Citation:

Foroutan, H., W. Tang, D. Heist, S. Perry, L. Brouwer, AND E. Monbureau. Numerical analysis of pollutant dispersion around elongated buildings: An embedded large eddy simulation approach. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 187:117-130, (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2018.05.053

Impact/Purpose:

This paper shows numerical simulations (specifically Large-Eddy Simulations) are a strong complement the complex flow and concentration fields for building downwash scenarios. Many of the important flow and dispersion features are well captured by the method and provide a rich database for future dispersion model development and evaluation efforts. The data from these simulations provide databases for the development of improved algorithms/parameterizations to better characterize the effects of building downwash on near source air pollutant dispersion.

Description:

High fidelity, scale-resolving numerical simulations of flow and pollutant dispersion around several elongated isolated buildings are presented in this paper. The embedded large eddy simulation (ELES) is used to model flow and concentration fields for six test cases with various source-building geometries. Specifically, the influence of building aspect ratio, wind direction, and source location is examined with these cases. Results obtained from the present ELES model are evaluated using available wind tunnel measurements, including those of streamwise and spanwise velocities, turbulent kinetic energy, and streamwise, lateral, and spanwise pollutant concentrations. Comparisons indicate that the ELES provides realistic representations of the flow and concentration fields observed in wind tunnel experiments, and captures several complex phenomena including the lateral shift and enhanced descent of the plume for rotated/elongated buildings. Furthermore, the ELES provides a means to study the advective and turbulent concentration fluxes, plume shapes, and geometry of vortical structures that is used to examine turbulent transport of pollutants around buildings. We investigate the enhancement of vertical and lateral plume spread as the building aspect ratio is increased. In addition, through the study of advective and turbulent concentration fluxes, we shed light on the physics behind higher ground-level concentrations observed for rotated buildings.

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