertical profiles of wind speed and wind direction. A uvw propeller anemometer was used to monitor approach flows, while a sonic anemometer was located on the lee side of the building to monitor turbulence within the cavity. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer gas was released through a calibrated flowmeter from one of several locations (upwind of the building, within the recirculation cavity near the ground, or at the top of the roof). An array of syringe samplers was used to measure time-averaged concentrations within and near the cavity while a fast-response SF6 analyzer monitored concentration fluctuations. Most of the tests in 1998 were conducted in afternoon and evening hours.To date, field data from the 1998 campaign have been processed, and preliminary analyses have attempted to interpret and quantify the concentration fluctuations within the cavity. In addition, the data have been used to test the PRIME model. Results are currently being compiled into a Master of Science thesis, and in a poster presentation for the Montana Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting. Other dissemination and publication avenues will be invoked upon completion of 1999 fieldwork.
Future Activities:
Additional field experiments will be conducted during summer of 1999. Few data, if any, are currently available for stable meteorological conditions; thus, the sampling campaign will be designed to capture plume behavior in the vicinity of buildings during nighttime inversions, or perhaps at a site with daytime inversions, such as the Juneau Ice Field. In addition, numerical techniques will be applied to simulate flow about the buildings in both field campaigns.Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 9 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Plume diffusion, building effects, concentration fluctuations., Air, Scientific Discipline, Environmental Chemistry, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, Physics, building vicinity, aerosol particles, building plume downwash models, tracer experiment, database development, plume dispersion model, perfluorocarbon, air pollution, air pollution concentrationsRelevant Websites:
Two undergraduate students (in the Environmental Engineering Department) at Montana Tech are currently developing a web site for the project. The site should be completed before May 1999, and updated throughout the project period.http://www.mtech.edu/dispersion/
http:// www.ce.wsu.edu/LAR
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.