Numerical modeling of flows and pollutant dispersion within and above urban street canyons under unstable thermal stratification by large-eddy simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Ming-Chung; Liu, Chun-Ho

2013-04-01

Recently, with the ever increasing urban areas in developing countries, the problem of air pollution due to vehicular exhaust arouses the concern of different groups of people. Understanding how different factors, such as urban morphology, meteorological conditions and human activities, affect the characteristics of street canyon ventilation, pollutant dispersion above urban areas and pollutant re-entrainment from the shear layer can help us improve air pollution control strategies. Among the factors mentioned above, thermal stratification is a significant one determining the pollutant transport behaviors in certain situation, e.g. when the urban surface is heated by strong solar radiation, which, however, is still not widely explored. The objective of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of the effects of unstable thermal stratification on the flows and pollutant dispersion within and above urban street canyons through numerical modeling using large-eddy simulation (LES). In this study, LES equipped with one-equation subgrid-scale (SGS) model is employed to model the flows and pollutant dispersion within and above two-dimensional (2D) urban street canyons (flanked by idealized buildings, which are square solid bars in these models) under different intensities of unstable thermal stratifications. Three building-height-to-street-width (aspect) ratios, 0.5, 1 and 2, are included in this study as a representation of different building densities. The prevailing wind flow above the urban canopy is driven by background pressure gradient, which is perpendicular to the street axis, while the condition of unstable thermal stratification is induced by applying a higher uniform temperature on the no-slip urban surface. The relative importance between stratification and background wind is characterized by the Richardson number, with zero value as a neutral case and negative value as an unstable case. The buoyancy force is modeled by Boussinesq approximation and the

Pollutant Plume Dispersion in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer over Idealized Urban Roughness

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Colman C. C.; Liu, Chun-Ho

2013-05-01

The Gaussian model of plume dispersion is commonly used for pollutant concentration estimates. However, its major parameters, dispersion coefficients, barely account for terrain configuration and surface roughness. Large-scale roughness elements (e.g. buildings in urban areas) can substantially modify the ground features together with the pollutant transport in the atmospheric boundary layer over urban roughness (also known as the urban boundary layer, UBL). This study is thus conceived to investigate how urban roughness affects the flow structure and vertical dispersion coefficient in the UBL. Large-eddy simulation (LES) is carried out to examine the plume dispersion from a ground-level pollutant (area) source over idealized street canyons for cross flows in neutral stratification. A range of building-height-to-street-width (aspect) ratios, covering the regimes of skimming flow, wake interference, and isolated roughness, is employed to control the surface roughness. Apart from the widely used aerodynamic resistance or roughness function, the friction factor is another suitable parameter that measures the drag imposed by urban roughness quantitatively. Previous results from laboratory experiments and mathematical modelling also support the aforementioned approach for both two- and three-dimensional roughness elements. Comparing the UBL plume behaviour, the LES results show that the pollutant dispersion strongly depends on the friction factor. Empirical studies reveal that the vertical dispersion coefficient increases with increasing friction factor in the skimming flow regime (lower resistance) but is more uniform in the regimes of wake interference and isolated roughness (higher resistance). Hence, it is proposed that the friction factor and flow regimes could be adopted concurrently for pollutant concentration estimate in the UBL over urban street canyons of different roughness.

Model to predict radiological consequences of transportation accidents involving dispersal of radioactive material in urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, J.M.; Daniel, S.L.

1978-01-01

The analysis of accidental releases of radioactive material which may result from transportation accidents in high-density urban areas is influenced by several urban characteristics which make computer simulation the calculational method of choice. These urban features fall into four categories. Each of these categories contains time- and location-dependent parameters which must be coupled to the actual time and location of the release in the calculation of the anticipated radiological consequences. Due to the large number of dependent parameters a computer model, METRAN, has been developed to quantify these radiological consequences. Rather than attempt to describe an urban area as a single entity, a specific urban area is subdivided into a set of cells of fixed size to permit more detailed characterization. Initially, the study area is subdivided into a set of 2-dimensional cells. A uniform set of time-dependent physical characteristics which describe the land use, population distribution, traffic density, etc., within that cell are then computed from various data sources. The METRAN code incorporates several details of urban areas. A principal limitation of the analysis is the limited availability of accurate information to use as input data. Although the code was originally developed to analyze dispersal of radioactive material, it is currently being evaluated for use in analyzing the effects of dispersal of other hazardous materials in both urban and rural areas

On the use of numerical modelling for near-field pollutant dispersion in urban environments − A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lateb, M.; Meroney, R.N.; Yataghene, M.; Fellouah, H.; Saleh, F.; Boufadel, M.C.

2016-01-01

This article deals with the state-of-the-art of experimental and numerical studies carried out regarding air pollutant dispersion in urban environments. Since the simulation of the dispersion field around buildings depends strongly on the correct simulation of the wind-flow structure, the studies performed during the past years on the wind-flow field around buildings are reviewed. This work also identifies errors that can produce poor results when numerically modelling wind flow and dispersion fields around buildings in urban environments. Finally, particular attention is paid to the practical guidelines developed by researchers to establish a common methodology for verification and validation of numerical simulations and/or to assist and support the users for a better implementation of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. - This review article enlightens the reader on the use of CFD for pollutant dispersion. Errors that induce poor results and critical parameters that compromise significantly the accuracy and reliability are identified.

Numerical Simulation of Dispersion from Urban Greenhouse Gas Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Nottrott, Anders; Tan, Sze; He, Yonggang; Winkler, Renato

2017-04-01

Cities are characterized by complex topography, inhomogeneous turbulence, and variable pollutant source distributions. These features create a scale separation between local sources and urban scale emissions estimates known as the Grey-Zone. Modern computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques provide a quasi-deterministic, physically based toolset to bridge the scale separation gap between source level dynamics, local measurements, and urban scale emissions inventories. CFD has the capability to represent complex building topography and capture detailed 3D turbulence fields in the urban boundary layer. This presentation discusses the application of OpenFOAM to urban CFD simulations of natural gas leaks in cities. OpenFOAM is an open source software for advanced numerical simulation of engineering and environmental fluid flows. When combined with free or low cost computer aided drawing and GIS, OpenFOAM generates a detailed, 3D representation of urban wind fields. OpenFOAM was applied to model scalar emissions from various components of the natural gas distribution system, to study the impact of urban meteorology on mobile greenhouse gas measurements. The numerical experiments demonstrate that CH4 concentration profiles are highly sensitive to the relative location of emission sources and buildings. Sources separated by distances of 5-10 meters showed significant differences in vertical dispersion of plumes, due to building wake effects. The OpenFOAM flow fields were combined with an inverse, stochastic dispersion model to quantify and visualize the sensitivity of point sensors to upwind sources in various built environments. The Boussinesq approximation was applied to investigate the effects of canopy layer temperature gradients and convection on sensor footprints.

Modelling Pollutant Dispersion in a Street Network

Science.gov (United States)

Salem, N. Ben; Garbero, V.; Salizzoni, P.; Lamaison, G.; Soulhac, L.

2015-04-01

This study constitutes a further step in the analysis of the performances of a street network model to simulate atmospheric pollutant dispersion in urban areas. The model, named SIRANE, is based on the decomposition of the urban atmosphere into two sub-domains: the urban boundary layer, whose dynamics is assumed to be well established, and the urban canopy, represented as a series of interconnected boxes. Parametric laws govern the mass exchanges between the boxes under the assumption that the pollutant dispersion within the canopy can be fully simulated by modelling three main bulk transfer phenomena: channelling along street axes, transfers at street intersections, and vertical exchange between street canyons and the overlying atmosphere. Here, we aim to evaluate the reliability of the parametrizations adopted to simulate these phenomena, by focusing on their possible dependence on the external wind direction. To this end, we test the model against concentration measurements within an idealized urban district whose geometrical layout closely matches the street network represented in SIRANE. The analysis is performed for an urban array with a fixed geometry and a varying wind incidence angle. The results show that the model provides generally good results with the reference parametrizations adopted in SIRANE and that its performances are quite robust for a wide range of the model parameters. This proves the reliability of the street network approach in simulating pollutant dispersion in densely built city districts. The results also show that the model performances may be improved by considering a dependence of the wind fluctuations at street intersections and of the vertical exchange velocity on the direction of the incident wind. This opens the way for further investigations to clarify the dependence of these parameters on wind direction and street aspect ratios.

Effects of canyon geometry on the distribution of traffic-related air pollution in a large urban area: Implications of a multi-canyon air pollution dispersion model

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Xiangwen; Liu, Junfeng; Ban-Weiss, George A.; Zhang, Jiachen; Huang, Xin; Ouyang, Bin; Popoola, Olalekan; Tao, Shu

2017-09-01

Street canyons are ubiquitous in urban areas. Traffic-related air pollutants in street canyons can adversely affect human health. In this study, an urban-scale traffic pollution dispersion model is developed considering street distribution, canyon geometry, background meteorology, traffic assignment, traffic emissions and air pollutant dispersion. In the model, vehicle exhausts generated from traffic flows first disperse inside street canyons along the micro-scale wind field generated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Then, pollutants leave the street canyon and further disperse over the urban area. On the basis of this model, the effects of canyon geometry on the distribution of NOx and CO from traffic emissions were studied over the center of Beijing. We found that an increase in building height leads to heavier pollution inside canyons and lower pollution outside canyons at pedestrian level, resulting in higher domain-averaged concentrations over the area. In addition, canyons with highly even or highly uneven building heights on each side of the street tend to lower the urban-scale air pollution concentrations at pedestrian level. Further, increasing street widths tends to lead to lower pollutant concentrations by reducing emissions and enhancing ventilation simultaneously. Our results indicate that canyon geometry strongly influences human exposure to traffic pollutants in the populated urban area. Carefully planning street layout and canyon geometry while considering traffic demand as well as local weather patterns may significantly reduce inhalation of unhealthy air by urban residents.

Urban Flow and Pollutant Dispersion Simulation with Multi-scale coupling of Meteorological Model with Computational Fluid Dynamic Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yushi; Poh, Hee Joo

2014-11-01

The Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis has become increasingly important in modern urban planning in order to create highly livable city. This paper presents a multi-scale modeling methodology which couples Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model with open source CFD simulation tool, OpenFOAM. This coupling enables the simulation of the wind flow and pollutant dispersion in urban built-up area with high resolution mesh. In this methodology meso-scale model WRF provides the boundary condition for the micro-scale CFD model OpenFOAM. The advantage is that the realistic weather condition is taken into account in the CFD simulation and complexity of building layout can be handled with ease by meshing utility of OpenFOAM. The result is validated against the Joint Urban 2003 Tracer Field Tests in Oklahoma City and there is reasonably good agreement between the CFD simulation and field observation. The coupling of WRF- OpenFOAM provide urban planners with reliable environmental modeling tool in actual urban built-up area; and it can be further extended with consideration of future weather conditions for the scenario studies on climate change impact.

The effect of a tall tower on flow and dispersion through a model urban neighborhood: part 2. Pollutant dispersion.

Science.gov (United States)

Brixey, Laurie A; Heist, David K; Richmond-Bryant, Jennifer; Bowker, George E; Perry, Steven G; Wiener, Russell W

2009-12-01

This article is the second in a two-paper series presenting results from wind tunnel and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of flow and dispersion in an idealized model urban neighborhood. Pollutant dispersion results are presented and discussed for a model neighborhood that was characterized by regular city blocks of three-story row houses with a single 12-story tower located at the downwind edge of one of these blocks. The tower had three significant effects on pollutant dispersion in the surrounding street canyons: drawing the plume laterally towards the tower, greatly enhancing the vertical dispersion of the plume in the wake of the tower, and significantly decreasing the residence time of pollutants in the wake of the tower. In the wind tunnel, tracer gas released in the avenue lee of the tower, but several blocks away laterally, was pulled towards the tower and lifted in the wake of the tower. The same lateral movement of the pollutant was seen in the next avenue, which was approximately 2.5 tower heights downwind of the tower. The tower also served to ventilate the street canyon directly in its wake more rapidly than the surrounding areas. This was evidenced by CFD simulations of concentration decay where the residence time of pollutants lee of the 12-story tower was found to be less than half the residence time behind a neighboring three-story building. This same phenomenon of rapid vertical dispersion lee of a tower among an array of smaller buildings was also demonstrated in a separate set of wind tunnel experiments using an array of cubical blocks. A similar decrease in the residence time was observed when the height of one block was increased.

Plume Dispersion over Idealized Urban-liked Roughness with Height Variation: an LES Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Colman Ching Chi; Liu, Chun-Ho

2013-04-01

Human activities (e.g. vehicular emission) are the primary pollutant sources affecting the health and living quality of stakeholders in modern compact cities. Gaussian plume dispersion model is commonly used for pollutant distribution estimate that works well over rural areas with flat terrain. However, its major parameters, dispersion coefficients, exclude the effect of surface roughness that unavoidably prone to error handling the pollutant transport in the urban boundary layer (UBL) over building roughness. Our recent large-eddy simulation (LES) has shown that urban surfaces affect significantly the pollutant dispersion over idealized, identical two-dimensional (2D) street canyons of uniform height. As an extension to our on-going effort, this study is conceived to investigate how rough urban surfaces, which are constructed by 2D street canyons of non-uniform height, modify the UBL pollutant dispersion . A series of LESs with idealized roughness elements of non-uniform heights were performed in neutral stratification. Building models with two different heights were placed alternatively in the computational domain to construct 2D street canyons in cross flows. The plume dispersion from a ground-level passive pollutant source over more realistic urban areas was then examined. Along with the existing building-height-to-street-width (aspect) ratio (AR), a new parameter, building-height variability (BHV), is used to measure the building height unevenness. Four ARs (1, 0.5, 0.25 and 0.125) and three BHVs (20%, 40% and 60%) were considered in this study. Preliminary results show that BHV greatly increases the aerodynamic roughness of the hypothetical urban surfaces for narrow street canyons. Analogous to our previous findings, the air exchange rate (ACH) of street canyons increases with increasing friction factor, implying that street-level ventilation could be improved by increasing building roughness via BHV. In addition, the parameters used in dispersion coefficient

Real-time modeling of complex atmospheric releases in urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baskett, R.L.; Ellis, J.S.; Sullivan, T.J.

1994-08-01

If a nuclear installation in or near an urban area has a venting, fire, or explosion, airborne radioactivity becomes the major concern. Dispersion models are the immediate tool for estimating the dose and contamination. Responses in urban areas depend on knowledge of the amount of the release, representative meteorological data, and the ability of the dispersion model to simulate the complex flows as modified by terrain or local wind conditions. A centralized dispersion modeling system can produce realistic assessments of radiological accidents anywhere in a country within several minutes if it is computer-automated. The system requires source-term, terrain, mapping and dose-factor databases, real-time meteorological data acquisition, three-dimensional atmospheric transport and dispersion models, and experienced staff. Experience with past responses in urban areas by the Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory illustrate the challenges for three-dimensional dispersion models

Real-time modelling of complex atmospheric releases in urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baskett, R.L.; Ellis, J.S.; Sullivan, T.J.

2000-01-01

If a nuclear installation in or near an urban area has a venting, fire, or explosion, airborne radioactivity becomes the major concern. Dispersion models are the immediate tool for estimating the dose and contamination. Responses in urban areas depend on knowledge of the amount of the release, representative meteorological data, and the ability of the dispersion model to simulate the complex flows as modified by terrain or local wind conditions. A centralised dispersion modelling system can produce realistic assessments of radiological accidents anywhere in a country within several minutes if it is computer-automated. The system requires source-term, terrain, mapping and dose-factor databases, real-time meteorological data acquisition, three-dimensional atmospheric transport and dispersion models, and experienced staff. Experience with past responses in urban areas by the Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory illustrate the challenges for three-dimensional dispersion models. (author)

Studying the factors affecting urban dispersion in mashhad metropolis

African Journals Online (AJOL)

economic, social, and physical aspects including increased air pollution, potential deterioration within ... solutions to control this problem. The tools used in ... Key words: urban dispersion, technology, roots of Mashhad dispersion, the price of

Application of GIS to modified models of vehicle emission dispersion

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Taosheng; Fu, Lixin

This paper reports on a preliminary study of the forecast and evaluation of transport-related air pollution dispersion in urban areas. Some modifications of the traditional Gauss dispersion models are provided, and especially a crossroad model is built, which considers the great variation of vehicle emission attributed to different driving patterns at the crossroad. The above models are combined with a self-developed geographic information system (GIS) platform, and a simulative system with graphical interfaces is built. The system aims at visually describing the influences on the urban environment by urban traffic characteristics and therefore gives a reference to the improvement of urban air quality. Due to the introduction of a self-developed GIS platform and a creative crossroad model, the system is more effective, flexible and accurate. Finally, a comparison of the simulated (predicted) and observed hourly concentration is given, which indicates a good simulation.

Breeding Dispersal by Birds in a Dynamic Urban Ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Marzluff, John M; DeLap, Jack H; Oleyar, M David; Whittaker, Kara A; Gardner, Beth

2016-01-01

Changes in land cover during urbanization profoundly affect the diversity of bird communities, but the demographic mechanisms affecting diversity are poorly known. We advance such understanding by documenting how urbanization influences breeding dispersal-the annual movement of territorial adults-of six songbird species in the Seattle, WA, USA metropolitan area. We color-banded adults and mapped the centers of their annual breeding activities from 2000-2010 to obtain 504 consecutive movements by 337 adults. By comparing movements, annual reproduction, and mate fidelity among 10 developed, 5 reserved, and 11 changing (areas cleared and developed during our study) landscapes, we determined that adaptive breeding dispersal of sensitive forest species (Swainson's Thrush and Pacific wren), which involves shifting territory and mate after reproductive failure, was constrained by development. In changing lands, sensitive forest specialists dispersed from active development to nearby forested areas, but in so doing suffered low annual reproduction. Species tolerant of suburban lands (song sparrow, spotted towhee, dark-eyed junco, and Bewick's wren) dispersed adaptively in changing landscapes. Site fidelity ranged from 0% (Pacific wren in changing landscape) to 83% (Bewick's wren in forest reserve). Mate fidelity ranged from 25% (dark-eyed junco) to 100% (Bewick's wren). Variation in fidelity to mate and territory was consistent with theories positing an influence of territory quality, asynchronous return from migration, prior productivity, and reproductive benefits of retaining a familiar territory. Costly breeding dispersal, as well as reduced reproductive success and lowered survival cause some birds to decline in the face of urbanization. In contrast, the ability of species that utilize edges and early successional habitats to breed successfully, disperse to improve reproductive success after failure, and survive throughout the urban ecosystem enables them to maintain

Breeding Dispersal by Birds in a Dynamic Urban Ecosystem.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John M Marzluff

Full Text Available Changes in land cover during urbanization profoundly affect the diversity of bird communities, but the demographic mechanisms affecting diversity are poorly known. We advance such understanding by documenting how urbanization influences breeding dispersal-the annual movement of territorial adults-of six songbird species in the Seattle, WA, USA metropolitan area. We color-banded adults and mapped the centers of their annual breeding activities from 2000-2010 to obtain 504 consecutive movements by 337 adults. By comparing movements, annual reproduction, and mate fidelity among 10 developed, 5 reserved, and 11 changing (areas cleared and developed during our study landscapes, we determined that adaptive breeding dispersal of sensitive forest species (Swainson's Thrush and Pacific wren, which involves shifting territory and mate after reproductive failure, was constrained by development. In changing lands, sensitive forest specialists dispersed from active development to nearby forested areas, but in so doing suffered low annual reproduction. Species tolerant of suburban lands (song sparrow, spotted towhee, dark-eyed junco, and Bewick's wren dispersed adaptively in changing landscapes. Site fidelity ranged from 0% (Pacific wren in changing landscape to 83% (Bewick's wren in forest reserve. Mate fidelity ranged from 25% (dark-eyed junco to 100% (Bewick's wren. Variation in fidelity to mate and territory was consistent with theories positing an influence of territory quality, asynchronous return from migration, prior productivity, and reproductive benefits of retaining a familiar territory. Costly breeding dispersal, as well as reduced reproductive success and lowered survival cause some birds to decline in the face of urbanization. In contrast, the ability of species that utilize edges and early successional habitats to breed successfully, disperse to improve reproductive success after failure, and survive throughout the urban ecosystem enables them

Urban meteorological modelling for nuclear emergency preparedness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baklanov, Alexander; Sorensen, Jens Havskov; Hoe, Steen Cordt; Amstrup, Bjarne

2006-01-01

The main objectives of the current EU project 'Integrated Systems for Forecasting Urban Meteorology, Air Pollution and Population Exposure' (FUMAPEX) are the improvement of meteorological forecasts for urban areas, the connection of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models to urban air pollution and population dose models, the building of improved urban air quality information and forecasting systems, and their application in cities in various European climates. In addition to the forecast of the worst air-pollution episodes in large cities, the potential use of improved weather forecasts for nuclear emergency management in urban areas, in case of hazardous releases from nuclear accidents or terror acts, is considered. Such use of NWP data is tested for the Copenhagen metropolitan area and the Oresund region. The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) is running an experimental version of the HIRLAM NWP model over Zealand including the Copenhagen metropolitan area with a horizontal resolution of 1.4 km, thus approaching the city-scale. This involves 1-km resolution physiographic data with implications for the urban surface parameters, e.g. surface fluxes, roughness length and albedo. For the city of Copenhagen, the enhanced high-resolution NWP forecasting will be provided to demonstrate the improved dispersion forecasting capabilities of the Danish nuclear emergency preparedness decision-support system, the Accident Reporting and Guidance Operational System (ARGOS), used by the Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA). Recently, ARGOS has been extended with a capability of real-time calculation of regional-scale atmospheric dispersion of radioactive material from accidental releases. This is effectuated through on-line interfacing with the Danish Emergency Response Model of the Atmosphere (DERMA), which is run at DMI. For local-scale modelling of atmospheric dispersion, ARGOS utilises the Local-Scale Model Chain (LSMC), which makes use of high-resolution DMI

Evaluation of different numerical methodologies for dispersion of air pollutants in an urban environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mumovic, D.; Crowther, J.M.; Stevanovic, Z.

2003-01-01

Since 1950 the world population has more than doubled but meanwhile the global number of cars has increased by a factor of 10. In that same period the fraction of people living in urban areas has increased by a factor of 4. Apart from large point-sources of local air pollution, traffic induced pollution is now the most significant contributor to urban air quality in city centres, particularly for carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and fine particulate matter. Until recently, pollutant dispersion in urban areas has usually been numerically investigated by using empirical models, such as the Gaussian plume model, or by extensions of this technique to line sources and multiple sources. More recently, advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have been attempted but have been mainly two-dimensional and often encompassing only a single street canyon. This paper provides a comprehensive, critical evaluation of dispersion of pollutants in urban areas. A three-dimensional flow model has been set-up for a staggered crossroad, using the Navier-Stokes equations and the conservation equation for species concentration. The effect of using several different turbulence models, including the k-ε model, modifications and extensions, has been investigated. Cartesian coordinates have been used in connection with the Partial Solution Algorithm (PARSOL) and Body Fitted Coordinates (BFC). The effects of several different numerical algorithms for discretization of differential equations have also been studied. More than thirty cases are analysed, and the main results are compared with wind tunnel experiments. The numerical results are presented as non-dimensional values to facilitate comparison between experimental and numerical studies. It has been shown that the numerical studies have been able to simulate the air-flow in urban areas and confirm, qualitatively, the previous field observations and wind tunnel results. This success encouraged the authors to extend such

Evaluation of different numerical methodologies for dispersion of air pollutants in an urban environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mumovic, D.; Crowther, J.M. [Glasgow Caledonian Univ., School of Built and Natural Environment, Glasgow (United Kingdom)]. E-mail: dmumov10@caledonian.ac.uk; Stevanovic, Z. [Univ. of Belgrade, Inst. of Nuclear Sciences, Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro)

2003-07-01

Since 1950 the world population has more than doubled but meanwhile the global number of cars has increased by a factor of 10. In that same period the fraction of people living in urban areas has increased by a factor of 4. Apart from large point-sources of local air pollution, traffic induced pollution is now the most significant contributor to urban air quality in city centres, particularly for carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and fine particulate matter. Until recently, pollutant dispersion in urban areas has usually been numerically investigated by using empirical models, such as the Gaussian plume model, or by extensions of this technique to line sources and multiple sources. More recently, advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have been attempted but have been mainly two-dimensional and often encompassing only a single street canyon. This paper provides a comprehensive, critical evaluation of dispersion of pollutants in urban areas. A three-dimensional flow model has been set-up for a staggered crossroad, using the Navier-Stokes equations and the conservation equation for species concentration. The effect of using several different turbulence models, including the k-{epsilon} model, modifications and extensions, has been investigated. Cartesian coordinates have been used in connection with the Partial Solution Algorithm (PARSOL) and Body Fitted Coordinates (BFC). The effects of several different numerical algorithms for discretization of differential equations have also been studied. More than thirty cases are analysed, and the main results are compared with wind tunnel experiments. The numerical results are presented as non-dimensional values to facilitate comparison between experimental and numerical studies. It has been shown that the numerical studies have been able to simulate the air-flow in urban areas and confirm, qualitatively, the previous field observations and wind tunnel results. This success encouraged the authors to extend

Comparison of the performances of land use regression modelling and dispersion modelling in estimating small-scale variations in long-term air pollution concentrations in a Dutch urban area.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beelen, R.M.J.; Voogt, M.; Duyzer, J.; Zandveld, P.; Hoek, G.

2010-01-01

The performance of a Land Use Regression (LUR) model and a dispersion model (URBIS - URBis Information System) was compared in a Dutch urban area. For the Rijnmond area, i.e. Rotterdam and surroundings, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations for 2001 were estimated for nearly 70 000 centroids of a

Characterization Urban Heat Island Effect and Modelling of Secondary Pollutant Formations at Urban Hotspots

Science.gov (United States)

Undi, G. S. N. V. K. S. N. S.

2017-12-01

More than 60 percent of the world population is living the urban zones by 2020. This socio of economic transformations will bring considerable changes to the ambient atmosphere. More than 70 percent of the air pollutants in the urban hotspots are from vehicular emissions. in the urban hotspots. In the urban hotspots, the meteorological and dispersion conditions will have different characteristics than in surrounding rural areas. Reactive pollutants transformations are drastically influenced by the local meteorological conditions. The complexity of urban structure alters the pollutants dispersion in the hotspots. This relationship between urban meteorology and air pollution is an important aspect of consideration. In the atmosphere, drastic changes have been noticed from micro to regional and global scales. However, the characteristics of air pollutant emissions vary with time and space, favorable dispersion conditions transport them from local to regional scale. In the present study, the impact of land cover change on Urban Heat Island effect (UHI) has been characterized by considering the three different zones with varying land use patterns. An attempt has been made to estimate the impact of UHI on secondary pollutants (O3) transformations. Envi-Met model has been used to characterize the UHI intensity for the selected zones. Meteorological and air quality measurements were carried out at the selected locations. The diurnal variations of Ozone (O3) concentration for three zones are correlated with the UHI intensity. And the monitoring and model results of O3 concentrations are in good agreement. It is observed from the obtained model results that the metrological parameters influence on local air quality is significant in urban zones.

The Activities and radioactive dispersion consequences for urban and rural area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pande Made Udiyani; Sri Kuntjoro; Jupiter Sitorus Pane

2015-01-01

The consequences of radioactive releases of contaminants by humans is influenced by many factors such as the amount of activity that spread contaminants and environmental conditions. Environmental conditions include meteorological conditions, the contours of the site and contaminant pathways to humans. The purpose of this research is the analysis of the consequences of radionuclide activity and long half-life time due to accidents in urban and rural areas. The specific objective is to calculate the activity of the air dispersion and surface deposition, dose rate predictions and the risks posed to urban and rural areas as a function of the location. The estimates method used is simulation of the consequences on fission products dispersion in the atmosphere due to the postulated accident Beyond Design Basis Accident, BDBA. The calculation is performed for radioactive releases from accidents in 1000 MWe PWR simulated for rural and urban areas on Bojanegara-Serang site. Results of the analysis are that the activity of air dispersion and deposition surface at rural areas higher than urban areas. The Acceptance dose is higher for rural areas compared with urban areas. The maximum effective individual dose for rural areas is 9.24 x 10"-"2 Sv and urban areas is 5.14 x 10"-"2 Sv. The total risk of cancer for people who live in urban areas is higher than rural areas. (author)

Dispersion of Radionuclides and Exposure Assessment in Urban Environments: A Joint CEA and LLNL Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glascoe, Lee; Gowardhan, Akshay; Lennox, Kristin; Simpson, Matthew; Yu, Kristen; Armand, Patrick; Duchenne, Christophe; Mariotte, Frederic; Pectorin, Xavier

2014-01-01

In the interest of promoting the international exchange of technical expertise, the US Department of Energy’s Office of Emergency Operations (NA-40) and the French Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) requested that the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California host a joint table top exercise with experts in emergency management and atmospheric transport modeling. In this table top exercise, LLNL and CEA compared each other's flow and dispersion models. The goal of the comparison is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, capabilities, and practices, and to demonstrate the utility of modeling dispersal at different levels of computational fidelity. Two modeling approaches were examined, a regional scale modeling approach, appropriate for simple terrain and/or very large releases, and an urban scale modeling approach, appropriate for small releases in a city environment. This report is a summary of LLNL and CEA modeling efforts from this exercise. Two different types of LLNL and CEA models were employed in the analysis: urban-scale models (Aeolus CFD at LLNL/NARAC and Parallel- Micro-SWIFT-SPRAY, PMSS, at CEA) for analysis of a 5,000 Ci radiological release and Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Models (LODI at LLNL/NARAC and PSPRAY at CEA) for analysis of a much larger (500,000 Ci) regional radiological release. Two densely-populated urban locations were chosen: Chicago with its high-rise skyline and gridded street network and Paris with its more consistent, lower building height and complex unaligned street network. Each location was considered under early summer daytime and nighttime conditions. Different levels of fidelity were chosen for each scale: (1) lower fidelity mass-consistent diagnostic, intermediate fidelity Navier-Stokes RANS models, and higher fidelity Navier-Stokes LES for urban-scale analysis, and (2) lower-fidelity single

Dispersion of Radionuclides and Exposure Assessment in Urban Environments: A Joint CEA and LLNL Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glascoe, Lee [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Gowardhan, Akshay [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Lennox, Kristin [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Simpson, Matthew [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Yu, Kristen [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Armand, Patrick [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Paris (France); Duchenne, Christophe [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Paris (France); Mariotte, Frederic [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Paris (France); Pectorin, Xavier [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Paris (France)

2014-12-19

In the interest of promoting the international exchange of technical expertise, the US Department of Energy’s Office of Emergency Operations (NA-40) and the French Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) requested that the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California host a joint table top exercise with experts in emergency management and atmospheric transport modeling. In this table top exercise, LLNL and CEA compared each other’s flow and dispersion models. The goal of the comparison is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, capabilities, and practices, and to demonstrate the utility of modeling dispersal at different levels of computational fidelity. Two modeling approaches were examined, a regional scale modeling approach, appropriate for simple terrain and/or very large releases, and an urban scale modeling approach, appropriate for small releases in a city environment. This report is a summary of LLNL and CEA modeling efforts from this exercise. Two different types of LLNL and CEA models were employed in the analysis: urban-scale models (Aeolus CFD at LLNL/NARAC and Parallel- Micro-SWIFT-SPRAY, PMSS, at CEA) for analysis of a 5,000 Ci radiological release and Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Models (LODI at LLNL/NARAC and PSPRAY at CEA) for analysis of a much larger (500,000 Ci) regional radiological release. Two densely-populated urban locations were chosen: Chicago with its high-rise skyline and gridded street network and Paris with its more consistent, lower building height and complex unaligned street network. Each location was considered under early summer daytime and nighttime conditions. Different levels of fidelity were chosen for each scale: (1) lower fidelity mass-consistent diagnostic, intermediate fidelity Navier-Stokes RANS models, and higher fidelity Navier-Stokes LES for urban-scale analysis, and (2) lower-fidelity single

Trees in urban street canyons and their impact on the dispersion of automobile exhausts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gromke, C.B.; Ruck, B.

2007-01-01

The aim of the present study is to clarify the influence of trees on the dispersion of automobile exhausts in urban street canyons. For this purpose, measurements have been performed with a small scale wind tunnel model of an idealized, isolated street canyon with model trees placed along the canyon

Ultrafine particles dispersion modeling in a street canyon: development and evaluation of a composite lattice Boltzmann model.

Science.gov (United States)

Habilomatis, George; Chaloulakou, Archontoula

2013-10-01

Recently, a branch of particulate matter research concerns on ultrafine particles found in the urban environment, which originate, to a significant extent, from traffic sources. In urban street canyons, dispersion of ultrafine particles affects pedestrian's short term exposure and resident's long term exposure as well. The aim of the present work is the development and the evaluation of a composite lattice Boltzmann model to study the dispersion of ultrafine particles, in urban street canyon microenvironment. The proposed model has the potential to penetrate into the physics of this complex system. In order to evaluate the model performance against suitable experimental data, ultrafine particles levels have been monitored on an hourly basis for a period of 35 days, in a street canyon, in Athens area. The results of the comparative analysis are quite satisfactory. Furthermore, our modeled results are in a good agreement with the results of other computational and experimental studies. This work is a first attempt to study the dispersion of an air pollutant by application of the lattice Boltzmann method. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

CFD modelling of the aerodynamic effect of trees on urban air pollution dispersion.

Science.gov (United States)

Amorim, J H; Rodrigues, V; Tavares, R; Valente, J; Borrego, C

2013-09-01

The current work evaluates the impact of urban trees over the dispersion of carbon monoxide (CO) emitted by road traffic, due to the induced modification of the wind flow characteristics. With this purpose, the standard flow equations with a kε closure for turbulence were extended with the capability to account for the aerodynamic effect of trees over the wind field. Two CFD models were used for testing this numerical approach. Air quality simulations were conducted for two periods of 31h in selected areas of Lisbon and Aveiro, in Portugal, for distinct relative wind directions: approximately 45° and nearly parallel to the main avenue, respectively. The statistical evaluation of modelling performance and uncertainty revealed a significant improvement of results with trees, as shown by the reduction of the NMSE from 0.14 to 0.10 in Lisbon, and from 0.14 to 0.04 in Aveiro, which is independent from the CFD model applied. The consideration of the plant canopy allowed to fulfil the data quality objectives for ambient air quality modelling established by the Directive 2008/50/EC, with an important decrease of the maximum deviation between site measurements and CFD results. In the non-aligned wind situation an average 12% increase of the CO concentrations in the domain was observed as a response to the aerodynamic action of trees over the vertical exchange rates of polluted air with the above roof-level atmosphere; while for the aligned configuration an average 16% decrease was registered due to the enhanced ventilation of the street canyon. These results show that urban air quality can be optimised based on knowledge-based planning of green spaces. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A vegetation modeling concept for Building and Environmental Aerodynamics wind tunnel tests and its application in pollutant dispersion studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gromke, Christof

2011-01-01

A new vegetation modeling concept for Building and Environmental Aerodynamics wind tunnel investigations was developed. The modeling concept is based on fluid dynamical similarity aspects and allows the small-scale modeling of various kinds of vegetation, e.g. field crops, shrubs, hedges, single trees and forest stands. The applicability of the modeling concept was validated in wind tunnel pollutant dispersion studies. Avenue trees in urban street canyons were modeled and their implications on traffic pollutant dispersion were investigated. The dispersion experiments proved the modeling concept to be practicable for wind tunnel studies and suggested to provide reliable concentration results. Unfavorable effects of trees on pollutant dispersion and natural ventilation in street canyons were revealed. Increased traffic pollutant concentrations were found in comparison to the tree-free reference case. - Highlights: → A concept for aerodynamic modelling of vegetation in small scale wind tunnel studies is presented. → The concept was applied to study pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons with avenue tress. → The wind tunnel studies show that modelling the aerodynamic effects of vegetation is important. → Avenue trees give rise to increased pollutant concentrations in urban street canyons. - Avenue trees in urban street canyons affect the pollutant dispersion and result in increased traffic exhaust concentrations.

Dispersal of invasive Phytolacca americana seeds by birds in an urban garden in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ning; Yang, Wen; Fang, Shubo; Li, Xinhai; Liu, Zhanchen; Leng, Xin; An, Shuqing

2017-01-01

Although seed dispersal is a key process determining the regeneration and spread of invasive plant populations, few studies have explicitly addressed the link between dispersal vector behavior and seedling recruitment to gain insight into the invasion process within an urban garden context. We evaluated the role of bird vectors in the dispersal of pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), a North American herb that is invasive in urban gardens in China. Fruiting P. americana attracted both generalist and specialist bird species that fed on and dispersed its seeds. The generalist species Pycnonotus sinensis and Urocissa erythrorhyncha were the most frequent dispersers. Seedling numbers of P. americana were strongly associated with the perching behavior of frugivorous birds. If newly recruited bird species use seedling-safe perching sites, the P. americana will regenerate faster, which would enhance its invasive potential. Based on our observations, we conclude that the 2 main bird vectors, P. sinensis and U. erythrorhyncha, provide potential effective dispersal agents for P. americana. Our results highlight the role of native birds in seed dispersal of invasive plants in urban gardens. © 2016 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Spatially-varying surface roughness and ground-level air quality in an operational dispersion model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, M.J.; Brade, T.K.; MacKenzie, A.R.; Whyatt, J.D.; Carruthers, D.J.; Stocker, J.; Cai, X.; Hewitt, C.N.

2014-01-01

Urban form controls the overall aerodynamic roughness of a city, and hence plays a significant role in how air flow interacts with the urban landscape. This paper reports improved model performance resulting from the introduction of variable surface roughness in the operational air-quality model ADMS-Urban (v3.1). We then assess to what extent pollutant concentrations can be reduced solely through local reductions in roughness. The model results suggest that reducing surface roughness in a city centre can increase ground-level pollutant concentrations, both locally in the area of reduced roughness and downwind of that area. The unexpected simulation of increased ground-level pollutant concentrations implies that this type of modelling should be used with caution for urban planning and design studies looking at ventilation of pollution. We expect the results from this study to be relevant for all atmospheric dispersion models with urban-surface parameterisations based on roughness. -- Highlights: • Spatially variable roughness improved performance of an operational model. • Scenario modelling explored effect of reduced roughness on air pollution. • Reducing surface roughness can increase modelled ground-level pollution. • Damped vertical mixing outweighs increased horizontal advection in model study. • Result should hold for any model with a land-surface coupling based on roughness. -- Spatially varying roughness improves model simulations of urban air pollutant dispersion. Reducing roughness does not always decrease ground-level pollution concentrations

Pollutant Plume Dispersion over Hypothetical Urban Areas based on Wind Tunnel Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Mo, Ziwei; Liu, Chun-Ho

2017-04-01

Gaussian plume model is commonly adopted for pollutant concentration prediction in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). However, it has a number of limitations being applied to pollutant dispersion over complex land-surface morphology. In this study, the friction factor (f), as a measure of aerodynamic resistance induced by rough surfaces in the engineering community, was proposed to parameterize the vertical dispersion coefficient (σz) in the Gaussian model. A series of wind tunnel experiments were carried out to verify the mathematical hypothesis and to characterize plume dispersion as a function of surface roughness as well. Hypothetical urban areas, which were assembled in the form of idealized street canyons of different aspect (building-height-to-street-width) ratios (AR = 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/12), were fabricated by aligning identical square aluminum bars at different separation apart in cross flows. Pollutant emitted from a ground-level line source into the turbulent boundary layer (TBL) was simulated using water vapour generated by ultrasonic atomizer. The humidity and the velocity (mean and fluctuating components) were measured, respectively, by humidity sensors and hot-wire anemometry (HWA) with X-wire probes in streamwise and vertical directions. Wind tunnel results showed that the pollutant concentration exhibits the conventional Gaussian distribution, suggesting the feasibility of using water vapour as a passive scalar in wind tunnel experiments. The friction factor increased with decreasing aspect ratios (widening the building separation). It was peaked at AR = 1/8 and decreased thereafter. Besides, a positive correlation between σz/xn (x is the distance from the pollutant source) and f1/4 (correlation coefficient r2 = 0.61) was observed, formulating the basic parameterization of plume dispersion over urban areas.

Consequences of Urban Stability Conditions for Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations of Urban Dispersion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lundquist, J K; Chan, S T

2005-11-30

The validity of omitting stability considerations when simulating transport and dispersion in the urban environment is explored using observations from the Joint URBAN 2003 field experiment and computational fluid dynamics simulations of that experiment. Four releases of sulfur hexafluoride, during two daytime and two nighttime intensive observing periods, are simulated using the building-resolving computational fluid dynamics model, FEM3MP to solve the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with two options of turbulence parameterizations. One option omits stability effects but has a superior turbulence parameterization using a non-linear eddy viscosity (NEV) approach, while the other considers buoyancy effects with a simple linear eddy viscosity (LEV) approach for turbulence parameterization. Model performance metrics are calculated by comparison with observed winds and tracer data in the downtown area, and with observed winds and turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) profiles at a location immediately downwind of the central business district (CBD) in the area we label as the urban shadow. Model predictions of winds, concentrations, profiles of wind speed, wind direction, and friction velocity are generally consistent with and compare reasonably well with the field observations. Simulations using the NEV turbulence parameterization generally exhibit better agreement with observations. To further explore this assumption of a neutrally-stable atmosphere within the urban area, TKE budget profiles slightly downwind of the urban wake region in the 'urban shadow' are examined. Dissipation and shear production are the largest terms which may be calculated directly. The advection of TKE is calculated as a residual; as would be expected downwind of an urban area, the advection of TKE produced within the urban area is a very large term. Buoyancy effects may be neglected in favor of advection, shear production, and dissipation. For three of the IOPs, buoyancy

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

Science.gov (United States)

Goulart, E. V.; Coceal, O.; Belcher, S. E.

2018-03-01

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.

Modelling the dispersion and transport of reactive pollutants in a deep urban street canyon: Using large-eddy simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong, Jian; Cai, Xiao-Ming; Bloss, William James

2015-01-01

This study investigates the dispersion and transport of reactive pollutants in a deep urban street canyon with an aspect ratio of 2 under neutral meteorological conditions using large-eddy simulation. The spatial variation of pollutants is significant due to the existence of two unsteady vortices. The deviation of species abundance from chemical equilibrium for the upper vortex is greater than that for the lower vortex. The interplay of dynamics and chemistry is investigated using two metrics: the photostationary state defect, and the inferred ozone production rate. The latter is found to be negative at all locations within the canyon, pointing to a systematic negative offset to ozone production rates inferred by analogous approaches in environments with incomplete mixing of emissions. This study demonstrates an approach to quantify parameters for a simplified two-box model, which could support traffic management and urban planning strategies and personal exposure assessment. - Highlights: • Large-eddy simulation reproduces two unsteady vortices seen in a lab experiment. • Reactive pollutants in an urban street canyon exhibit significant spatial variation. • O 3 production rate inferred by the NO x -O 3 -steady-state-defect approach is discussed. • Ground level sourced pollutants are largely trapped within the lower vortex. • A method of quantifying parameters of a two-box model is developed. - Reactive pollutants in a deep street canyon exhibit significant spatial variation driven by two unsteady vortices. A method of quantifying parameters of a two-box model is developed

Air pollutant dispersion from a large semi-enclosed stadium in an urban area: high-resolution CFD modeling versus full-scale measurements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hooff, van T.A.J.; Blocken, B.J.E.; Seppelt, R.; Voinov, A.A.; Lange, S.; Bankamp, D.

2012-01-01

Abstract: High-resolution CFD simulations and full-scale measurements have been performed to assess the dispersion of air pollutants (CO2) from the large semi-enclosed Amsterdam ArenA football stadium. The dispersion process is driven by natural ventilation by the urban wind flow and by buoyancy,

Modelling the dispersion and transport of reactive pollutants in a deep urban street canyon: using large-eddy simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Jian; Cai, Xiao-Ming; Bloss, William James

2015-05-01

This study investigates the dispersion and transport of reactive pollutants in a deep urban street canyon with an aspect ratio of 2 under neutral meteorological conditions using large-eddy simulation. The spatial variation of pollutants is significant due to the existence of two unsteady vortices. The deviation of species abundance from chemical equilibrium for the upper vortex is greater than that for the lower vortex. The interplay of dynamics and chemistry is investigated using two metrics: the photostationary state defect, and the inferred ozone production rate. The latter is found to be negative at all locations within the canyon, pointing to a systematic negative offset to ozone production rates inferred by analogous approaches in environments with incomplete mixing of emissions. This study demonstrates an approach to quantify parameters for a simplified two-box model, which could support traffic management and urban planning strategies and personal exposure assessment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simulating the production and dispersion of environmental pollutants in aerosol phase in an urban area of great historical and cultural value.

Science.gov (United States)

Librando, Vito; Tringali, Giuseppe; Calastrini, Francesca; Gualtieri, Giovanni

2009-11-01

Mathematical models were developed to simulate the production and dispersion of aerosol phase atmospheric pollutants which are the main cause of the deterioration of monuments of great historical and cultural value. This work focuses on Particulate Matter (PM) considered the primary cause of monument darkening. Road traffic is the greatest contributor to PM in urban areas. Specific emission and dispersion models were used to study typical urban configurations. The area selected for this study was the city of Florence, a suitable test bench considering the magnitude of architectural heritage together with the remarkable effect of the PM pollution from road traffic. The COPERT model, to calculate emissions, and the street canyon model coupled with the CALINE model, to simulate pollutant dispersion, were used. The PM concentrations estimated by the models were compared to actual PM concentration measurements, as well as related to the trend of some meteorological variables. The results obtained may be defined as very encouraging even the models correlated poorly: the estimated concentration trends as daily averages moderately reproduce the same trends of the measured values.

Trees in urban street canyons and their impact on the dispersion of automobile exhausts

OpenAIRE

Gromke, Christof; Ruck, Bodo

2007-01-01

The aim of the present study is to clarify the influence of trees on the dispersion of automobile exhausts in urban street canyons. For this purpose, measurements have been performed with a small scale wind tunnel model of an idealized, isolated street canyon with model trees placed along the canyon center axis. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) was released from a line source embedded in the street surface, simulating vehicle exhaust emissions. The influence of various tree planting arrangements on ...

Review on urban vegetation and particle air pollution - Deposition and dispersion

Science.gov (United States)

Janhäll, Sara

2015-03-01

Urban vegetation affects air quality through influencing pollutant deposition and dispersion. Both processes are described by many existing models and experiments, on-site and in wind tunnels, focussing e.g. on urban street canyons and crossings or vegetation barriers adjacent to traffic sources. There is an urgent need for well-structured experimental data, including detailed empirical descriptions of parameters that are not the explicit focus of the study. This review revealed that design and choice of urban vegetation is crucial when using vegetation as an ecosystem service for air quality improvements. The reduced mixing in trafficked street canyons on adding large trees increases local air pollution levels, while low vegetation close to sources can improve air quality by increasing deposition. Filtration vegetation barriers have to be dense enough to offer large deposition surface area and porous enough to allow penetration, instead of deflection of the air stream above the barrier. The choice between tall or short and dense or sparse vegetation determines the effect on air pollution from different sources and different particle sizes.

On the relative importance of vegetation terms in computational fluid dynamics on flow and Dispersion in the urban environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gromke, C.B.; Blocken, B.J.E.

2013-01-01

The relative importance of vegetation terms was analysed for flow and dispersion in an urban street canyon with avenue-trees. To this end, simulations with three k-e turbulence models and different approaches to model vegetation were performed. The different approaches resulted in rather slight

Seasonal Changing Effect on Airflow and Pollutant Dispersion Characteristics in Urban Street Canyons

OpenAIRE

Jingliang Dong; Zijing Tan; Yimin Xiao; Jiyuan Tu

2017-01-01

In this study, the effect of seasonal variation on air flow and pollutant dispersion characteristics was numerically investigated. A three-dimensional urban canopy model with unit aspect ratio (H/D = 1) was used to calculate surface temperature distribution in the street canyon. Four representative time events (1000 LST, 1300 LST, 1600 LST and 2000 LST) during typical clear summer and winter days were selected to examine the air flow diurnal variation. The results revealed the seasonal variat...

Integrating a street-canyon model with a regional Gaussian dispersion model for improved characterisation of near-road air pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Fallah-Shorshani, Masoud; Shekarrizfard, Maryam; Hatzopoulou, Marianne

2017-03-01

The development and use of dispersion models that simulate traffic-related air pollution in urban areas has risen significantly in support of air pollution exposure research. In order to accurately estimate population exposure, it is important to generate concentration surfaces that take into account near-road concentrations as well as the transport of pollutants throughout an urban region. In this paper, an integrated modelling chain was developed to simulate ambient Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in a dense urban neighbourhood while taking into account traffic emissions, the regional background, and the transport of pollutants within the urban canopy. For this purpose, we developed a hybrid configuration including 1) a street canyon model, which simulates pollutant transfer along streets and intersections, taking into account the geometry of buildings and other obstacles, and 2) a Gaussian puff model, which resolves the transport of contaminants at the top of the urban canopy and accounts for regional meteorology. Each dispersion model was validated against measured concentrations and compared against the hybrid configuration. Our results demonstrate that the hybrid approach significantly improves the output of each model on its own. An underestimation appears clearly for the Gaussian model and street-canyon model compared to observed data. This is due to ignoring the building effect by the Gaussian model and undermining the contribution of other roads by the canyon model. The hybrid approach reduced the RMSE (of observed vs. predicted concentrations) by 16%-25% compared to each model on its own, and increased FAC2 (fraction of predictions within a factor of two of the observations) by 10%-34%.

An Intercomparison of Model Predictions for an Urban Contamination Resulting from the Explosion of a Radiological Dispersal Device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hwang, Won Tae; Jeong, Hyo Jun; Kim, Eun Han; Han, Moon Hee [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2009-03-15

The METRO-K is a model for a radiological dose assessment due to a radioactive contamination in the Korean urban environment. The model has been taken part in the Urban Remediation Working Group within the IAEA's (International Atomic Energy Agency) EMRAS (Environmental Modeling for Radiation Safety) program. The Working Croup designed for the intercomparison of radioactive contamination to be resulted from the explosion of a radiological dispersal device in a hypothetical city. This paper dealt intensively with a part among a lot of predictive results which had been performed in the EMRAS program. The predictive results of three different models (METRO-K, RESRAD-RDD, CPHR) were submitted to the Working Group. The gap of predictive results was due to the difference of mathematical modeling approaches, parameter values, understanding of assessors. Even if final results (for example, dose rates from contaminated surfaces which might affect to a receptor) are similar, the understanding on the contribution of contaminated surfaces showed a great difference. Judging from the authors, it is due to the lack of understanding and information on radioactive terrors as well as the social and cultural gaps which assessors have been experienced. Therefore, it can be known that the experience of assessors and their subjective judgements might be important factors to get reliable results. If the acquisition of a little additional information is possible, it was identified that the METRO-K might be a useful tool for decision support against contamination resulting from radioactive terrors by improving the existing model.

An Intercomparison of Model Predictions for an Urban Contamination Resulting from the Explosion of a Radiological Dispersal Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Won Tae; Jeong, Hyo Jun; Kim, Eun Han; Han, Moon Hee

2009-01-01

The METRO-K is a model for a radiological dose assessment due to a radioactive contamination in the Korean urban environment. The model has been taken part in the Urban Remediation Working Group within the IAEA's (International Atomic Energy Agency) EMRAS (Environmental Modeling for Radiation Safety) program. The Working Croup designed for the intercomparison of radioactive contamination to be resulted from the explosion of a radiological dispersal device in a hypothetical city. This paper dealt intensively with a part among a lot of predictive results which had been performed in the EMRAS program. The predictive results of three different models (METRO-K, RESRAD-RDD, CPHR) were submitted to the Working Group. The gap of predictive results was due to the difference of mathematical modeling approaches, parameter values, understanding of assessors. Even if final results (for example, dose rates from contaminated surfaces which might affect to a receptor) are similar, the understanding on the contribution of contaminated surfaces showed a great difference. Judging from the authors, it is due to the lack of understanding and information on radioactive terrors as well as the social and cultural gaps which assessors have been experienced. Therefore, it can be known that the experience of assessors and their subjective judgements might be important factors to get reliable results. If the acquisition of a little additional information is possible, it was identified that the METRO-K might be a useful tool for decision support against contamination resulting from radioactive terrors by improving the existing model.

Environmental Modelling of Remediation of Urban Contaminated Areas. Report of the Urban Remediation Working Group of EMRAS Theme 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

The Urban Remediation Working Group of the International Atomic Energy Agency's EMRAS (Environmental Modelling for RAdiation Safety) programme was concerned with remediation assessment for urban areas contaminated with dispersed radionuclides. Types of events that could result in dispersal or deposition of radionuclides in an urban situation include both intentional and unintentional events, and releases could range from major events involving a nuclear facility to small events such as a transportation accident. The primary objective of the Urban Remediation Working Group was (1) to test and improve the prediction of dose rates and cumulative doses to humans for urban areas contaminated with dispersed radionuclides, including prediction of changes in radionuclide concentrations or dose rates as a function of location and time; (2) to identify the most important pathways for human exposure; and (3) to predict the reduction in radionuclide concentrations, dose rates, or doses expected to result from various countermeasures or remediation efforts. Specific objectives of the Working Group have included (1) the identification of realistic scenarios for a wide variety of situations, (2) comparison and testing of approaches and models for assessing the significance of a given contamination event and for guiding decisions about countermeasures or remediation measures implemented to reduce doses to humans or to clean up the contaminated area, and (3) improving the understanding of processes and situations that affect the spread of contamination to aid in the development of appropriate models and parameter values for use in assessment of these situations. The major activities of the Working Group have included three areas. The first of these was a review of the available modelling approaches and computer models for use in assessing urban contamination and potential countermeasures or remediation activities. The second area of work was a modelling exercise based on data

Characterization and Low-Dimensional Modeling of Urban Fluid Flow

Science.gov (United States)

2014-10-06

pollutant dispersion characteristics in urban street canyons . Journal of Applied... pollutant dispersion in an urban street canyon . Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 91:309–329, 2003. J. Kim and J. Baik. A numerical...J. Wang, and Z. Xie. The impact of solar radiation and street layout on pollutant dispersion in street canyon . Building and environment,

Dispersion modeling of selected PAHs in urban air: A new approach combining dispersion model with GIS and passive air sampling

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Sáňka, O.; Melymuk, L.; Čupr, P.; Dvorská, Alice; Klánová, J.

2014-01-01

Roč. 90, oct (2014), s. 88-95 ISSN 1352-2310 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : passive air sampling * air dispersion modeling * GIS * polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons * emission inventories Subject RIV: DI - Air Pollution ; Quality Impact factor: 3.281, year: 2014

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

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haifeng; Cui, Guixiang; Zhang, Zhaoshun

2018-04-01

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.

Urban Dispersion Program Overview and MID05 Field Study Summary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allwine, K Jerry; Flaherty, Julia E.

2007-07-31

The Urban Dispersion Program (UDP) was a 4-year project (2004–2007) funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with additional support from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also contributed to UDP through funding a human-exposure component of the New York City (NYC) field studies in addition to supporting an EPA scientist in conducting modeling studies of NYC. The primary goal of UDP was to improve the scientific understanding of the flow and diffusion of airborne contaminants through and around the deep street canyons of NYC. The overall UDP project manager and lead scientist was Dr. Jerry Allwine of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. UDP had several accomplishments that included conducting two tracer and meteorological field studies in Midtown Manhattan.

Pollen Forecast and Dispersion Modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Costantini, Monica; Di Giuseppe, Fabio; Medaglia, Carlo Maria; Travaglini, Alessandro; Tocci, Raffaella; Brighetti, M. Antonia; Petitta, Marcello

2014-05-01

The aim of this study is monitoring, mapping and forecast of pollen distribution for the city of Rome using in-situ measurements of 10 species of common allergenic pollens and measurements of PM10. The production of daily concentration maps, associated to a mobile phone app, are innovative compared to existing dedicated services to people who suffer from respiratory allergies. The dispersal pollen is one of the most well-known causes of allergic disease that is manifested by disorders of the respiratory functions. Allergies are the third leading cause of chronic disease and it is estimated that tens millions of people in Italy suffer from it. Recent works reveal that during the last few years there was a progressive increase of affected subjects, especially in urban areas. This situation may depend: on the ability to transport of pollutants, on the ability to react between pollutants and pollen and from a combination of other irritants, existing in densely populated and polluted urban areas. The methodology used to produce maps is based on in-situ measurements time series relative to 2012, obtained from networks of air quality and pollen stations in the metropolitan area of Rome. The monitoring station aerobiological of University of Rome "Tor Vergata" is located at the Department of Biology. The instrument used to pollen monitoring is a volumetric sampler type Hirst (Hirst 1952), Model 2000 VPPS Lanzoni; the data acquisition is carried out as reported in Standard UNI 11008:2004 - "Qualità dell'aria - Metodo di campionamento e conteggio dei granuli pollinici e delle spore fungine aerodisperse" - the protocol that describes the procedure for measuring of the concentration of pollen grains and fungal spores dispersed into the atmosphere, and reported in the "Manuale di gestione e qualità della R.I.M.A" (Travaglini et. al. 2009). All 10 allergenic pollen are monitored since 1996. At Tor Vergata university is also operating a meteorological station (SP2000, CAE

Numerical modeling of flow and pollutant dispersion in street canyons with tree planting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Balczó, M.; Gromke, C.B.; Ruck, B.

2009-01-01

Numerical simulations of the impact of tree planting on airflow and traffic pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons have been performed using the commercial CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) code MISKAM. A k-e turbulence model including additional terms for the treatment of vegetation, has

Dispersal limitation at the expanding range margin of an evergreen tree in urban habitats?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Linda Agerbo; Skou, Anne-Marie Thonning; Kollmann, Johannes Christian

2012-01-01

Dispersal limitations contribute to shaping plant distribution patterns and thus are significant for biodiversity conservation and urban ecology. In fleshy-fruited plants, for example, any preference of frugivorous birds affects dispersal capacities of certain fruit species. We conducted a removal...... landscapes. The results should be included in urban forestry and planting of potentially invasive ornamental species. © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved....... experiment with fruits of Ilex aquifolium, a species that is currently expanding its range margin in northern Europe in response to climate change. The species is also a popular ornamental tree and naturalization has been observed in many parts of its range. Fruits of native I. aquifolium and of three...

A Platoon Dispersion Model Based on a Truncated Normal Distribution of Speed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Wei

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Understanding platoon dispersion is critical for the coordination of traffic signal control in an urban traffic network. Assuming that platoon speed follows a truncated normal distribution, ranging from minimum speed to maximum speed, this paper develops a piecewise density function that describes platoon dispersion characteristics as the platoon moves from an upstream to a downstream intersection. Based on this density function, the expected number of cars in the platoon that pass the downstream intersection, and the expected number of cars in the platoon that do not pass the downstream point are calculated. To facilitate coordination in a traffic signal control system, dispersion models for the front and the rear of the platoon are also derived. Finally, a numeric computation for the coordination of successive signals is presented to illustrate the validity of the proposed model.

Three-dimensional modeling of air flow and pollutant dispersion in an urban street canyon with thermal effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Mong-Yu; Chen, Kang-Shin; Wu, Chung-Hsing

2005-08-01

Effects of excess ground and building temperatures on airflow and dispersion of pollutants in an urban street canyon with an aspect ratio of 0.8 and a length-to-width ratio of 3 were investigated numerically. Three-dimensional governing equations of mass, momentum, energy, and species were modeled using the RNG k-epsilon turbulence model and Boussinesq approximation, which were solved using the finite volume method. Vehicle emissions were estimated from the measured traffic flow rates and modeled as banded line sources, with a street length and bandwidths equal to typical vehicle widths. Both measurements and simulations reveal that pollutant concentrations typically follow the traffic flow rate; they decline as the height increases and are higher on the leeward side than on the windward side. Three-dimensional simulations reveal that the vortex line, joining the centers of cross-sectional vortexes of the street canyon, meanders between street buildings and shifts toward the windward side when heating strength is increased. Thermal boundary layers are very thin. Entrainment of outside air increases, and pollutant concentration decreases with increasing heating condition. Also, traffic-produced turbulence enhances the turbulent kinetic energy and the mixing of temperature and admixtures in the canyon. Factors affecting the inaccuracy of the simulations are addressed.

Mixed Platoon Flow Dispersion Model Based on Speed-Truncated Gaussian Mixture Distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weitiao Wu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A mixed traffic flow feature is presented on urban arterials in China due to a large amount of buses. Based on field data, a macroscopic mixed platoon flow dispersion model (MPFDM was proposed to simulate the platoon dispersion process along the road section between two adjacent intersections from the flow view. More close to field observation, truncated Gaussian mixture distribution was adopted as the speed density distribution for mixed platoon. Expectation maximum (EM algorithm was used for parameters estimation. The relationship between the arriving flow distribution at downstream intersection and the departing flow distribution at upstream intersection was investigated using the proposed model. Comparison analysis using virtual flow data was performed between the Robertson model and the MPFDM. The results confirmed the validity of the proposed model.

Urban contamination and dose model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robertson, E.; Barry, P.J.

1995-10-01

Nuclear power reactors and other nuclear facilities are being built near or even within urban centres. Accidental releases of radionuclides to the atmosphere in built-up areas result in radiological exposure pathways that differ from those caused by releases in rural environments. Other than inhalation, exposure pathways involve external radiation from the plume while it passes and from radioactivity deposited onto the many and varied surfaces after it has passed. Radiation fields inside buildings are attenuated but many people are potentially exposed so while individual doses may be relatively low, population integrated doses may be high enough to cause concern. It is important, therefore, to assess the potential exposures and to estimate the cost-effectiveness of dose reduction measures in urban environments. This report describes a model developed to carry out such assessments. The model draws heavily on experience gained in European cities after their contamination fallout from the Chernobyl accident. Input is time integrated concentrations of specific radionuclides in urban air, obtained either by direct measurement or by prediction using an atmospheric dispersion model. The code includes default values for site specific variables and transfer parameters but the user is invited if desired to enter other values from the keyboard. Output is the time integrated dose rates for individuals selected because of the characteristic living, working and recreational habits. An accompanying manual documents the technical background on which the model is based and leads a first-time suer through various steps and operations encountered while the model is running. (author). 60 refs., 10 tabs., 1 fig

On the Pollutant Plume Dispersion in the Urban Canopy Layer over 2D Idealized Street Canyons: A Large-Eddy Simulation Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Colman C. C.; Liu, Chun-Ho

2010-05-01

Anthropogenic emissions are the major sources of air pollutants in urban areas. To improve the air quality in dense and mega cities, a simple but reliable prediction method is necessary. In the last five decades, the Gaussian pollutant plume model has been widely used for the estimation of air pollutant distribution in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) in an operational manner. Whereas, it was originally designed for rural areas with rather open and flat terrain. The recirculating flows below the urban canopy layer substantially modify the near-ground urban wind environment and so does the pollutant distribution. Though the plume height and dispersion are often adjusted empirically, the accuracy of applying the Gaussian pollutant plume model in urban areas, of which the bottom of the flow domain consists of numerous inhomogeneous buildings, is unclear. To elucidate the flow and pollutant transport, as well as to demystify the uncertainty of employing the Gaussian pollutant plume model over urban roughness, this study was performed to examine how the Gaussian-shape pollutant plume in the urban canopy layer is modified by the idealized two-dimensional (2D) street canyons at the bottom of the ABL. The specific objective is to develop a parameterization so that the geometric effects of urban morphology on the operational pollutant plume dispersion models could be taken into account. Because atmospheric turbulence is the major means of pollutant removal from street canyons to the ABL, the large-eddy simulation (LES) was adopted to calculate explicitly the flows and pollutant transport in the urban canopy layer. The subgrid-scale (SGS) turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) conservation was used to model the SGS processes in the incompressible, isothermal conditions. The computational domain consists of 12 identical idealized street canyons of unity aspect ratio which were placed evenly in the streamwise direction. Periodic boundary conditions (BCs) for the flow were applied

Development of a high-fidelity numerical model for hazard prediction in the urban environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lien, F.S.; Yee, E.; Ji, H.; Keats, A.; Hsieh, K.J.

2005-01-01

The release of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) agents by terrorists or rogue states in a North American city (densely populated urban centre) and the subsequent exposure, deposition, and contamination are emerging threats in an uncertain world. The transport, dispersion, deposition, and fate of a CBRN agent released in an urban environment is an extremely complex problem that encompasses potentially multiple space and time scales. The availability of high-fidelity, time-dependent models for the prediction of a CBRN agent's movement and fate in a complex urban environment can provide the strongest technical and scientific foundation for support of Canada's more broadly based effort at advancing counter-terrorism planning and operational capabilities. The objective of this paper is to report the progress of developing and validating an integrated, state-of-the-art, high-fidelity multi-scale, multi-physics modeling system for the accurate and efficient prediction of urban flow and dispersion of CBRN materials. Development of this proposed multi-scale modeling system will provide the real-time modeling and simulation tool required to predict injuries, casualties, and contamination and to make relevant decisions (based on the strongest technical and scientific foundations) in order to minimize the consequences of a CBRN incident based on a pre-determined decision making framework. (author)

Application of air pollution dispersion modeling for source-contribution assessment and model performance evaluation at integrated industrial estate-Pantnagar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banerjee, T., E-mail: tirthankaronline@gmail.com [Department of Environmental Science, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, U.S. Nagar, Uttarakhand 263 145 (India); Barman, S.C., E-mail: scbarman@yahoo.com [Department of Environmental Monitoring, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Post Box No. 80, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Lucknow-226 001, Uttar Pradesh (India); Srivastava, R.K., E-mail: rajeevsrivastava08@gmail.com [Department of Environmental Science, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, U.S. Nagar, Uttarakhand 263 145 (India)

2011-04-15

Source-contribution assessment of ambient NO{sub 2} concentration was performed at Pantnagar, India through simulation of two urban mathematical dispersive models namely Gaussian Finite Line Source Model (GFLSM) and Industrial Source Complex Model (ISCST-3) and model performances were evaluated. Principal approaches were development of comprehensive emission inventory, monitoring of traffic density and regional air quality and conclusively simulation of urban dispersive models. Initially, 18 industries were found responsible for emission of 39.11 kg/h of NO{sub 2} through 43 elevated stacks. Further, vehicular emission potential in terms of NO{sub 2} was computed as 7.1 kg/h. Air quality monitoring delineates an annual average NO{sub 2} concentration of 32.6 {mu}g/m{sup 3}. Finally, GFLSM and ISCST-3 were simulated in conjunction with developed emission inventories and existing meteorological conditions. Models simulation indicated that contribution of NO{sub 2} from industrial and vehicular source was in a range of 45-70% and 9-39%, respectively. Further, statistical analysis revealed satisfactory model performance with an aggregate accuracy of 61.9%. - Research highlights: > Application of dispersion modeling for source-contribution assessment of ambient NO{sub 2}. > Inventorization revealed emission from industry and vehicles was 39.11 and 7.1 kg/h. > GFLSM revealed that vehicular pollution contributes a range of 9.0-38.6%. > Source-contribution of 45-70% was found for industrial emission through ISCST-3. > Aggregate performance of both models shows good agreement with an accuracy of 61.9%. - Development of industrial and vehicular inventory in terms of ambient NO{sub 2} for model simulation at Pantnagar, India and model validation revealed satisfactory outcome.

Harmonisation within atmospheric dispersion modelling for regulatory purposes. Proceedings. Vol. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suppan, P.

2004-01-01

Dispersion modelling has proved to be a very effective tool to assess the environmental impact of human activities on air quality already at the early planning stage. Environmental assessments during planning are required by the EU directive 85/337/EEC. Only models can give detailed information on the distribution of pollutants with high spatial and temporal resolution, while they allow the decision-maker to devise a range of scenarios, in which the various processes determining the environmental impact can be easily simulated and changed. In June 1991, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission started an initiative on the sharing of information and possible harmonisation of new approaches to atmospheric dispersion modelling and model evaluation. This initiative has fostered a series of conferences that have been concerned with improvement of ''modelling culture'' in Europe. The 9 th International Conference on Harmonisation within atmospheric dispersion modelling for regulatory purposes in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Germany/ Bavaria, 1-4 June, 2004, will continue the efforts of the previous conferences. The conference has a role as a forum where users and decision-makers can bring their requirements to the attention of scientists. It is also a natural forum for discussing environmental issues related to the European union enlargement process. The scope of this conference is covered by the following topics: Validation and inter-comparison of models: Model evaluation methodology, experiences with implementation of EU directives; regulatory modelling, short distance dispersion modelling, urban scale and street canyon modelling: Meteorology and air quality, mesoscale meteorology and air quality modelling, environmental impact assessment: Air pollution management and decision support systems. (orig.)

Simulating Real-World Exposures during Emergency Events: Studying Effects of Indoor and Outdoor Releases in the Urban Dispersion Project in Upper Manhattan, NY

Science.gov (United States)

A prospective personal exposure study, involving indoor and outdoor releases, was conducted in upper Midtown Manhattan in New York City as part of the Urban Dispersion Program (UDP) focusing on atmospheric dispersion of chemicals in complex urban settings. The UDP experiments inv...

Modeling and evaluation of urban pollution events of atmospheric heavy metals from a large Cu-smelter.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bing; Stein, Ariel F; Castell, Nuria; Gonzalez-Castanedo, Yolanda; Sanchez de la Campa, A M; de la Rosa, J D

2016-01-01

Metal smelting and processing are highly polluting activities that have a strong influence on the levels of heavy metals in air, soil, and crops. We employ an atmospheric transport and dispersion model to predict the pollution levels originated from the second largest Cu-smelter in Europe. The model predicts that the concentrations of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and arsenic (As) in an urban area close to the Cu-smelter can reach 170, 70, and 30 ng m−3, respectively. The model captures all the observed urban pollution events, but the magnitude of the elemental concentrations is predicted to be lower than that of the observed values; ~300, ~500, and ~100 ng m−3 for Cu, Zn, and As, respectively. The comparison between model and observations showed an average correlation coefficient of 0.62 ± 0.13. The simulation shows that the transport of heavy metals reaches a peak in the afternoon over the urban area. The under-prediction in the peak is explained by the simulated stronger winds compared with monitoring data. The stronger simulated winds enhance the transport and dispersion of heavy metals to the regional area, diminishing the impact of pollution events in the urban area. This model, driven by high resolution meteorology (2 km in horizontal), predicts the hourly-interval evolutions of atmospheric heavy metal pollutions in the close by urban area of industrial hotspot.

Sensitivity of a complex urban air quality model to input data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seigneur, C.; Tesche, T.W.; Roth, P.M.; Reid, L.E.

1981-01-01

In recent years, urban-scale photochemical simulation models have been developed that are of practical value for predicting air quality and analyzing the impacts of alternative emission control strategies. Although the performance of some urban-scale models appears to be acceptable, the demanding data requirements of such models have prompted concern about the costs of data acquistion, which might be high enough to preclude use of photochemical models for many urban areas. To explore this issue, sensitivity studies with the Systems Applications, Inc. (SAI) Airshed Model, a grid-based time-dependent photochemical dispersion model, have been carried out for the Los Angeles basin. Reductions in the amount and quality of meteorological, air quality and emission data, as well as modifications of the model gridded structure, have been analyzed. This paper presents and interprets the results of 22 sensitivity studies. A sensitivity-uncertainty index is defined to rank input data needs for an urban photochemical model. The index takes into account the sensitivity of model predictions to the amount of input data, the costs of data acquistion, and the uncertainties in the air quality model input variables. The results of these sensitivity studies are considered in light of the limitations of specific attributes of the Los Angeles basin and of the modeling conditions (e.g., choice of wind model, length of simulation time). The extent to which the results may be applied to other urban areas also is discussed

Impacts of Realistic Urban Heating, Part I: Spatial Variability of Mean Flow, Turbulent Exchange and Pollutant Dispersion

Science.gov (United States)

Nazarian, Negin; Martilli, Alberto; Kleissl, Jan

2018-03-01

As urbanization progresses, more realistic methods are required to analyze the urban microclimate. However, given the complexity and computational cost of numerical models, the effects of realistic representations should be evaluated to identify the level of detail required for an accurate analysis. We consider the realistic representation of surface heating in an idealized three-dimensional urban configuration, and evaluate the spatial variability of flow statistics (mean flow and turbulent fluxes) in urban streets. Large-eddy simulations coupled with an urban energy balance model are employed, and the heating distribution of urban surfaces is parametrized using sets of horizontal and vertical Richardson numbers, characterizing thermal stratification and heating orientation with respect to the wind direction. For all studied conditions, the thermal field is strongly affected by the orientation of heating with respect to the airflow. The modification of airflow by the horizontal heating is also pronounced for strongly unstable conditions. The formation of the canyon vortices is affected by the three-dimensional heating distribution in both spanwise and streamwise street canyons, such that the secondary vortex is seen adjacent to the windward wall. For the dispersion field, however, the overall heating of urban surfaces, and more importantly, the vertical temperature gradient, dominate the distribution of concentration and the removal of pollutants from the building canyon. Accordingly, the spatial variability of concentration is not significantly affected by the detailed heating distribution. The analysis is extended to assess the effects of three-dimensional surface heating on turbulent transfer. Quadrant analysis reveals that the differential heating also affects the dominance of ejection and sweep events and the efficiency of turbulent transfer (exuberance) within the street canyon and at the roof level, while the vertical variation of these parameters is less

NOx dispersion modelling around roundabout in a small city, example from Hungary

Science.gov (United States)

Farkas, Orsolya; Rákai, Anikó; Czáder, Károly; Török, Ákos

2013-04-01

The present paper focuses on the modelling of pollutant distribution and dispersion in an urban region that is located in a moderately industrialized town of Hungary, Székesfehérvár, with a population of 100,000. The study area is located close to the city centre, with different housing styles and different building elevations. High-rise buildings with 10 floors to small houses with gardens are found in the modelled area. The roundabout has 5 access roads; three major ones and two minor ones with different geometries and traffic load. The traffic load of the roads was defined by traffic count, while for the meteorological characteristics wind-statistics were created. Additional input parameters were the ground plan and the elevation of buildings. To simulate the airflow and the dispersion of pollutants a Computational Fluid Dynamics code called MISKAM was used. The background concentration was taken from the dataset of a nearby air quality monitoring station. According to vehicle counting the 5 roads of the roundabout have very different loads from 12 vehicles to more than 412 vehicles/hour. Three different grid systems were applied ranging from half million to 5 million cells. The difference in the results related to grid density was also evaluated. Wind speed distribution, wind turbulence and building wake flow patterns were identified by using the model. With the help of the simulation the NOx flow and dispersion of pollutants around the roundabout can be estimated and the critical locations with higher pollution concentration are presented. The results of the modelling can be more generalized and used in the design of the layout, development, traffic-control and environmental aspects of roundabouts located in small urban areas.

A Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Simulation of PM10 Dispersion Caused by Rail Transit Construction Activity: A Real Urban Street Canyon Model

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yang; Zhou, Ying; Zuo, Jian

2018-01-01

Particle emissions derived from construction activities have a significant impact on the local air quality, while the canyon effect with reduced natural ventilation contributes to the highest particulate pollution in urban environments. This study attempted to examine the effect of PM10 emissions derived from the construction of a rail transit system in an urban street canyon. Using a 3D computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model based on a real street canyon with different height ratios, this study formulates the impact of height ratio and wind directions on the dispersion and concentration of PM10. The results indicate that parallel flow would cause the concentration of PM10 at the end of the street canyons in all height ratios, and the trends in horizontal, vertical and lateral planes in all street canyons are similar. While in the condition of perpendicular flow, double-eddy circulations occur and lead to the concentration of PM10 in the middle part of the street canyon and leeward of backwind buildings in all height ratios. Furthermore, perpendicular flow will cause the concentration of PM10 to increase if the upwind buildings are higher than the backwind ones. This study also shows that the dispersion of PM10 is strongly associated with wind direction in and the height ratios of the street canyons. Certain measures could, therefore, be taken to prevent the impact on people in terms of the PM10 concentration and the heights of street canyons identified in this research. Potential mitigation strategies are suggested, include measurements below 4 m according to governmental regulations, dust shields, and atomized water. PMID:29522495

A Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Simulation of PM10 Dispersion Caused by Rail Transit Construction Activity: A Real Urban Street Canyon Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yang; Zhou, Ying; Zuo, Jian; Rameezdeen, Raufdeen

2018-03-09

Particle emissions derived from construction activities have a significant impact on the local air quality, while the canyon effect with reduced natural ventilation contributes to the highest particulate pollution in urban environments. This study attempted to examine the effect of PM 10 emissions derived from the construction of a rail transit system in an urban street canyon. Using a 3D computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model based on a real street canyon with different height ratios, this study formulates the impact of height ratio and wind directions on the dispersion and concentration of PM 10 . The results indicate that parallel flow would cause the concentration of PM 10 at the end of the street canyons in all height ratios, and the trends in horizontal, vertical and lateral planes in all street canyons are similar. While in the condition of perpendicular flow, double-eddy circulations occur and lead to the concentration of PM 10 in the middle part of the street canyon and leeward of backwind buildings in all height ratios. Furthermore, perpendicular flow will cause the concentration of PM 10 to increase if the upwind buildings are higher than the backwind ones. This study also shows that the dispersion of PM 10 is strongly associated with wind direction in and the height ratios of the street canyons. Certain measures could, therefore, be taken to prevent the impact on people in terms of the PM 10 concentration and the heights of street canyons identified in this research. Potential mitigation strategies are suggested, include measurements below 4 m according to governmental regulations, dust shields, and atomized water.

A Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD Simulation of PM10 Dispersion Caused by Rail Transit Construction Activity: A Real Urban Street Canyon Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Wang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Particle emissions derived from construction activities have a significant impact on the local air quality, while the canyon effect with reduced natural ventilation contributes to the highest particulate pollution in urban environments. This study attempted to examine the effect of PM10 emissions derived from the construction of a rail transit system in an urban street canyon. Using a 3D computational fluid dynamic (CFD model based on a real street canyon with different height ratios, this study formulates the impact of height ratio and wind directions on the dispersion and concentration of PM10. The results indicate that parallel flow would cause the concentration of PM10 at the end of the street canyons in all height ratios, and the trends in horizontal, vertical and lateral planes in all street canyons are similar. While in the condition of perpendicular flow, double-eddy circulations occur and lead to the concentration of PM10 in the middle part of the street canyon and leeward of backwind buildings in all height ratios. Furthermore, perpendicular flow will cause the concentration of PM10 to increase if the upwind buildings are higher than the backwind ones. This study also shows that the dispersion of PM10 is strongly associated with wind direction in and the height ratios of the street canyons. Certain measures could, therefore, be taken to prevent the impact on people in terms of the PM10 concentration and the heights of street canyons identified in this research. Potential mitigation strategies are suggested, include measurements below 4 m according to governmental regulations, dust shields, and atomized water.

Pollutant dispersion in boundary layers exposed to rural-to-urban transitions : Varying the spanwise length scale of the roughness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tomas, J.M.; Eisma, H.E.; Pourquie, M.J.B.M.; Elsinga, G.E.; Jonker, H.J.J.; Westerweel, J.

2017-01-01

Both large-eddy simulations (LES) and water-tunnel experiments, using simultaneous stereoscopic particle image velocimetry and laser-induced fluorescence, have been used to investigate pollutant dispersion mechanisms in regions where the surface changes from rural to urban roughness. The urban

Discrete dispersion models and their Tweedie asymptotics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Bent; Kokonendji, Célestin C.

2016-01-01

The paper introduce a class of two-parameter discrete dispersion models, obtained by combining convolution with a factorial tilting operation, similar to exponential dispersion models which combine convolution and exponential tilting. The equidispersed Poisson model has a special place in this ap......The paper introduce a class of two-parameter discrete dispersion models, obtained by combining convolution with a factorial tilting operation, similar to exponential dispersion models which combine convolution and exponential tilting. The equidispersed Poisson model has a special place...... in this approach, whereas several overdispersed discrete distributions, such as the Neyman Type A, Pólya-Aeppli, negative binomial and Poisson-inverse Gaussian, turn out to be Poisson-Tweedie factorial dispersion models with power dispersion functions, analogous to ordinary Tweedie exponential dispersion models...... with power variance functions. Using the factorial cumulant generating function as tool, we introduce a dilation operation as a discrete analogue of scaling, generalizing binomial thinning. The Poisson-Tweedie factorial dispersion models are closed under dilation, which in turn leads to a Poisson...

A Hybrid Fuzzy Inference System Based on Dispersion Model for Quantitative Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Urban Transportation Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Behnam Tashayo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Characterizing the spatial variation of traffic-related air pollution has been and is a long-standing challenge in quantitative environmental health impact assessment of urban transportation planning. Advanced approaches are required for modeling complex relationships among traffic, air pollution, and adverse health outcomes by considering uncertainties in the available data. A new hybrid fuzzy model is developed and implemented through hierarchical fuzzy inference system (HFIS. This model is integrated with a dispersion model in order to model the effect of transportation system on the PM2.5 concentration. An improved health metric is developed as well based on a HFIS to model the impact of traffic-related PM2.5 on health. Two solutions are applied to improve the performance of both the models: the topologies of HFISs are selected according to the problem and used variables, membership functions, and rule set are determined through learning in a simultaneous manner. The capabilities of this proposed approach is examined by assessing the impacts of three traffic scenarios involved in air pollution in the city of Isfahan, Iran, and the model accuracy compared to the results of available models from literature. The advantages here are modeling the spatial variation of PM2.5 with high resolution, appropriate processing requirements, and considering the interaction between emissions and meteorological processes. These models are capable of using the available qualitative and uncertain data. These models are of appropriate accuracy, and can provide better understanding of the phenomena in addition to assess the impact of each parameter for the planners.

Three-dimensional modeling of radiative and convective exchanges in the urban atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qu, Yongfeng

2011-01-01

In many micro-meteorological studies, building resolving models usually assume a neutral atmosphere. Nevertheless, urban radiative transfers play an important role because of their influence on the energy budget. In order to take into account atmospheric radiation and the thermal effects of the buildings in simulations of atmospheric flow and pollutant dispersion in urban areas, we have developed a three-dimensional (3D) atmospheric radiative scheme, in the atmospheric module of the Computational Fluid Dynamics model Code-Saturne. The radiative scheme was previously validated with idealized cases, using as a first step, a constant 3D wind field. In this work, the full coupling of the radiative and thermal schemes with the dynamical model is evaluated. The aim of the first part is to validate the full coupling with the measurements of the simple geometry from the 'Mock Urban Setting Test' (MUST) experiment. The second part discusses two different approaches to model the radiative exchanges in urban area with a comparison between Code-Saturne and SOLENE. The third part applies the full coupling scheme to show the contribution of the radiative transfer model on the airflow pattern in low wind speed conditions in a 3D urban canopy. In the last part we use the radiative-dynamics coupling to simulate a real urban environment and validate the modeling approach with field measurements from the 'Canopy and Aerosol Particles Interactions in Toulouse Urban Layer' (CAPITOUL). (author) [fr

Tracer Flux Balance at an Urban Canyon Intersection

Science.gov (United States)

Carpentieri, Matteo; Robins, Alan G.

2010-05-01

Despite their importance for pollutant dispersion in urban areas, the special features of dispersion at street intersections are rarely taken into account by operational air quality models. Several previous studies have demonstrated the complex flow patterns that occur at street intersections, even with simple geometry. This study presents results from wind-tunnel experiments on a reduced scale model of a complex but realistic urban intersection, located in central London. Tracer concentration measurements were used to derive three-dimensional maps of the concentration field within the intersection. In combination with a previous study (Carpentieri et al., Boundary-Layer Meteorol 133:277-296, 2009) where the velocity field was measured in the same model, a methodology for the calculation of the mean tracer flux balance at the intersection was developed and applied. The calculation highlighted several limitations of current state-of-the-art canyon dispersion models, arising mainly from the complex geometry of the intersection. Despite its limitations, the proposed methodology could be further developed in order to derive, assess and implement street intersection dispersion models for complex urban areas.

Seasonal Changing Effect on Airflow and Pollutant Dispersion Characteristics in Urban Street Canyons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingliang Dong

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In this study, the effect of seasonal variation on air flow and pollutant dispersion characteristics was numerically investigated. A three-dimensional urban canopy model with unit aspect ratio (H/D = 1 was used to calculate surface temperature distribution in the street canyon. Four representative time events (1000 LST, 1300 LST, 1600 LST and 2000 LST during typical clear summer and winter days were selected to examine the air flow diurnal variation. The results revealed the seasonal variation significantly altered the street canyon microclimate. Compared with the street canyon surface temperature distribution in summer, the winter case showed a more evenly distributed surface temperature. In addition, the summer case showed greater daily temperature fluctuation than that of the winter case. Consequently, distinct pollutant dispersion patterns were observed between summer and winter scenarios, especially for the afternoon (1600 LST and night (2000 LST events. Among all studied time events, the pollutant removal performance of the morning (1000 LST and the night (2000 LST events were more sensitive to the seasonal variation. Lastly, limited natural ventilation performance was found during the summer morning and the winter night, which induced relatively high pollutant concentration along the pedestrian height level.

Dispersion of traffic exhausts in urban street canyons with tree plantings : experimental and numerical investigations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gromke, C.B.; Denev, J.; Ruck, B.

2007-01-01

Wind tunnel experiments and numerical computations have been performed in order to investigate the influence of avenuelike tree plantings on the dispersion of traffic exhaust in an urban street canyon. Reduced natural ventilation and enhanced pollutant concentrations have been found in the presence

Large eddy simulation of fire-induced buoyancy driven plume dispersion in an urban street canyon under perpendicular wind flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, L.H., E-mail: hlh@ustc.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Huo, R.; Yang, D. [State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China)

2009-07-15

The dispersion of fire-induced buoyancy driven plume in and above an idealized street canyon of 18 m (width) x 18 m (height) x 40 m (length) with a wind flow perpendicular to its axis was investigated by Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), Large Eddy Simulation (LES). Former studies, such as that by Oka [T.R. Oke, Street design and urban canopy layer climate, Energy Build. 11 (1988) 103-113], Gayev and Savory [Y.A. Gayev, E. Savory, Influence of street obstructions on flow processes within street canyons. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 82 (1999) 89-103], Xie et al. [S. Xie, Y. Zhang, L. Qi, X. Tang, Spatial distribution of traffic-related pollutant concentrations in street canyons. Atmos. Environ. 37 (2003) 3213-3224], Baker et al. [J. Baker, H. L. Walker, X. M. Cai, A study of the dispersion and transport of reactive pollutants in and above street canyons-a large eddy simulation, Atmos. Environ. 38 (2004) 6883-6892] and Baik et al. [J.-J. Baik, Y.-S. Kang, J.-J. Kim, Modeling reactive pollutant dispersion in an urban street canyon, Atmos. Environ. 41 (2007) 934-949], focus on the flow pattern and pollutant dispersion in the street canyon with no buoyancy effect. Results showed that with the increase of the wind flow velocity, the dispersion pattern of a buoyant plume fell into four regimes. When the wind flow velocity increased up to a certain critical level, the buoyancy driven upward rising plume was re-entrained back into the street canyon. This is a dangerous situation as the harmful fire smoke will accumulate to pollute the environment and thus threaten the safety of the people in the street canyon. This critical re-entrainment wind velocity, as an important parameter to be concerned, was further revealed to increase asymptotically with the heat/buoyancy release rate of the fire.

Large eddy simulation of fire-induced buoyancy driven plume dispersion in an urban street canyon under perpendicular wind flow.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, L H; Huo, R; Yang, D

2009-07-15

The dispersion of fire-induced buoyancy driven plume in and above an idealized street canyon of 18 m (width) x 18 m (height) x 40 m (length) with a wind flow perpendicular to its axis was investigated by Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), Large Eddy Simulation (LES). Former studies, such as that by Oka [T.R. Oke, Street design and urban canopy layer climate, Energy Build. 11 (1988) 103-113], Gayev and Savory [Y.A. Gayev, E. Savory, Influence of street obstructions on flow processes within street canyons. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 82 (1999) 89-103], Xie et al. [S. Xie, Y. Zhang, L. Qi, X. Tang, Spatial distribution of traffic-related pollutant concentrations in street canyons. Atmos. Environ. 37 (2003) 3213-3224], Baker et al. [J. Baker, H. L. Walker, X. M. Cai, A study of the dispersion and transport of reactive pollutants in and above street canyons--a large eddy simulation, Atmos. Environ. 38 (2004) 6883-6892] and Baik et al. [J.-J. Baik, Y.-S. Kang, J.-J. Kim, Modeling reactive pollutant dispersion in an urban street canyon, Atmos. Environ. 41 (2007) 934-949], focus on the flow pattern and pollutant dispersion in the street canyon with no buoyancy effect. Results showed that with the increase of the wind flow velocity, the dispersion pattern of a buoyant plume fell into four regimes. When the wind flow velocity increased up to a certain critical level, the buoyancy driven upward rising plume was re-entrained back into the street canyon. This is a dangerous situation as the harmful fire smoke will accumulate to pollute the environment and thus threaten the safety of the people in the street canyon. This critical re-entrainment wind velocity, as an important parameter to be concerned, was further revealed to increase asymptotically with the heat/buoyancy release rate of the fire.

Large eddy simulation of fire-induced buoyancy driven plume dispersion in an urban street canyon under perpendicular wind flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, L.H.; Huo, R.; Yang, D.

2009-01-01

The dispersion of fire-induced buoyancy driven plume in and above an idealized street canyon of 18 m (width) x 18 m (height) x 40 m (length) with a wind flow perpendicular to its axis was investigated by Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), Large Eddy Simulation (LES). Former studies, such as that by Oka [T.R. Oke, Street design and urban canopy layer climate, Energy Build. 11 (1988) 103-113], Gayev and Savory [Y.A. Gayev, E. Savory, Influence of street obstructions on flow processes within street canyons. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 82 (1999) 89-103], Xie et al. [S. Xie, Y. Zhang, L. Qi, X. Tang, Spatial distribution of traffic-related pollutant concentrations in street canyons. Atmos. Environ. 37 (2003) 3213-3224], Baker et al. [J. Baker, H. L. Walker, X. M. Cai, A study of the dispersion and transport of reactive pollutants in and above street canyons-a large eddy simulation, Atmos. Environ. 38 (2004) 6883-6892] and Baik et al. [J.-J. Baik, Y.-S. Kang, J.-J. Kim, Modeling reactive pollutant dispersion in an urban street canyon, Atmos. Environ. 41 (2007) 934-949], focus on the flow pattern and pollutant dispersion in the street canyon with no buoyancy effect. Results showed that with the increase of the wind flow velocity, the dispersion pattern of a buoyant plume fell into four regimes. When the wind flow velocity increased up to a certain critical level, the buoyancy driven upward rising plume was re-entrained back into the street canyon. This is a dangerous situation as the harmful fire smoke will accumulate to pollute the environment and thus threaten the safety of the people in the street canyon. This critical re-entrainment wind velocity, as an important parameter to be concerned, was further revealed to increase asymptotically with the heat/buoyancy release rate of the fire.

Overview of the Brooklyn traffic real-time ambient pollutant penetration and environmental dispersion (B-TRAPPED) study: theoretical background and model for design of field experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Intaek; Wiener, Russell W; Richmond-Bryant, Jennifer; Brixey, Laurie A; Henkle, Stacy W

2009-12-01

The Brooklyn traffic real-time ambient pollutant penetration and environmental dispersion (B-TRAPPED) study was a multidisciplinary field research project that investigated the transport, dispersion, and infiltration processes of traffic emission particulate matter (PM) pollutants in a near-highway urban residential area. The urban PM transport, dispersion, and infiltration processes were described mathematically in a theoretical model that was constructed to develop the experimental objectives of the B-TRAPPED study. In the study, simultaneous and continuous time-series PM concentration and meteorological data collected at multiple outdoor and indoor monitoring locations were used to characterize both temporal and spatial patterns of the PM concentration movements within microscale distances (street canyon; (2) investigating the effects of urban structures such as a tall building or an intersection on the transport and dispersion of PM; (3) studying the influence of meteorological variables on the transport, dispersion, and infiltration processes; (4) characterizing the relationships between the building parameters and the infiltration mechanisms; (5) establishing a cause-and-effect relationship between outdoor-released PM and indoor PM concentrations and identifying the dominant mechanisms involved in the infiltration process; (6) evaluating the effectiveness of a shelter-in-place area for protection against outdoor-released PM pollutants; and (7) understanding the predominant airflow and pollutant dispersion patterns within the neighborhood using wind tunnel and CFD simulations. The 10 papers in this first set of papers presenting the results from the B-TRAPPED study address these objectives. This paper describes the theoretical background and models representing the interrelated processes of transport, dispersion, and infiltration. The theoretical solution for the relationship between the time-dependent indoor PM concentration and the initial PM concentration

Modelling of a large-scale urban contamination situation and remediation alternatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thiessen, K.M.; Arkhipov, A.; Batandjieva, B.; Charnock, T.W.; Gaschak, S.; Golikov, V.; Hwang, W.T.; Tomas, J.; Zlobenko, B.

2009-01-01

The Urban Remediation Working Group of the International Atomic Energy Agency's EMRAS (Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety) program was organized to address issues of remediation assessment modelling for urban areas contaminated with dispersed radionuclides. The present paper describes the first of two modelling exercises, which was based on Chernobyl fallout data in the town of Pripyat, Ukraine. Modelling endpoints for the exercise included radionuclide concentrations and external dose rates at specified locations, contributions to the dose rates from individual surfaces and radionuclides, and annual and cumulative external doses to specified reference individuals. Model predictions were performed for a 'no action' situation (with no remedial measures) and for selected countermeasures. The exercise provided a valuable opportunity to compare modelling approaches and parameter values, as well as to compare the predicted effectiveness of various countermeasures with respect to short-term and long-term reduction of predicted doses to people.

Study of line source characteristics for 2-D physical modelling of pollutant dispersion in street canyons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meroney, Robert N. [Fluid Mechanics and Wind Engineering Program, Civil Engineering Department, Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO (United States); Pavageau, Michel; Rafailidis, Stilianos; Schatzmann, Michael [Meteorologisches Institut, Universitaet Hamburg, Hamburg (Germany)

1996-08-01

The University of Hamburg initiated a wind tunnel study of car exhaust dispersion from street canyons in an urban environment to investigate how pollution dispersion is affected by street geometry. Particular emphasis at the beginning of this work was put on the design of a line source to represent traffic exhaust. Pollution dispersion was studied in two dimensions (i.e., infinite-length streets were assumed). The case of an isolated street canyon in open country was examined first. The same street canyon geometry was subsequently studied in an urban environment, i.e., with additional canyons of similar geometry upstream and downstream of the test street. The dynamic and dispersion characteristics of the flow in the two cases were quite different. In the canyon amidst open country we observed better canyon ventilation than in the urban roughness case

Analysis of Chlorine Gas Incident Simulation and Dispersion Within a Complex and Populated Urban Area Via Computation Fluid Dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eslam Kashi

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In some instances, it is inevitable that large amounts of potentially hazardous chemicals like chlorine gas are stored and used in facilities in densely populated areas. In such cases, all safety issues must be carefully considered. To reach this goal, it is important to have accurate information concerning chlorine gas behaviors and how it is dispersed in dense urban areas. Furthermore, maintaining adequate air movement and the ability to purge ambient from potential toxic and dangerous chemicals like chlorine gas could be helpful. These are among the most important actions to be taken toward the improvement of safety in a big metropolis like Tehran. This paper investigates and analyzes chlorine gas leakage scenarios, including its dispersion and natural air ventilation  effects on how it might be geographically spread in a city, using computational  fluid dynamic (CFD. Simulations of possible hazardous events and solutions for preventing or reducing their probability are presented to gain a better insight into the incidents. These investigations are done by considering hypothetical scenarios which consist of chlorine gas leakages from pipelines or storage tanks under different conditions. These CFD simulation results are used to investigate and analyze chlorine gas behaviors, dispersion, distribution, accumulation, and other possible hazards by means of a simplified CAD model of an urban area near a water-treatment facility. Possible hazards as well as some prevention and post incident solutions are also suggested.

Performance assessment of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) for modeling dispersion in an urban street canyon with tree planting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moonen, P.; Gromke, C.B.; Dorer, V.

2013-01-01

The potential of a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model to reliably predict near-field pollutant dispersion is assessed. To that extent, detailed time-resolved numerical simulations of coupled flow and dispersion are conducted for a street canyon with tree planting. Different crown porosities are

An experimental study of the impact of trees and urban form on the turbulent dispersion of heavy particles from near ground point sources

Science.gov (United States)

Stoll, R., II; Christen, A.; Mahaffee, W.; Salesky, S.; Therias, A.; Caitlin, S.

2017-12-01

Pollution in the form of small particles has a strong impact on a wide variety of urban processes that play an important role in the function of urban ecosystems and ultimately human health and well-being. As a result, a substantial body of research exists on the sources, sinks, and transport characteristics of urban particulate matter. Most of the existing experimental work examining point sources employed gases (e.g., SF6) as the working medium. Furthermore, the focus of most studies has been on the dispersion of pollutants far from the source location. Here, our focus is on the turbulent dispersion of heavy particles in the near source region of a suburban neighborhood. To this end, we conducted a series of heavy particle releases in the Sunset neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada during June, 2017. The particles where dispersed from a near ground point source at two different locations. The Sunset neighborhood is composed mostly of single dwelling detached houses and has been used in numerous previous urban studies. One of the release points was just upwind of a 4-way intersection and the other in the middle of a contiguous block of houses. Each location had a significant density of trees. A minimum of four different successful release events were conducted at each site. During each release, fluorescing micro particles (mean diameter approx. 30 micron) were released from ultrasonic atomizer nozzles for a duration of approximately 20 minutes. The particles where sampled at 50 locations (1.5 m height) in the area downwind of the release over distances from 1-15 times the mean canopy height ( 6 m) using rotating impaction traps. In addition to the 50 sampler locations, instantaneous wind velocities were measured with eight sonic anemometers distributed horizontally and vertically throughout the release area. The resulting particle plume distributions indicate a strong impact of local urban form in the near source region and a high degree of sensitivity to the local

In-town dispersion calculations with RIMPUFF and UDM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astrup, P.; Thykier-Nielsen, S.; Mikkelsen, Torben

2005-11-01

Input to ERMIN, deposition of radioactive matter inside inhabited areas from releases both within and outside such areas, shall in a decision support system be produced by dispersion codes, followed by data-assimilation. The present work focuses on the differences in near surface concentrations and in depositions obtained with a code designed for dispersion of a release from a nuclear power plant, typically situated at a distance from densely inhabited areas, and a code specifically designed for predicting dispersion from sources inside urban areas. The codes applied are the RIMPUFF code, RIsoe Mesoscale PUFF model from Risoe National Laboratory, Denmark, and the UDM code, Urban Dispersion Model, from 'dstl', Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, United Kingdom. For an above-town release only small differences are seen between the codes, but for a in-town ground release, e.g. a dirty bomb, the UDM code predicts much larger concentrations in an area close to the release point and, if wind shifts occur, gives a rather different plume all over. (au)

Harmonisation within atmospheric dispersion modelling for regulatory purposes. Proceedings. Vol. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suppan, P.

2004-01-01

Dispersion modelling has proved to be a very effective tool to assess the environmental impact of human activities to be a very effective tool to assess the environmental impact of human activities on air quality already at the early planning stage. Environmental assessments during planning are required by the EU directive 85/337/EEC. Only models can give detailed information on the distribution of pollutants with high spatial and temporal resolution, while they allow the decision-maker to devise a range of scenarios, in which the various processes determining the environmental impact can be easily simulated and changed. In June 1991, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission started an initiative on the sharing of information and possible harmonisation of new approaches to atmospheric disperion modelling and model evaluation. This initiative has fostered a series of conferences that have be concerned with improvement of ''modelling culture'' in Europe. The 9th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Germany/Bavaria, 1-4 June, 2004, will continue the efforts of the previous conferences. The conference has a role as a forum where users and decision-makers can bring their requirements to the attention of scientists. It is also a natural forum for discussing environmental issues related to the European Union enlargement process. The scope of this conference is covered by the following topics: 1. Validation and inter-comparison of models: Model evaluation methodology - 2. Experiences with implementation of EU directives: regulatory modelling - 3. Short distance dispersion modelling - 4. Urban scale and street canyon modelling: Meteorology and air quality - 5. Mesoscale meteorology and air quality modelling - 6. Environmental impact assessment: Air pollution management and decision support systems. (orig.)

Modelling and measurements of urban aerosol processes on the neighborhood scale in Rotterdam, Oslo and Helsinki

Science.gov (United States)

Karl, M.; Kukkonen, J.; Keuken, M. P.; Lützenkirchen, S.; Pirjola, L.; Hussein, T.

2015-12-01

This study evaluates the influence of aerosol processes on the particle number (PN) concentrations in three major European cities on the temporal scale of one hour, i.e. on the neighborhood and city scales. We have used selected measured data of particle size distributions from previous campaigns in the cities of Helsinki, Oslo and Rotterdam. The aerosol transformation processes were evaluated using an aerosol dynamics model MAFOR, combined with a simplified treatment of roadside and urban atmospheric dispersion. We have compared the model predictions of particle number size distributions with the measured data, and conducted sensitivity analyses regarding the influence of various model input variables. We also present a simplified parameterization for aerosol processes, which is based on the more complex aerosol process computations; this simple model can easily be implemented to both Gaussian and Eulerian urban dispersion models. Aerosol processes considered in this study were (i) the coagulation of particles, (ii) the condensation and evaporation of n-alkanes, and (iii) dry deposition. The chemical transformation of gas-phase compounds was not taken into account. It was not necessary to model the nucleation of gas-phase vapors, as the computations were started with roadside conditions. Dry deposition and coagulation of particles were identified to be the most important aerosol dynamic processes that control the evolution and removal of particles. The effect of condensation and evaporation of organic vapors emitted by vehicles on particle numbers and on particle size distributions was examined. Under inefficient dispersion conditions, condensational growth contributed significantly to the evolution of PN from roadside to the neighborhood scale. The simplified parameterization of aerosol processes can predict particle number concentrations between roadside and the urban background with an inaccuracy of ∼ 10 %, compared to the fully size-resolved MAFOR model.

Characterization and spatial modeling of urban sprawl in the Wuhan Metropolitan Area, China

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Chen; Liu, Yaolin; Stein, Alfred; Jiao, Limin

2015-02-01

Urban sprawl has led to environmental problems and large losses of arable land in China. In this study, we monitor and model urban sprawl by means of a combination of remote sensing, geographical information system and spatial statistics. We use time-series data to explore the potential socio-economic driving forces behind urban sprawl, and spatial models in different scenarios to explore the spatio-temporal interactions. The methodology is applied to the city of Wuhan, China, for the period from 1990 to 2013. The results reveal that the built-up land has expanded and has dispersed in urban clusters. Population growth, and economic and transportation development are still the main causes of urban sprawl; however, when they have developed to certain levels, the area affected by construction in urban areas (Jian Cheng Qu (JCQ)) and the area of cultivated land (ACL) tend to be stable. Spatial regression models are shown to be superior to the traditional models. The interaction among districts with the same administrative status is stronger than if one of those neighbors is in the city center and the other in the suburban area. The expansion of urban built-up land is driven by the socio-economic development at the same period, and greatly influenced by its spatio-temporal neighbors. We conclude that the integration of remote sensing, a geographical information system, and spatial statistics offers an excellent opportunity to explore the spatio-temporal variation and interactions among the districts in the sprawling metropolitan areas. Relevant regulations to control the urban sprawl process are suggested accordingly.

MAFALDA: An early warning modeling tool to forecast volcanic ash dispersal and deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Barsotti, S.; Nannipieri, L.; Neri, A.

2008-12-01

Forecasting the dispersal of ash from explosive volcanoes is a scientific challenge to modern volcanology. It also represents a fundamental step in mitigating the potential impact of volcanic ash on urban areas and transport routes near explosive volcanoes. To this end we developed a Web-based early warning modeling tool named MAFALDA (Modeling and Forecasting Ash Loading and Dispersal in the Atmosphere) able to quantitatively forecast ash concentrations in the air and on the ground. The main features of MAFALDA are the usage of (1) a dispersal model, named VOL-CALPUFF, that couples the column ascent phase with the ash cloud transport and (2) high-resolution weather forecasting data, the capability to run and merge multiple scenarios, and the Web-based structure of the procedure that makes it suitable as an early warning tool. MAFALDA produces plots for a detailed analysis of ash cloud dynamics and ground deposition, as well as synthetic 2-D maps of areas potentially affected by dangerous concentrations of ash. A first application of MAFALDA to the long-lasting weak plumes produced at Mt. Etna (Italy) is presented. A similar tool can be useful to civil protection authorities and volcanic observatories in reducing the impact of the eruptive events. MAFALDA can be accessed at http://mafalda.pi.ingv.it.

Effects of building aspect ratio, diurnal heating scenario, and wind speed on reactive pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Nelson Y O; Leung, Dennis Y C

2012-01-01

A photochemistry coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based numerical model has been developed to model the reactive pollutant dispersion within urban street canyons, particularly integrating the interrelationship among diurnal heating scenario (solar radiation affections in nighttime, daytime, and sun-rise/set), wind speed, building aspect ratio (building-height-to-street-width), and dispersion of reactive gases, specifically nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) such that a higher standard of air quality in metropolitan cities can be achieved. Validation has been done with both experimental and numerical results on flow and temperature fields in a street canyon with bottom heating, which justifies the accuracy of the current model. The model was applied to idealized street canyons of different aspect ratios from 0.5 to 8 with two different ambient wind speeds under different diurnal heating scenarios to estimate the influences of different aforementioned parameters on the chemical evolution of NO, NO2 and O3. Detailed analyses of vertical profiles of pollutant concentrations showed that different diurnal heating scenarios could substantially affect the reactive gases exchange between the street canyon and air aloft, followed by respective dispersion and reaction. Higher building aspect ratio and stronger ambient wind speed were revealed to be, in general, responsible for enhanced entrainment of O3 concentrations into the street canyons along windward walls under all diurnal heating scenarios. Comparatively, particular attention can be paid on the windward wall heating and nighttime uniform surface heating scenarios.

Urban scale air quality modelling using detailed traffic emissions estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Borrego, C.; Amorim, J. H.; Tchepel, O.; Dias, D.; Rafael, S.; Sá, E.; Pimentel, C.; Fontes, T.; Fernandes, P.; Pereira, S. R.; Bandeira, J. M.; Coelho, M. C.

2016-04-01

The atmospheric dispersion of NOx and PM10 was simulated with a second generation Gaussian model over a medium-size south-European city. Microscopic traffic models calibrated with GPS data were used to derive typical driving cycles for each road link, while instantaneous emissions were estimated applying a combined Vehicle Specific Power/Co-operative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (VSP/EMEP) methodology. Site-specific background concentrations were estimated using time series analysis and a low-pass filter applied to local observations. Air quality modelling results are compared against measurements at two locations for a 1 week period. 78% of the results are within a factor of two of the observations for 1-h average concentrations, increasing to 94% for daily averages. Correlation significantly improves when background is added, with an average of 0.89 for the 24 h record. The results highlight the potential of detailed traffic and instantaneous exhaust emissions estimates, together with filtered urban background, to provide accurate input data to Gaussian models applied at the urban scale.

Dispersion modeling by kinematic simulation: Cloud dispersion model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fung, J C H; Perkins, R J

2008-01-01

A new technique has been developed to compute mean and fluctuating concentrations in complex turbulent flows (tidal current near a coast and deep ocean). An initial distribution of material is discretized into any small clouds which are advected by a combination of the mean flow and large scale turbulence. The turbulence can be simulated either by kinematic simulation (KS) or direct numerical simulation. The clouds also diffuse relative to their centroids; the statistics for this are obtained from a separate calculation of the growth of individual clouds in small scale turbulence, generated by KS. The ensemble of discrete clouds is periodically re-discretized, to limit the size of the small clouds and prevent overlapping. The model is illustrated with simulations of dispersion in uniform flow, and the results are compared with analytic, steady state solutions. The aim of this study is to understand how pollutants disperses in a turbulent flow through a numerical simulation of fluid particle motion in a random flow field generated by Fourier modes. Although this homogeneous turbulent is rather a 'simple' flow, it represents a building block toward understanding pollutant dispersion in more complex flow. The results presented here are preliminary in nature, but we expect that similar qualitative results should be observed in a genuine turbulent flow.

High resolution modelling of aerosol dispersion regimes during the CAPITOUL field experiment: from regional to local scale interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Aouizerats

2011-08-01

Full Text Available High resolution simulation of complex aerosol particle evolution and gaseous chemistry over an atmospheric urban area is of great interest for understanding air quality and processes. In this context, the CAPITOUL (Canopy and Aerosol Particle Interactions in the Toulouse Urban Layer field experiment aims at a better understanding of the interactions between the urban dynamics and the aerosol plumes. During a two-day Intensive Observational Period, a numerical model experiment was set up to reproduce the spatial distribution of specific particle pollutants, from the regional scales and the interactions between different cities, to the local scales with specific turbulent structures. Observations show that local dynamics depends on the day-regime, and may lead to different mesoscale dynamical structures. This study focuses on reproducing these fine scale dynamical structures, and investigate the impact on the aerosol plume dispersion. The 500-m resolution simulation manages to reproduce convective rolls at local scale, which concentrate most of the aerosol particles and can locally affect the pollutant dispersion and air quality.

Changing City. Insediamenti dispersi nel contesto irlandese / Changing City. Dispersed Urbanism in an Irish Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susanne Dunne

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Questo saggio si interroga sull’efficacia dei metodi di progettazione urbana tradizionali nel contesto della città dispersa e cerca di esplorare nuove strategie di sovrapposizione da utilizzare al fine della rigenerazione o della riqualificazione dell’ambiente urbano a bassa densità. L'articolo illustra i progetti degli studenti elaborati durante il workshop di progettazione urbana intitolato "Città in cambiamento" svoltosi presso la Nantes School of Architecture (coordinato da Susan Dunne, in cui gli studenti hanno esplorato tre città Irlandesi (Belfast, Limerick e Tallaght. Le tre città sono accomunate da condizioni di bassa densità edilizia e di dispersione urbana con conseguenti problematiche socio-economiche. Un approccio progettuale flessibile e interdisciplinare costituisce la base per le proposte di progetto di seguito descritte creando nuove situazioni in grado di contrastare l’attuale tendenza di progettare lo sviluppo urbano attraverso risposte formaliste. / This brief essay questions the use of traditional urban design methods in the dispersed city and seeks to explore new overlapping strategies to be used when regenerating or invigorating the low density urban environment. The article illustrates various student projects generated during the urban design workshop "Changing Cities" in Nantes School of Architecture (led by design tutor Susan Dunne where the students explored three cities in Ireland (Belfast, Limerick and Tallaght.The three cities that have in common low density dispersed urban conditions that go hand in hand with a high concentration of socio-economic problems. An interdisciplinary flexible design approach forms the basis for the project proposals creating new situations and new energies as opposed to master planning a formal response.

Joint PDF modelling of turbulent flow and dispersion in an urban street canyon

OpenAIRE

Bakosi, J.; Franzese, P.; Boybeyi, Z.

2010-01-01

The joint probability density function (PDF) of turbulent velocity and concentration of a passive scalar in an urban street canyon is computed using a newly developed particle-in-cell Monte Carlo method. Compared to moment closures, the PDF methodology provides the full one-point one-time PDF of the underlying fields containing all higher moments and correlations. The small-scale mixing of the scalar released from a concentrated source at the street level is modelled by the interaction by exc...

Coupled urban wind flow and indoor natural ventilation modelling on a high-resolution grid: A case study for the Amsterdam ArenA stadium

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hooff, van T.A.J.; Blocken, B.J.E.

2010-01-01

Wind flow in urban environments is an important factor governing the dispersion of heat and pollutants from streets, squares and buildings. This paper presents a coupled CFD modelling approach for urban wind flow and indoor natural ventilation. A specific procedure is used to efficiently and

A Numerical Simulation of Traffic-Related Air Pollution Exposures in Urban Street Canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, J.; Fu, X.; Tao, S.

2016-12-01

Urban street canyons are usually associated with intensive vehicle emissions. However, the high buildings successively along both sides of a street block the dispersion of traffic-generated air pollutants, which enhances human exposure and adversely affects human health. In this study, an urban scale traffic pollution dispersion model is developed with the consideration of street distribution, canyon geometry, background meteorology, traffic assignment, traffic emissions and air pollutant dispersion. Vehicle exhausts generated from traffic flows will first disperse inside a street canyon along the micro-scale wind field (generated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model) and then leave the street canyon and further disperse over the urban area. On the basis of this model, the effects of canyon geometry on the distribution of NOx and CO from traffic emissions were studied over the center of Beijing, China. We found that an increase of building height along the streets leads to higher pollution levels inside streets and lower pollution levels outside, resulting in higher domain-averaged concentrations over the area. In addition, street canyons with equal (or highly uneven) building heights on two sides of a street tend to lower the urban-scale air pollution concentrations at pedestrian level. Our results indicate that canyon geometry strongly influences human exposure to traffic pollutants in the populated urban area. Carefully planning street layout and canyon geometry in consideration of traffic demand as well as local weather pattern may significantly reduce the chances of unhealthy air being inhaled by urban residents.

An expert system for dispersion model interpretation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skyllingstad, E.D.; Ramsdell, J.V.

1988-10-01

A prototype expert system designed to diagnose dispersion model uncertainty is described in this paper with application to a puff transport model. The system obtains qualitative information from the model user and through an expert-derived knowledge base, performs a rating of the current simulation. These results can then be used in combination with dispersion model output for deciding appropriate evacuation measures. Ultimately, the goal of this work is to develop an expert system that may be operated accurately by an individual uneducated in meteorology or dispersion modeling. 5 refs., 3 figs

Improving practical atmospheric dispersion models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, J.C.R.; Hudson, B.; Thomson, D.J.

1992-01-01

The new generation of practical atmospheric dispersion model (for short range ≤ 30 km) are based on dispersion science and boundary layer meteorology which have widespread international acceptance. In addition, recent improvements in computer skills and the widespread availability of small powerful computers make it possible to have new regulatory models which are more complex than the previous generation which were based on charts and simple formulae. This paper describes the basis of these models and how they have developed. Such models are needed to satisfy the urgent public demand for sound, justifiable and consistent environmental decisions. For example, it is preferable that the same models are used to simulate dispersion in different industries; in many countries at present different models are used for emissions from nuclear and fossil fuel power stations. The models should not be so simple as to be suspect but neither should they be too complex for widespread use; for example, at public inquiries in Germany, where simple models are mandatory, it is becoming usual to cite the results from highly complex computational models because the simple models are not credible. This paper is written in a schematic style with an emphasis on tables and diagrams. (au) (22 refs.)

First results from the International Urban Energy Balance Model Comparison: Model Complexity

Science.gov (United States)

Blackett, M.; Grimmond, S.; Best, M.

2009-04-01

A great variety of urban energy balance models has been developed. These vary in complexity from simple schemes that represent the city as a slab, through those which model various facets (i.e. road, walls and roof) to more complex urban forms (including street canyons with intersections) and features (such as vegetation cover and anthropogenic heat fluxes). Some schemes also incorporate detailed representations of momentum and energy fluxes distributed throughout various layers of the urban canopy layer. The models each differ in the parameters they require to describe the site and the in demands they make on computational processing power. Many of these models have been evaluated using observational datasets but to date, no controlled comparisons have been conducted. Urban surface energy balance models provide a means to predict the energy exchange processes which influence factors such as urban temperature, humidity, atmospheric stability and winds. These all need to be modelled accurately to capture features such as the urban heat island effect and to provide key information for dispersion and air quality modelling. A comparison of the various models available will assist in improving current and future models and will assist in formulating research priorities for future observational campaigns within urban areas. In this presentation we will summarise the initial results of this international urban energy balance model comparison. In particular, the relative performance of the models involved will be compared based on their degree of complexity. These results will inform us on ways in which we can improve the modelling of air quality within, and climate impacts of, global megacities. The methodology employed in conducting this comparison followed that used in PILPS (the Project for Intercomparison of Land-Surface Parameterization Schemes) which is also endorsed by the GEWEX Global Land Atmosphere System Study (GLASS) panel. In all cases, models were run

Modeling electrical dispersion phenomena in Earth materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Patella

2008-06-01

Full Text Available It is illustrated that IP phenomena in rocks can be described using conductivity dispersion models deduced as solutions to a 2nd-order linear differential equation describing the motion of a charged particle immersed in an external electrical field. Five dispersion laws are discussed, namely: the non-resonant positive IP model, which leads to the classical Debye-type dispersion law and by extension to the Cole-Cole model, largely used in current practice; the non-resonant negative IP model, which allows negative chargeability values, known in metals at high frequencies, to be explained as an intrinsic physical property of earth materials in specific field cases; the resonant flat, positive or negative IP models, which can explain the presence of peak effects at specific frequencies superimposed on flat, positive or negative dispersion spectra.

A costal dispersion model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahm, L.; Nyberg, L.; Gidhagen, L.

1990-01-01

A dispersion model to be used off costal waters has been developed. The model has been applied to describe the migration of radionuclides in the Baltic sea. A summary of the results is presented here. (K.A.E)

Dispersal kernel estimation: A comparison of empirical and modelled particle dispersion in a coastal marine system

Science.gov (United States)

Hrycik, Janelle M.; Chassé, Joël; Ruddick, Barry R.; Taggart, Christopher T.

2013-11-01

Early life-stage dispersal influences recruitment and is of significance in explaining the distribution and connectivity of marine species. Motivations for quantifying dispersal range from biodiversity conservation to the design of marine reserves and the mitigation of species invasions. Here we compare estimates of real particle dispersion in a coastal marine environment with similar estimates provided by hydrodynamic modelling. We do so by using a system of magnetically attractive particles (MAPs) and a magnetic-collector array that provides measures of Lagrangian dispersion based on the time-integration of MAPs dispersing through the array. MAPs released as a point source in a coastal marine location dispersed through the collector array over a 5-7 d period. A virtual release and observed (real-time) environmental conditions were used in a high-resolution three-dimensional hydrodynamic model to estimate the dispersal of virtual particles (VPs). The number of MAPs captured throughout the collector array and the number of VPs that passed through each corresponding model location were enumerated and compared. Although VP dispersal reflected several aspects of the observed MAP dispersal, the comparisons demonstrated model sensitivity to the small-scale (random-walk) particle diffusivity parameter (Kp). The one-dimensional dispersal kernel for the MAPs had an e-folding scale estimate in the range of 5.19-11.44 km, while those from the model simulations were comparable at 1.89-6.52 km, and also demonstrated sensitivity to Kp. Variations among comparisons are related to the value of Kp used in modelling and are postulated to be related to MAP losses from the water column and (or) shear dispersion acting on the MAPs; a process that is constrained in the model. Our demonstration indicates a promising new way of 1) quantitatively and empirically estimating the dispersal kernel in aquatic systems, and 2) quantitatively assessing and (or) improving regional hydrodynamic

Atmospheric dispersion models of radioactivity releases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oza, R.B.

2016-01-01

In view of the rapid industrialization in recent time, atmospheric dispersion models have become indispensible 'tools' to ensure that the effects of releases are well within the acceptable limits set by the regulatory authority. In the case of radioactive releases from the nuclear facility, though negligible in quantity and many a times not even measurable, it is required to demonstrate the compliance of these releases to the regulatory limits set by the regulatory authority by carrying out radiological impact assessment. During routine operations of nuclear facility, the releases are so low that environmental impact is usually assessed with the help of atmospheric dispersion models as it is difficult to distinguish negligible contribution of nuclear facility to relatively high natural background radiation. The accidental releases from nuclear facility, though with negligible probability of occurrence, cannot be ruled out. In such cases, the atmospheric dispersion models are of great help to emergency planners for deciding the intervention actions to minimize the consequences in public domain and also to workout strategies for the management of situation. In case of accidental conditions, the atmospheric dispersion models are also utilized for the estimation of probable quantities of radionuclides which might have got released to the atmosphere. Thus, atmospheric dispersion models are an essential tool for nuclear facility during routine operation as well as in the case of accidental conditions

Modelling long-distance seed dispersal in heterogeneous landscapes.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levey, Douglas, J.; Tewlsbury, Joshua, J.; Bolker, Benjamin, M.

2008-01-01

1. Long-distance seed dispersal is difficult to measure, yet key to understanding plant population dynamics and community composition. 2. We used a spatially explicit model to predict the distribution of seeds dispersed long distances by birds into habitat patches of different shapes. All patches were the same type of habitat and size, but varied in shape. They occurred in eight experimental landscapes, each with five patches of four different shapes, 150 m apart in a matrix of mature forest. The model was parameterized with smallscale movement data collected from field observations of birds. In a previous study we validated the model by testing its predictions against observed patterns of seed dispersal in real landscapes with the same types and spatial configuration of patches as in the model. 3. Here we apply the model more broadly, examining how patch shape influences the probability of seed deposition by birds into patches, how dispersal kernels (distributions of dispersal distances) vary with patch shape and starting location, and how movement of seeds between patches is affected by patch shape. 4. The model predicts that patches with corridors or other narrow extensions receive higher numbers of seeds than patches without corridors or extensions. This pattern is explained by edgefollowing behaviour of birds. Dispersal distances are generally shorter in heterogeneous landscapes (containing patchy habitat) than in homogeneous landscapes, suggesting that patches divert the movement of seed dispersers, ‘holding’ them long enough to increase the probability of seed defecation in the patches. Dispersal kernels for seeds in homogeneous landscapes were smooth, whereas those in heterogenous landscapes were irregular. In both cases, long-distance (> 150 m) dispersal was surprisingly common, usually comprising approximately 50% of all dispersal events. 5. Synthesis . Landscape heterogeneity has a large influence on patterns of long-distance seed dispersal. Our

Working document dispersion models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dop, H. van

1988-01-01

This report is a summary of the most important results from June 1985 of the collaboration of the RIVM (Dutch National Institute for Public Health and Environment Hygiene) and KNMI (Royal Dutch Meteorologic Institute) on the domain of dispersion models. It contains a short description of the actual SO x /NO x -model. Furthermore it contains recommendations for modifications of some numerical-mathematical aspects and an impulse to a more complete description of chemical processes in the atmosphere and the (wet) deposition process. A separate chapter is devoted to the preparation of meteorologic data which are relevant for dispersion as well as atmospheric chemistry and deposition. This report serves as working document for the final formulation of a acidifying- and oxidant-model. (H.W.). 69 refs.; 51 figs.; 13 tabs.; 3 schemes

Modelling airborne dispersion of coarse particulate material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apsley, D.D.

1989-03-01

Methods of modelling the airborne dispersion and deposition of coarse particulates are presented, with the emphasis on the heavy particles identified as possible constituents of releases from damaged AGR fuel. The first part of this report establishes the physical characteristics of the irradiated particulate in airborne emissions from AGR stations. The second part is less specific and describes procedures for extending current dispersion/deposition models to incorporate a coarse particulate component: the adjustment to plume spread parameters, dispersion from elevated sources and dispersion in conjunction with building effects and plume rise. (author)

CODASC : a database for the validation of street canyon dispersion models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gromke, C.B.

2013-01-01

CODASC stands for Concentration Data of Street Canyons (CODASC 2008, www.codasc.de). It is a database which provides traffic pollutant concentrations in urban street canyons obtained from wind-tunnel dispersion experiments. CODASC comprises concentration data of street canyons with different aspect

Modelling the urban air quality in Hamburg with the new city-scale chemistry transport model CityChem

Science.gov (United States)

Karl, Matthias; Ramacher, Martin; Aulinger, Armin; Matthias, Volker; Quante, Markus

2017-04-01

Air quality modelling plays an important role by providing guidelines for efficient air pollution abatement measures. Currently, most urban dispersion models treat air pollutants as passive tracer substances or use highly simplified chemistry when simulating air pollutant concentrations on the city-scale. The newly developed urban chemistry-transport model CityChem has the capability of modelling the photochemical transformation of multiple pollutants along with atmospheric diffusion to produce pollutant concentration fields for the entire city on a horizontal resolution of 100 m or even finer and a vertical resolution of 24 layers up to 4000 m height. CityChem is based on the Eulerian urban dispersion model EPISODE of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU). CityChem treats the complex photochemistry in cities using detailed EMEP chemistry on an Eulerian 3-D grid, while using simple photo-stationary equilibrium on a much higher resolution grid (receptor grid), i.e. close to industrial point sources and traffic sources. The CityChem model takes into account that long-range transport contributes to urban pollutant concentrations. This is done by using 3-D boundary concentrations for the city domain derived from chemistry-transport simulations with the regional air quality model CMAQ. For the study of the air quality in Hamburg, CityChem was set-up with a main grid of 30×30 grid cells of 1×1 km2 each and a receptor grid of 300×300 grid cells of 100×100 m2. The CityChem model was driven with meteorological data generated by the prognostic meteorology component of the Australian chemistry-transport model TAPM. Bottom-up inventories of emissions from traffic, industry, households were based on data of the municipality of Hamburg. Shipping emissions for the port of Hamburg were taken from the Clean North Sea Shipping project. Episodes with elevated ozone (O3) were of specific interest for this study, as these are associated with exceedances of the World

Performance assessment of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) for modeling dispersion in an urban street canyon with tree planting

Science.gov (United States)

Moonen, P.; Gromke, C.; Dorer, V.

2013-08-01

The potential of a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model to reliably predict near-field pollutant dispersion is assessed. To that extent, detailed time-resolved numerical simulations of coupled flow and dispersion are conducted for a street canyon with tree planting. Different crown porosities are considered. The model performance is assessed in several steps, ranging from a qualitative comparison to measured concentrations, over statistical data analysis by means of scatter plots and box plots, up to the calculation of objective validation metrics. The extensive validation effort highlights and quantifies notable features and shortcomings of the model, which would otherwise remain unnoticed. The model performance is found to be spatially non-uniform. Closer agreement with measurement data is achieved near the canyon ends than for the central part of the canyon, and typical model acceptance criteria are satisfied more easily for the leeward than for the windward canyon wall. This demonstrates the need for rigorous model evaluation. Only quality-assured models can be used with confidence to support assessment, planning and implementation of pollutant mitigation strategies.

Modelling NOX concentrations through CFD-RANS in an urban hot-spot using high resolution traffic emissions and meteorology from a mesoscale model

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Beatriz; Santiago, Jose Luis; Martilli, Alberto; Martin, Fernando; Borge, Rafael; Quaassdorff, Christina; de la Paz, David

2017-08-01

Air quality management requires more detailed studies about air pollution at urban and local scale over long periods of time. This work focuses on obtaining the spatial distribution of NOx concentration averaged over several days in a heavily trafficked urban area in Madrid (Spain) using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. A methodology based on weighted average of CFD simulations is applied computing the time evolution of NOx dispersion as a sequence of steady-state scenarios taking into account the actual atmospheric conditions. The inputs of emissions are estimated from the traffic emission model and the meteorological information used is derived from a mesoscale model. Finally, the computed concentration map correlates well with 72 passive samplers deployed in the research area. This work reveals the potential of using urban mesoscale simulations together with detailed traffic emissions so as to provide accurate maps of pollutant concentration at microscale using CFD simulations.

Road traffic impact on urban water quality: a step towards integrated traffic, air and stormwater modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Fallah Shorshani, Masoud; Bonhomme, Céline; Petrucci, Guido; André, Michel; Seigneur, Christian

2014-04-01

Methods for simulating air pollution due to road traffic and the associated effects on stormwater runoff quality in an urban environment are examined with particular emphasis on the integration of the various simulation models into a consistent modelling chain. To that end, the models for traffic, pollutant emissions, atmospheric dispersion and deposition, and stormwater contamination are reviewed. The present study focuses on the implementation of a modelling chain for an actual urban case study, which is the contamination of water runoff by cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in the Grigny urban catchment near Paris, France. First, traffic emissions are calculated with traffic inputs using the COPERT4 methodology. Next, the atmospheric dispersion of pollutants is simulated with the Polyphemus line source model and pollutant deposition fluxes in different subcatchment areas are calculated. Finally, the SWMM water quantity and quality model is used to estimate the concentrations of pollutants in stormwater runoff. The simulation results are compared to mass flow rates and concentrations of Cd, Pb and Zn measured at the catchment outlet. The contribution of local traffic to stormwater contamination is estimated to be significant for Pb and, to a lesser extent, for Zn and Cd; however, Pb is most likely overestimated due to outdated emissions factors. The results demonstrate the importance of treating distributed traffic emissions from major roadways explicitly since the impact of these sources on concentrations in the catchment outlet is underestimated when those traffic emissions are spatially averaged over the catchment area.

Extracting Urban Morphology for Atmospheric Modeling from Multispectral and SAR Satellite Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Wittke, S.; Karila, K.; Puttonen, E.; Hellsten, A.; Auvinen, M.; Karjalainen, M.

2017-05-01

This paper presents an approach designed to derive an urban morphology map from satellite data while aiming to minimize the cost of data and user interference. The approach will help to provide updates to the current morphological databases around the world. The proposed urban morphology maps consist of two layers: 1) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and 2) land cover map. Sentinel-2 data was used to create a land cover map, which was realized through image classification using optical range indices calculated from image data. For the purpose of atmospheric modeling, the most important classes are water and vegetation areas. The rest of the area includes bare soil and built-up areas among others, and they were merged into one class in the end. The classification result was validated with ground truth data collected both from field measurements and aerial imagery. The overall classification accuracy for the three classes is 91 %. TanDEM-X data was processed into two DEMs with different grid sizes using interferometric SAR processing. The resulting DEM has a RMSE of 3.2 meters compared to a high resolution DEM, which was estimated through 20 control points in flat areas. Comparing the derived DEM with the ground truth DEM from airborne LIDAR data, it can be seen that the street canyons, that are of high importance for urban atmospheric modeling are not detectable in the TanDEM-X DEM. However, the derived DEM is suitable for a class of urban atmospheric models. Based on the numerical modeling needs for regional atmospheric pollutant dispersion studies, the generated files enable the extraction of relevant parametrizations, such as Urban Canopy Parameters (UCP).

EXTRACTING URBAN MORPHOLOGY FOR ATMOSPHERIC MODELING FROM MULTISPECTRAL AND SAR SATELLITE IMAGERY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Wittke

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an approach designed to derive an urban morphology map from satellite data while aiming to minimize the cost of data and user interference. The approach will help to provide updates to the current morphological databases around the world. The proposed urban morphology maps consist of two layers: 1 Digital Elevation Model (DEM and 2 land cover map. Sentinel-2 data was used to create a land cover map, which was realized through image classification using optical range indices calculated from image data. For the purpose of atmospheric modeling, the most important classes are water and vegetation areas. The rest of the area includes bare soil and built-up areas among others, and they were merged into one class in the end. The classification result was validated with ground truth data collected both from field measurements and aerial imagery. The overall classification accuracy for the three classes is 91 %. TanDEM-X data was processed into two DEMs with different grid sizes using interferometric SAR processing. The resulting DEM has a RMSE of 3.2 meters compared to a high resolution DEM, which was estimated through 20 control points in flat areas. Comparing the derived DEM with the ground truth DEM from airborne LIDAR data, it can be seen that the street canyons, that are of high importance for urban atmospheric modeling are not detectable in the TanDEM-X DEM. However, the derived DEM is suitable for a class of urban atmospheric models. Based on the numerical modeling needs for regional atmospheric pollutant dispersion studies, the generated files enable the extraction of relevant parametrizations, such as Urban Canopy Parameters (UCP.

Land-Use Regression Modelling of Intra-Urban Air Pollution Variation in China: Current Status and Future Needs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baihuiqian He

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Rapid urbanization in China is leading to substantial adverse air quality issues, particularly for NO2 and particulate matter (PM. Land-use regression (LUR models are now being applied to simulate pollutant concentrations with high spatial resolution in Chinese urban areas. However, Chinese urban areas differ from those in Europe and North America, for example in respect of population density, urban morphology and pollutant emissions densities, so it is timely to assess current LUR studies in China to highlight current challenges and identify future needs. Details of twenty-four recent LUR models for NO2 and PM2.5/PM10 (particles with aerodynamic diameters <2.5 µm and <10 µm are tabulated and reviewed as the basis for discussion in this paper. We highlight that LUR modelling in China is currently constrained by a scarcity of input data, especially air pollution monitoring data. There is an urgent need for accessible archives of quality-assured measurement data and for higher spatial resolution proxy data for urban emissions, particularly in respect of traffic-related variables. The rapidly evolving nature of the Chinese urban landscape makes maintaining up-to-date land-use and urban morphology datasets a challenge. We also highlight the importance for Chinese LUR models to be subject to appropriate validation statistics. Integration of LUR with portable monitor data, remote sensing, and dispersion modelling has the potential to enhance derivation of urban pollution maps.

Accident consequence assessments with different atmospheric dispersion models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panitz, H.J.

1989-11-01

An essential aim of the improvements of the new program system UFOMOD for Accident Consequence Assessments (ACAs) was to substitute the straight-line Gaussian plume model conventionally used in ACA models by more realistic atmospheric dispersion models. To identify improved models which can be applied in ACA codes and to quantify the implications of different dispersion models on the results of an ACA, probabilistic comparative calculations with different atmospheric dispersion models have been performed. The study showed that there are trajectory models available which can be applied in ACAs and that they provide more realistic results of ACAs than straight-line Gaussian models. This led to a completely novel concept of atmospheric dispersion modelling in which two different distance ranges of validity are distinguished: the near range of some ten kilometres distance and the adjacent far range which are assigned to respective trajectory models. (orig.) [de

A regional scale model for ozone in the United States with subgrid representation of urban and power plant plumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sillman, S.; Logan, J.A.; Wofsy, S.C.

1990-01-01

A new approach to modeling regional air chemistry is presented for application to industrialized regions such as the continental US. Rural chemistry and transport are simulated using a coarse grid, while chemistry and transport in urban and power plant plumes are represented by detailed subgrid models. Emissions from urban and power plant sources are processed in generalized plumes where chemistry and dilution proceed for 8-12 hours before mixing with air in a large resolution element. A realistic fraction of pollutants reacts under high-NO x conditions, and NO x is removed significantly before dispersal. Results from this model are compared with results from grid odels that do not distinguish plumes and with observational data defining regional ozone distributions. Grid models with coarse resolution are found to artificially disperse NO x over rural areas, therefore overestimating rural levels of both NO x and O 3 . Regional net ozone production is too high in coarse grid models, because production of O 3 is more efficient per molecule of NO x in the low-concentration regime of rural areas than in heavily polluted plumes from major emission sources. Ozone levels simulated by this model are shown to agree with observations in urban plumes and in rural regions. The model reproduces accurately average regional and peak ozone concentrations observed during a 4-day ozone episode. Computational costs for the model are reduced 25-to 100-fold as compared to fine-mesh models

EVALUATION OF URBANIZATION INFLUENCES ON URBAN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Osondu

2012-07-27

Jul 27, 2012 ... direction greatly affects dispersion of pollutants in the city and distribution of heat which affect human comfort. ... The urbanization is evidenced by the reducing urban land surface reflectivity and the ..... Government Print Press.

Validation of a two-dimensional pollutant dispersion model in an isolated street canyon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan, T.L.; Dong, G.; Leung, C.W.; Cheung, C.S. [The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon (Hong Kong). Research Centre for Combustion and Pollution Control, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Hung, W.T. [The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon (Hong Kong). Department of Civil and Structural Engineering

2002-07-01

A two-dimensional numerical model based on Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations coupled with a series of standard, Renormalization Group (RNG) and realizable k-{epsilon} turbulence models was developed to simulate the fluid-flow development and pollutant dispersion within an isolated street canyon using the FLUENT code. In the present study, the validation of the numerical model was evaluated using an extensive experimental database obtained from the atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel at the Meteorological Institute of Hamburg University, Germany (J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 62 (1996) 37). Among the studied turbulence models, the RNG k-{epsilon} turbulence model was found to be the most optimum turbulence model coupled with the two-dimensional street canyon model developed in the present study. Both the calculated and measured dimensionless pollutant concentrations have been shown to be less dependent on the variation of wind speed and source strength conditions for the studied street canyon aspect ratio of the B/H=1 case. However, the street canyon configuration has significant influence on the pollutant dispersion. The wider street and lower height of the buildings are favorable to pollutant dilution within the street canyon. The fluid-flow development has demonstrated that the rotative vortex or vortices generated within the urban street canyon can transport the pollutants from a line source to the wall surfaces of the buildings. (author)

Evaluation of a coupled dispersion and aerosol process model against measurements near a major road

Science.gov (United States)

Pohjola, M. A.; Pirjola, L.; Karppinen, A.; Härkönen, J.; Ketzel, M.; Kukkonen, J.

2007-02-01

A field measurement campaign was conducted near a major road "Itäväylä" in an urban area in Helsinki in 17-20 February 2003. Aerosol measurements were conducted using a mobile laboratory "Sniffer" at various distances from the road, and at an urban background location. Measurements included particle size distribution in the size range of 7 nm-10 μm (aerodynamic diameter) by the Electrical Low Pressure Impactor (ELPI) and in the size range of 3-50 nm (mobility diameter) by Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), total number concentration of particles larger than 3 nm detected by an ultrafine condensation particle counter (UCPC), temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, driving route of the mobile laboratory, and traffic density on the studied road. In this study, we have compared measured concentration data with the predictions of the road network dispersion model CAR-FMI used in combination with an aerosol process model MONO32. The vehicular exhaust emissions, and atmospheric dispersion and transformation of fine and ultrafine particles was evaluated within the distance scale of 200 m (corresponding to a time scale of a couple of minutes). We computed the temporal evolution of the number concentrations, size distributions and chemical compositions of various particle size classes. The atmospheric dilution rate of particles is obtained from the roadside dispersion model CAR-FMI. Considering the evolution of total number concentration, dilution was shown to be the most important process. The influence of coagulation and condensation on the number concentrations of particle size modes was found to be negligible at this distance scale. Condensation was found to affect the evolution of particle diameter in the two smallest particle modes. The assumed value of the concentration of condensable organic vapour of 1012 molecules cm-3 was shown to be in a disagreement with the measured particle size evolution, while the modelling runs with the

Atmospheric dispersion of pollutants in an industrial area of Cuba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cruz Monte de Oca, Feliberto de la; Furet Bridon, Norma Raisa; Turtos Carbonell, Leonor; Lorente Vera, Mercedes

2011-01-01

Air pollution by different chemicals; take a great connotation in the world, given the adverse effects on ecosystems and particularly human health. The urban development, the modification of the land surface and the climate change, phenomena derived from a world population explosion, are altering the composition of the air. The atmosphere deposits pollutants in the water courses and in land, which harms not only the persons, but also to the animals and the plants of the ecosystem. To know as these pollutants are dispersed in the atmosphere it is very important in the establishment of better urban, regional and world predictions of the air quality. The present study aims to assess the local spread of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from an industrial zone. The study was done using the pollutant Gaussian Dispersion Models AERMOD. For the evaluation of contaminants were considered two modeling scenarios: urban and rural. The SO 2 concentrations (μg/m 3 ) were obtained for 1 h, 24 h and all period (1 year), exceeding the permissible limits (500, 50 y 20 μg/m 3 ). It was also recorded for each period the number of times SO 2 concentrations exceeded the reference values in each of the scenarios discussed (urban: 39, 61 y 39; rural: 99, 75 y 25). At the end of modeling in the urban setting, 39 recipients exceeded the reference value, occupying an area of 9.75 km 2 and 25 receivers in the case of the rural setting, for an area of 6.25 km 2 . For NOx and particulate matter concentrations estimated values were always below the reference values. The obtained results in this case show the potentiality of AERMOD system for the evaluation of atmospheric dispersion of pollutants

Platoon Dispersion Analysis Based on Diffusion Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Badhrudeen Mohamed

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Urbanization and gro wing demand for travel, causes the traffic system to work ineffectively in most urban areas leadin g to traffic congestion. Many approaches have been adopted to address this problem, one among them being the signal co-ordination. This can be achieved if the platoon of vehicles that gets discharged at one signal gets green at consecutive signals with minimal delay. However, platoons tend to get dispersed as they travel and this dispersion phenomenon should be taken into account for effective signal coordination. Reported studies in this area are from the homogeneous and lane disciplined traffic conditions. This paper analyse the platoon dispersion characteristics under heterogeneous and lane-less traffic conditions. Out of the various modeling techniques reported, the approach based on diffusion theory is used in this study. The diffusion theory based models so far assumed thedata to follow normal distribution. However, in the present study, the data was found to follow lognormal distribution and hence the implementation was carried out using lognormal distribution. The parameters of lognormal distribution were calibrated for the study condition. For comparison purpose, normal distribution was also calibrated and the results were evaluated. It was foun d that model with log normal distribution performed better in all cases than the o ne with normal distribution.

Understanding complex urban systems integrating multidisciplinary data in urban models

CERN Document Server

Gebetsroither-Geringer, Ernst; Atun, Funda; Werner, Liss

2016-01-01

This book is devoted to the modeling and understanding of complex urban systems. This second volume of Understanding Complex Urban Systems focuses on the challenges of the modeling tools, concerning, e.g., the quality and quantity of data and the selection of an appropriate modeling approach. It is meant to support urban decision-makers—including municipal politicians, spatial planners, and citizen groups—in choosing an appropriate modeling approach for their particular modeling requirements. The contributors to this volume are from different disciplines, but all share the same goal: optimizing the representation of complex urban systems. They present and discuss a variety of approaches for dealing with data-availability problems and finding appropriate modeling approaches—and not only in terms of computer modeling. The selection of articles featured in this volume reflect a broad variety of new and established modeling approaches such as: - An argument for using Big Data methods in conjunction with Age...

A critical review of integrated urban water modelling – Urban drainage and beyond

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bach, Peter M.; Rauch, Wolfgang; Mikkelsen, Peter Steen

2014-01-01

considerations (e.g. data issues, model structure, computational and integration-related aspects), common methodology for model development (through a systems approach), calibration/optimisation and uncertainty are discussed, placing importance on pragmatism and parsimony. Integrated urban water models should......Modelling interactions in urban drainage, water supply and broader integrated urban water systems has been conceptually and logistically challenging as evidenced in a diverse body of literature, found to be confusing and intimidating to new researchers. This review consolidates thirty years...... of research (initially driven by interest in urban drainage modelling) and critically reflects upon integrated modelling in the scope of urban water systems. We propose a typology to classify integrated urban water system models at one of four ‘degrees of integration’ (followed by its exemplification). Key...

Modelling of pollution dispersion in atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borysiewicz, M.; Stankiewicz, R.

1994-01-01

The paper contains the review of the mathematical foundation of atmospheric dispersion models. The atmospheric phenomena relevant to atmospheric dispersion model are discussed. In particular the parametrization of processes with time and space scales smaller than numerical grid size, limited by available computer power, is presented. The special attention was devoted to similarity theory and parametrization of boundary layer. The numerical methods are analysed and the drawbacks of the method are presented. (author). 99 refs, 15 figs, 3 tabs

Modeling and measurements of urban aerosol processes on the neighborhood scale in Rotterdam, Oslo and Helsinki

Science.gov (United States)

Karl, Matthias; Kukkonen, Jaakko; Keuken, Menno P.; Lützenkirchen, Susanne; Pirjola, Liisa; Hussein, Tareq

2016-04-01

This study evaluates the influence of aerosol processes on the particle number (PN) concentrations in three major European cities on the temporal scale of 1 h, i.e., on the neighborhood and city scales. We have used selected measured data of particle size distributions from previous campaigns in the cities of Helsinki, Oslo and Rotterdam. The aerosol transformation processes were evaluated using the aerosol dynamics model MAFOR, combined with a simplified treatment of roadside and urban atmospheric dispersion. We have compared the model predictions of particle number size distributions with the measured data, and conducted sensitivity analyses regarding the influence of various model input variables. We also present a simplified parameterization for aerosol processes, which is based on the more complex aerosol process computations; this simple model can easily be implemented to both Gaussian and Eulerian urban dispersion models. Aerosol processes considered in this study were (i) the coagulation of particles, (ii) the condensation and evaporation of two organic vapors, and (iii) dry deposition. The chemical transformation of gas-phase compounds was not taken into account. By choosing concentrations and particle size distributions at roadside as starting point of the computations, nucleation of gas-phase vapors from the exhaust has been regarded as post tail-pipe emission, avoiding the need to include nucleation in the process analysis. Dry deposition and coagulation of particles were identified to be the most important aerosol dynamic processes that control the evolution and removal of particles. The error of the contribution from dry deposition to PN losses due to the uncertainty of measured deposition velocities ranges from -76 to +64 %. The removal of nanoparticles by coagulation enhanced considerably when considering the fractal nature of soot aggregates and the combined effect of van der Waals and viscous interactions. The effect of condensation and

Numerical Study of Traffic Pollutant Dispersion within Different Street Canyon Configurations

OpenAIRE

Yucong Miao; Shuhua Liu; Yijia Zheng; Shu Wang; Yuan Li

2014-01-01

The objective of this study is to numerically study flow and traffic exhaust dispersion in urban street canyons with different configurations to find out the urban-planning strategies to ease the air pollution. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model used in this study—Open Source Field Operation and Manipulation (OpenFOAM) software package—was firstly validated against the wind-tunnel experiment data by using three different k-ε turbulence models. And then the patterns of flow and dispe...

Effects of air pollution on thermal structure and dispersion in an urban planetary boundary layer

Science.gov (United States)

Viskanta, R.; Johnson, R. O.; Bergstrom, R. W.

1977-01-01

The short-term effects of urbanization and air pollution on the transport processes in the urban planetary boundary layer (PBL) are studied. The investigation makes use of an unsteady two-dimensional transport model which has been developed by Viskanta et al., (1976). The model predicts pollutant concentrations and temperature in the PBL. The potential effects of urbanization and air pollution on the thermal structure in the urban PBL are considered, taking into account the results of numerical simulations modeling the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area.

Coupling of WRF and Building-resolved CFD Simulations for Greenhouse Gas Transport and Dispersion

Science.gov (United States)

Prasad, K.; Hu, H.; McDermott, R.; Lopez-Coto, I.; Davis, K. J.; Whetstone, J. R.; Lauvaux, T.

2014-12-01

The Indianapolis Flux Experiment (INFLUX) aims to use a top-down inversion methodology to quantify sources of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions over an urban domain with high spatial and temporal resolution. Atmospheric transport of tracer gases from an emission source to a tower mounted receptor are usually conducted using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. WRF is used extensively in the atmospheric community to simulate mesoscale atmospheric transport. For such simulations, WRF employs a parameterized turbulence model and does not resolve the fine scale dynamics that are generated by the flow around buildings and communities that are part of a large city. Since the model domain includes the city of Indianapolis, much of the flow of interest is over an urban topography. The NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) is a computational fluid dynamics model to perform large eddy simulations of flow around buildings, but it has not been nested within a larger-scale atmospheric transport model such as WRF. FDS has the potential to evaluate the impact of complex urban topography on near-field dispersion and mixing that cannot be simulated with a mesoscale atmospheric model, and which may be important to determining urban GHG emissions using atmospheric measurements. A methodology has been developed to run FDS as a sub-grid scale model within a WRF simulation. The coupling is based on nudging the FDS flow field towards the one computed by WRF, and is currently limited to one way coupling performed in an off-line mode. Using the coupled WRF / FDS model, NIST will investigate the effects of the urban canopy at horizontal resolutions of 2-10 m. The coupled WRF-FDS simulations will be used to calculate the dispersion of tracer gases in an urban domain and to evaluate the upwind areas that contribute to tower observations, referred to in the inversion community as influence functions. Predicted mixing ratios will be compared with tower measurements and WRF simulations

Urban ecosystem modeling and global change: Potential for rational urban management and emissions mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Shaoqing; Chen, Bin; Fath, Brian D.

2014-01-01

Urbanization is a strong and extensive driver that causes environmental pollution and climate change from local to global scale. Modeling cities as ecosystems has been initiated by a wide range of scientists as a key to addressing challenging problems concomitant with urbanization. In this paper, ‘urban ecosystem modeling (UEM)’ is defined in an inter-disciplinary context to acquire a broad perception of urban ecological properties and their interactions with global change. Furthermore, state-of-the-art models of urban ecosystems are reviewed, categorized as top-down models (including materials/energy-oriented models and structure-oriented models), bottom-up models (including land use-oriented models and infrastructure-oriented models), or hybrid models thereof. Based on the review of UEM studies, a future framework for explicit UEM is proposed based the integration of UEM approaches of different scales, guiding more rational urban management and efficient emissions mitigation. - Highlights: • Urban ecosystems modeling (UEM) is defined in an interdisciplinary context. • State-of-the-art models for UEM are critically reviewed and compared. • An integrated framework for explicit UEM is proposed under global change. - State-of-the-art models of urban ecosystem modeling (UEM) are reviewed for rational urban management and emissions mitigation

Microscale obstacle resolving air quality model evaluation with the Michelstadt case.

Science.gov (United States)

Rakai, Anikó; Kristóf, Gergely

2013-01-01

Modelling pollutant dispersion in cities is challenging for air quality models as the urban obstacles have an important effect on the flow field and thus the dispersion. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models with an additional scalar dispersion transport equation are a possible way to resolve the flowfield in the urban canopy and model dispersion taking into consideration the effect of the buildings explicitly. These models need detailed evaluation with the method of verification and validation to gain confidence in their reliability and use them as a regulatory purpose tool in complex urban geometries. This paper shows the performance of an open source general purpose CFD code, OpenFOAM for a complex urban geometry, Michelstadt, which has both flow field and dispersion measurement data. Continuous release dispersion results are discussed to show the strengths and weaknesses of the modelling approach, focusing on the value of the turbulent Schmidt number, which was found to give best statistical metric results with a value of 0.7.

Microscale Obstacle Resolving Air Quality Model Evaluation with the Michelstadt Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anikó Rakai

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Modelling pollutant dispersion in cities is challenging for air quality models as the urban obstacles have an important effect on the flow field and thus the dispersion. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD models with an additional scalar dispersion transport equation are a possible way to resolve the flowfield in the urban canopy and model dispersion taking into consideration the effect of the buildings explicitly. These models need detailed evaluation with the method of verification and validation to gain confidence in their reliability and use them as a regulatory purpose tool in complex urban geometries. This paper shows the performance of an open source general purpose CFD code, OpenFOAM for a complex urban geometry, Michelstadt, which has both flow field and dispersion measurement data. Continuous release dispersion results are discussed to show the strengths and weaknesses of the modelling approach, focusing on the value of the turbulent Schmidt number, which was found to give best statistical metric results with a value of 0.7.

Modeling Urban Collaborative Growth Dynamics Using a Multiscale Simulation Model for the Wuhan Urban Agglomeration Area, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Yu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Urban agglomeration has become the predominant form of urbanization in China. In this process, spatial interaction evidently played a significant role in promoting the collaborative development of these correlated cities. The traditional urban model’s focus on individual cities should be transformed to an urban system model. In this study, a multi-scale simulation model has been proposed to simulate the agglomeration development process of the Wuhan urban agglomeration area by embedding the multi-scale spatial interaction into the transition rule system of cellular automata (CA. A system dynamic model was used to predict the demand for new urban land at an aggregated urban agglomeration area scale. A data field approach was adopted to measuring the interaction of intercity at city scale. Neighborhood interaction was interpreted with a logistic regression method at the land parcel scale. Land use data from 1995, 2005, and 2015 were used to calibrate and evaluate the model. The simulation results show that there has been continuing urban growth in the Wuhan urban agglomeration area from 1995 to 2020. Although extension-sprawl was the predominant pattern of urban spatial expansion, the trend of extensive growth to intensive growth is clear during the entire period. The spatial interaction among these cities has been reinforced, which guided the collaborative development and formed the regional urban system network.

Numerical study on flow and pollutant dispersion inside street canyons

OpenAIRE

Yunkai, Yang

2013-01-01

This thesis analyzes the characteristics of flow pattern and vehicle-emitted pollutant dispersion in roughness surface layer. In an urban environment, wind flow and transported-pollutant source interfere strongly with buildings and other roughness elements on the surface ground, which results in complex characteristics of flow pattern and pollutant dispersion in 3D circumstances. The present study intends to simplify the research domain and investigate the fundamental modeling problems that e...

Dispersion of effluents in the atmosphere; Dispersion des effluents dans l`atmosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-12-31

This conference day was organized by the `convection` section of the French association of thermal engineers with the support of the environment and energy mastery agency (ADEME). This book of proceedings contains 10 papers entitled: `physical modeling of atmospheric dispersion in wind tunnels. Some industrial examples`; `modeling of the noxious effects of a fire on the environment of an industrial site: importance of thermal engineering related hypotheses`; `atmospheric diffusion of a noxious cloud: fast evaluation method of safety areas around refrigerating installations that use ammonia`; `modeling of atmospheric flows in urban areas in order to study the dispersion of pollutants`; `use of a dispersion parameter to characterize the evolution of a diffusion process downstream of a linear source of passive contaminant placed inside a turbulent boundary layer`; `elements of reflexion around the development of an analytical methodology applied to the elaboration of measurement strategies of air quality in ambient and outdoor atmospheres around industrial sites`; `state-of-the-art about treatment techniques for VOC-rich gaseous effluents`; `characteristics of the time variation of the atmospheric pollution in the Paris region and visualization of its space distribution`; `mass-spectrometry for the measurement of atmospheric pollutants`; `volume variations in natural convection turbulence`. (J.S.)

Dispersion of effluents in the atmosphere; Dispersion des effluents dans l`atmosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-12-31

This conference day was organized by the `convection` section of the French association of thermal engineers with the support of the environment and energy mastery agency (ADEME). This book of proceedings contains 10 papers entitled: `physical modeling of atmospheric dispersion in wind tunnels. Some industrial examples`; `modeling of the noxious effects of a fire on the environment of an industrial site: importance of thermal engineering related hypotheses`; `atmospheric diffusion of a noxious cloud: fast evaluation method of safety areas around refrigerating installations that use ammonia`; `modeling of atmospheric flows in urban areas in order to study the dispersion of pollutants`; `use of a dispersion parameter to characterize the evolution of a diffusion process downstream of a linear source of passive contaminant placed inside a turbulent boundary layer`; `elements of reflexion around the development of an analytical methodology applied to the elaboration of measurement strategies of air quality in ambient and outdoor atmospheres around industrial sites`; `state-of-the-art about treatment techniques for VOC-rich gaseous effluents`; `characteristics of the time variation of the atmospheric pollution in the Paris region and visualization of its space distribution`; `mass-spectrometry for the measurement of atmospheric pollutants`; `volume variations in natural convection turbulence`. (J.S.)

Physical model of the dispersion of a radioactive contaminant in the atmosphere above a heat island

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toly, J.A.; Tenchine, D.

1984-01-01

The project deals with the impact of surface heating in urban areas on the dispersion of contaminants in the atmosphere. - The atmospheric boundary layer is simulated in a water flume. Ground heating is applied locally reproducing the heat flux of an urban region. Fission products for which internal heat source is neglected are simulated by horizontal plumes at pHs different from the original pH of the flume. - The main results of the study concern: the characterization of the internal boundary layer downstream of the leading edge of the heated ground; the comparison of the concentration distributions of pollutants with and without surface heating. - A transposition of the results, expressed in terms of global parameters, enables information on the heat island effect due to urban regions on the dispersion of contaminants in the atmosphere to be obtained

Meteorological uncertainty of atmospheric dispersion model results (MUD)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Havskov Soerensen, J.; Amstrup, B.; Feddersen, H.

2013-08-01

The MUD project addresses assessment of uncertainties of atmospheric dispersion model predictions, as well as possibilities for optimum presentation to decision makers. Previously, it has not been possible to estimate such uncertainties quantitatively, but merely to calculate the 'most likely' dispersion scenario. However, recent developments in numerical weather prediction (NWP) include probabilistic forecasting techniques, which can be utilised also for long-range atmospheric dispersion models. The ensemble statistical methods developed and applied to NWP models aim at describing the inherent uncertainties of the meteorological model results. These uncertainties stem from e.g. limits in meteorological observations used to initialise meteorological forecast series. By perturbing e.g. the initial state of an NWP model run in agreement with the available observational data, an ensemble of meteorological forecasts is produced from which uncertainties in the various meteorological parameters are estimated, e.g. probabilities for rain. Corresponding ensembles of atmospheric dispersion can now be computed from which uncertainties of predicted radionuclide concentration and deposition patterns can be derived. (Author)

Combining measures of dispersal to identify conservation strategies in fragmented landscapes.

Science.gov (United States)

Leidner, Allison K; Haddad, Nick M

2011-10-01

Understanding the way in which habitat fragmentation disrupts animal dispersal is key to identifying effective and efficient conservation strategies. To differentiate the potential effectiveness of 2 frequently used strategies for increasing the connectivity of populations in fragmented landscapes-corridors and stepping stones-we combined 3 complimentary methods: behavioral studies at habitat edges, mark-recapture, and genetic analyses. Each of these methods addresses different steps in the dispersal process that a single intensive study could not address. We applied the 3 methods to the case study of Atrytonopsis new species 1, a rare butterfly endemic to a partially urbanized stretch of barrier islands in North Carolina (U.S.A.). Results of behavioral analyses showed the butterfly flew into urban and forested areas, but not over open beach; mark-recapture showed that the butterfly dispersed successfully through short stretches of urban areas (5 km) were a dispersal barrier, but shorter stretches of urban areas (≤5 km) were not. Although results from all 3 methods indicated natural features in the landscape, not urbanization, were barriers to dispersal, when we combined the results we could determine where barriers might arise: forests restricted dispersal for the butterfly only when there were long stretches with no habitat. Therefore, urban areas have the potential to become a dispersal barrier if their extent increases, a finding that may have gone unnoticed if we had used a single approach. Protection of stepping stones should be sufficient to maintain connectivity for Atrytonopsis new species 1 at current levels of urbanization. Our research highlights how the use of complementary approaches for studying animal dispersal in fragmented landscapes can help identify conservation strategies. ©2011 Society for Conservation Biology.

Chaotic Lagrangian models for turbulent relative dispersion.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacorata, Guglielmo; Vulpiani, Angelo

2017-04-01

A deterministic multiscale dynamical system is introduced and discussed as a prototype model for relative dispersion in stationary, homogeneous, and isotropic turbulence. Unlike stochastic diffusion models, here trajectory transport and mixing properties are entirely controlled by Lagrangian chaos. The anomalous "sweeping effect," a known drawback common to kinematic simulations, is removed through the use of quasi-Lagrangian coordinates. Lagrangian dispersion statistics of the model are accurately analyzed by computing the finite-scale Lyapunov exponent (FSLE), which is the optimal measure of the scaling properties of dispersion. FSLE scaling exponents provide a severe test to decide whether model simulations are in agreement with theoretical expectations and/or observation. The results of our numerical experiments cover a wide range of "Reynolds numbers" and show that chaotic deterministic flows can be very efficient, and numerically low-cost, models of turbulent trajectories in stationary, homogeneous, and isotropic conditions. The mathematics of the model is relatively simple, and, in a geophysical context, potential applications may regard small-scale parametrization issues in general circulation models, mixed layer, and/or boundary layer turbulence models as well as Lagrangian predictability studies.

Modeling of atmospheric dispersion of radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baklouti, Nada

2010-01-01

This work is a prediction of atmospheric dispersion of radionuclide from a chronic rejection of the nuclear power generating plant that can be located in one of the Tunisian sites: Skhira or Bizerte. Also it contains a study of acute rejection 'Chernobyl accident' which was the reference for the validation of GENII the code of modeling of atmospheric dispersion.

Lagrangian Stochastic Dispersion Model IMS Model Suite and its Validation against Experimental Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartok, J.

2010-01-01

The dissertation presents IMS Lagrangian Dispersion Model, which is a 'new generation' Slovak dispersion model of long-range transport, developed by MicroStep-MIS. It solves trajectory equation for a vast number of Lagrangian 'particles' and stochastic equation that simulates the effects of turbulence. Model contains simulation of radioactive decay (full decay chains of more than 300 nuclides), and dry and wet deposition. Model was integrated into IMS Model Suite, a system in which several models and modules can run and cooperate, e.g. LAM model WRF preparing fine resolution meteorological data for dispersion. The main theme of the work is validation of dispersion model against large scale international campaigns CAPTEX and ETEX, which are two of the largest tracer experiments. Validation addressed treatment of missing data, data interpolation into comparable temporal and spatial representation. The best model results were observed for ETEX I, standard results for CAPTEXes and worst results for ETEX II, known in modelling community for its meteorological conditions that can be hardly resolved by models. The IMS Lagrangian Dispersion Model was identified as capable long range dispersion model for slowly- or nonreacting chemicals and radioactive matter. Influence of input data on simulation quality is discussed within the work. Additional modules were prepared according to praxis requirement: a) Recalculation of concentrations of radioactive pollutant into effective doses form inhalation, immersion in the plume and deposition. b) Dispersion of mineral dust was added and tested in desert locality, where wind and soil moisture were firstly analysed and forecast by WRF. The result was qualitatively verified in case study against satellite observations. (author)

Validation of a Fast-Response Urban Micrometeorological Model to Assess the Performance of Urban Heat Island Mitigation Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Nadeau, D.; Girard, P.; Overby, M.; Pardyjak, E.; Stoll, R., II; Willemsen, P.; Bailey, B.; Parlange, M. B.

2015-12-01

Urban heat islands (UHI) are a real threat in many cities worldwide and mitigation measures have become a central component of urban planning strategies. Even within a city, causes of UHI vary from one neighborhood to another, mostly due the spatial variability in surface thermal properties, building geometry, anthropogenic heat flux releases and vegetation cover. As a result, the performance of UHI mitigation measures also varies in space. Hence, there is a need to develop a tool to quantify the efficiency of UHI mitigation measures at the neighborhood scale. The objective of this ongoing study is to validate the fast-response micrometeorological model QUIC EnvSim (QES). This model can provide all information required for UHI studies with a fine spatial resolution (up to 0.5m) and short computation time. QES combines QUIC, a CFD-based wind solver and dispersion model, and EnvSim, composed of a radiation model, a land-surface model and a turbulent transport model. Here, high-resolution (1 m) simulations are run over a subset of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) campus including complex buildings, various surfaces properties and vegetation. For nearly five months in 2006-07, a dense network of meteorological observations (92 weather stations over 0.1 km2) was deployed over the campus and these unique data are used here as a validation dataset. We present validation results for different test cases (e.g., sunny vs cloudy days, different incoming wind speeds and directions) and explore the effect of a few UHI mitigation strategies on the spatial distribution of near-surface air temperatures. Preliminary results suggest that QES may be a valuable tool in decision-making regarding adaptation of urban planning to UHI.

The statistical evaluation and comparison of ADMS-Urban model for the prediction of nitrogen dioxide with air quality monitoring network.

Science.gov (United States)

Dėdelė, Audrius; Miškinytė, Auksė

2015-09-01

In many countries, road traffic is one of the main sources of air pollution associated with adverse effects on human health and environment. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is considered to be a measure of traffic-related air pollution, with concentrations tending to be higher near highways, along busy roads, and in the city centers, and the exceedances are mainly observed at measurement stations located close to traffic. In order to assess the air quality in the city and the air pollution impact on public health, air quality models are used. However, firstly, before the model can be used for these purposes, it is important to evaluate the accuracy of the dispersion modelling as one of the most widely used method. The monitoring and dispersion modelling are two components of air quality monitoring system (AQMS), in which statistical comparison was made in this research. The evaluation of the Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling System (ADMS-Urban) was made by comparing monthly modelled NO2 concentrations with the data of continuous air quality monitoring stations in Kaunas city. The statistical measures of model performance were calculated for annual and monthly concentrations of NO2 for each monitoring station site. The spatial analysis was made using geographic information systems (GIS). The calculation of statistical parameters indicated a good ADMS-Urban model performance for the prediction of NO2. The results of this study showed that the agreement of modelled values and observations was better for traffic monitoring stations compared to the background and residential stations.

Sensitivity analysis of the near-road dispersion model RLINE - An evaluation at Detroit, Michigan

Science.gov (United States)

Milando, Chad W.; Batterman, Stuart A.

2018-05-01

The development of accurate and appropriate exposure metrics for health effect studies of traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPs) remains challenging and important given that traffic has become the dominant urban exposure source and that exposure estimates can affect estimates of associated health risk. Exposure estimates obtained using dispersion models can overcome many of the limitations of monitoring data, and such estimates have been used in several recent health studies. This study examines the sensitivity of exposure estimates produced by dispersion models to meteorological, emission and traffic allocation inputs, focusing on applications to health studies examining near-road exposures to TRAP. Daily average concentrations of CO and NOx predicted using the Research Line source model (RLINE) and a spatially and temporally resolved mobile source emissions inventory are compared to ambient measurements at near-road monitoring sites in Detroit, MI, and are used to assess the potential for exposure measurement error in cohort and population-based studies. Sensitivity of exposure estimates is assessed by comparing nominal and alternative model inputs using statistical performance evaluation metrics and three sets of receptors. The analysis shows considerable sensitivity to meteorological inputs; generally the best performance was obtained using data specific to each monitoring site. An updated emission factor database provided some improvement, particularly at near-road sites, while the use of site-specific diurnal traffic allocations did not improve performance compared to simpler default profiles. Overall, this study highlights the need for appropriate inputs, especially meteorological inputs, to dispersion models aimed at estimating near-road concentrations of TRAPs. It also highlights the potential for systematic biases that might affect analyses that use concentration predictions as exposure measures in health studies.

Modelling surface radioactive spill dispersion in the Alboran Sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perianez, R.

2006-01-01

The Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea are the only connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Intense shipping activities occur in the area, including transport of waste radionuclides and transit of nuclear submarines. Thus, it is relevant to have a dispersion model that can be used in an emergency situation after an accident, to help the decision-making process. Such dispersion model requires an appropriate description of the physical oceanography of the region of interest, with simulations of tides and residual (average) circulation. In this work, a particle-tracking dispersion model that can be used to simulate the dispersion of radionuclides in the system Strait of Gibraltar-Alboran Sea is described. Tides are simulated using a barotropic model and for the average circulation a reduced-gravity model is applied. This model is able to reproduce the main features of the Alboran circulation (the well known Western Alboran Gyre, WAG, and the coastal circulation mode). The dispersion model is run off-line, using previously computed tidal and residual currents. The contamination patch is simulated by a number of particles whose individual paths are computed; diffusion and decay being modelled using a Monte Carlo method. Radionuclide concentrations may be obtained from the density of particles per water volume unit. Results from the hydrodynamic models have been compared with observations in the area. Several examples of dispersion computations under different wind and circulation conditions are presented

Numerical Study of Traffic Pollutant Dispersion within Different Street Canyon Configurations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yucong Miao

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to numerically study flow and traffic exhaust dispersion in urban street canyons with different configurations to find out the urban-planning strategies to ease the air pollution. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD model used in this study—Open Source Field Operation and Manipulation (OpenFOAM software package—was firstly validated against the wind-tunnel experiment data by using three different k-ε turbulence models. And then the patterns of flow and dispersion within three different kinds of street canyon configuration under the perpendicular approaching flow were numerically studied. The result showed that the width and height of building can dramatically affect the pollution level inside the street canyon. As the width or height of building increases, the pollution at the pedestrian level increases. And the asymmetric configuration (step-up or step-down street canyon could provide better ventilation. It is recommended to design a street canyon with nonuniform configurations. And the OpenFOAM software package can be used as a reliable tool to study flows and dispersions around buildings.

Biophysical models of larval dispersal in the Benguela Current ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

We synthesise and update results from the suite of biophysical, larval-dispersal models developed in the Benguela Current ecosystem. Biophysical models of larval dispersal use outputs of physical hydrodynamic models as inputs to individual-based models in which biological processes acting during the larval life are ...

Modelling the impact of urban form on household energy demand and related CO2 emissions in the Greater Dublin Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Xiaochen; Sweeney, John

2012-01-01

This study aims to investigate the relationship between household space heating energy use and urban form (land use characteristics) for the Greater Dublin Region. The geographical distributions of household energy use are evaluated at the Enumeration Districts (ED) level based on the building thermal balance model. Moreover, it estimates the impact of possible factors on the household space heating consumption. Results illustrate that the distribution profile of dwellings is a significant factor related to overall heating energy demand and individual dwelling energy consumption for space heating. Residents living in compact dwellings with small floor areas consume less energy for space heating than residents living in dwellings with big floor areas. Moreover, domestic heating energy demand per household was also estimated for two extreme urban development scenarios: the compact city scenario and the dispersed scenario. The results illustrate that the compact city scenario is likely to decrease the domestic heating energy consumption per household by 16.2% compared with the dispersed city scenario. Correspondingly, the energy-related CO 2 emissions could be significantly decreased by compact city scenario compared with the dispersed city scenario. - Highlights: ► A method was developed to investigate urban form impacts on energy demand. ► This study estimates impacts of possible factors on the household energy consumption. ► Household heating energy demand is sensitive to dwelling distribution profile. ► The compact case could reduce domestic energy demand compared with the dispersed case.

Meteorological uncertainty of atmospheric dispersion model results (MUD)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Havskov Soerensen, J.; Amstrup, B.; Feddersen, H. [Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen (Denmark)] [and others

2013-08-15

The MUD project addresses assessment of uncertainties of atmospheric dispersion model predictions, as well as possibilities for optimum presentation to decision makers. Previously, it has not been possible to estimate such uncertainties quantitatively, but merely to calculate the 'most likely' dispersion scenario. However, recent developments in numerical weather prediction (NWP) include probabilistic forecasting techniques, which can be utilised also for long-range atmospheric dispersion models. The ensemble statistical methods developed and applied to NWP models aim at describing the inherent uncertainties of the meteorological model results. These uncertainties stem from e.g. limits in meteorological observations used to initialise meteorological forecast series. By perturbing e.g. the initial state of an NWP model run in agreement with the available observational data, an ensemble of meteorological forecasts is produced from which uncertainties in the various meteorological parameters are estimated, e.g. probabilities for rain. Corresponding ensembles of atmospheric dispersion can now be computed from which uncertainties of predicted radionuclide concentration and deposition patterns can be derived. (Author)

Studying the factors affecting urban dispersion in mashhad metropolis

African Journals Online (AJOL)

solutions to control this problem. The tools used in this research were GIS software for mapping, quantitative methods of Holdren Model, urban primacy index, and area to population growth rate for review and analysis, and at first by examining area to population growth rate, Mashhad- developmental process map, Holdren ...

The Urban Food-Water Nexus: Modeling Water Footprints of Urban Agriculture using CityCrop

Science.gov (United States)

Tooke, T. R.; Lathuilliere, M. J.; Coops, N. C.; Johnson, M. S.

2014-12-01

Urban agriculture provides a potential contribution towards more sustainable food production and mitigating some of the human impacts that accompany volatility in regional and global food supply. When considering the capacity of urban landscapes to produce food products, the impact of urban water demand required for food production in cities is often neglected. Urban agricultural studies also tend to be undertaken at broad spatial scales, overlooking the heterogeneity of urban form that exerts an extreme influence on the urban energy balance. As a result, urban planning and management practitioners require, but often do not have, spatially explicit and detailed information to support informed urban agricultural policy, especially as it relates to potential conflicts with sustainability goals targeting water-use. In this research we introduce a new model, CityCrop, a hybrid evapotranspiration-plant growth model that incorporates detailed digital representations of the urban surface and biophysical impacts of the built environment and urban trees to account for the daily variations in net surface radiation. The model enables very fine-scale (sub-meter) estimates of water footprints of potential urban agricultural production. Results of the model are demonstrated for an area in the City of Vancouver, Canada and compared to aspatial model estimates, demonstrating the unique considerations and sensitivities for current and future water footprints of urban agriculture and the implications for urban water planning and policy.

Modeling urban fire growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waterman, T.E.; Takata, A.N.

1983-01-01

The IITRI Urban Fire Spread Model as well as others of similar vintage were constrained by computer size and running costs such that many approximations/generalizations were introduced to reduce program complexity and data storage requirements. Simplifications were introduced both in input data and in fire growth and spread calculations. Modern computational capabilities offer the means to introduce greater detail and to examine its practical significance on urban fire predictions. Selected portions of the model are described as presently configured, and potential modifications are discussed. A single tract model is hypothesized which permits the importance of various model details to be assessed, and, other model applications are identified

Comparison of CFD and operational dispersion models in an urban-like environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Antonioni, G.; Burkhart, S.; Burman, J.; Dejoan, A.; Fusco, A.; Gaasbeek, R.; Gjesdal, T.; Jäppinen, A.; Riikonen, K.; Morra, P.; Parmhed, O.; Santiago, J.L.

2012-01-01

Chemical plants, refineries, transportation of hazardous materials are some of the most attractive facilities for external attacks aimed at the release of toxic substances. Dispersion of these substances into the atmosphere forms a concentration distribution of airborne pollutants with severe

Distributed models coupling soakaways, urban drainage and groundwater

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roldin, Maria Kerstin

in receiving waters, urban flooding etc. WSUD structures are generally small, decentralized systems intended to manage stormwater near the source. Many of these alternative techniques are based on infiltration which can affect both the urban sewer system and urban groundwater levels if widely implemented......Alternative methods for stormwater management in urban areas, also called Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) methods, have become increasingly important for the mitigation of urban stormwater management problems such as high runoff volumes, combined sewage overflows, poor water quality......, and how these can be modeled in an integrated environment with distributed urban drainage and groundwater flow models. The thesis: 1. Identifies appropriate models of soakaways for use in an integrated and distributed urban water and groundwater modeling system 2. Develops a modeling concept that is able...

Dispersive processes in models of regional radionuclide migration. Technical memorandum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evenson, D.E.; Dettinger, M.D.

1980-05-01

Three broad areas of concern in the development of aquifer scale transport models will be local scale diffusion and dispersion processes, regional scale dispersion processes, and numerical problems associated with the advection-dispersion equation. Local scale dispersion processes are fairly well understood and accessible to observation. These processes will generally be dominated in large scale systems by regional processes, or macro-dispersion. Macro-dispersion is primarily the result of large scale heterogeneities in aquifer properties. In addition, the effects of many modeling approximations are often included in the process. Because difficulties arise in parameterization of this large scale phenomenon, parameterization should be based on field measurements made at the same scale as the transport process of interest or else partially circumvented through the application of a probabilistic advection model. Other problems associated with numerical transport models include difficulties with conservation of mass, stability, numerical dissipation, overshoot, flexibility, and efficiency. We recommend the random-walk model formulation for Lawrence Livermore Laboratory's purposes as the most flexible, accurate and relatively efficient modeling approach that overcomes these difficulties

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF POLLUTION DISPERSION IN URBAN STREET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. Biliaiev

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The scientific paper solves the question of 2D numerical model development, which allows quick computation of air pollution in streets from vehicles. The aim of the work is numerical model development that would enable to predict the level of air pollution by using protective barriers along the road. Methodology. The developed model is based on the equation of inviscid flow and equation of pollutant transfer. Potential equation is used to compute velocity field of air flow near road in the case of protection barriers application. To solve equation for potential flow implicit difference scheme of «conditional approximation« is used. The implicit change – triangle difference scheme is used to solve equation of convective – diffusive dispersion. Numerical integration is carried out using the rectangular difference grid. Method of porosity technique («markers method» is used to create the form of comprehensive computational region. Emission of toxic gases from vehicle is modeled using Delta function for point source.Findings. Authors developed 2D numerical model. It takes into account the main physical factors affecting the process of dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere when emissions of vehicle including protection barriers near the road. On the basis of the developed numerical models a computational experiment was performed to estimate the level of air pollution in the street. Originality. A numerical model has been created. It makes it possible to calculate 2D aerodynamics of the wind flow in the presence of noises and the process of mass transfer of toxic gas emissions from the motorway. The model allows taking into account the presence of the car on the road, the form of a protective barrier, the presence of a curb. Calculations have been performed to determine the contamination zone formed at the protective barrier that is located at the motorway. Practical value. An effective numerical model that can be applied in the

Presentation of Austrians recommended dispersion model for tunnel portals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oettl, D.; Sturm, P.; Almbauer, R. [Inst. for Internal Combustion Engines and Thermodynamics, Graz Univ. of Technology (Austria)

2004-07-01

Street tunnels in cities are often suggested as solution to avoid daily congestions but also to prevent residential areas from high noise and air pollution emissions. In case of longitudinal ventilated tunnels high pollution levels may occur in the vicinity of the portals. The dispersion of pollutants from tunnel portals is considered to differ significantly from those of other sources, such as line or point sources. To the best of the authors knowledge, there exist currently two distinct dispersion models, which are especially designed to treat dispersion from tunnel portals. Okamoto et al proposed a diagnostic wind field model, where the dispersion is modelled using a Taylor-Galerkin-Forester filter method. Oettl et al. developed a Lagrangian-type model (GRAL TM 3.5=Graz Lagrangian model Tunnel Module version 3.5), which is briefly described in the next section. (orig.)

Modeling and measurements of urban aerosol processes on the neighborhood scale in Rotterdam, Oslo and Helsinki

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Karl

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This study evaluates the influence of aerosol processes on the particle number (PN concentrations in three major European cities on the temporal scale of 1 h, i.e., on the neighborhood and city scales. We have used selected measured data of particle size distributions from previous campaigns in the cities of Helsinki, Oslo and Rotterdam. The aerosol transformation processes were evaluated using the aerosol dynamics model MAFOR, combined with a simplified treatment of roadside and urban atmospheric dispersion. We have compared the model predictions of particle number size distributions with the measured data, and conducted sensitivity analyses regarding the influence of various model input variables. We also present a simplified parameterization for aerosol processes, which is based on the more complex aerosol process computations; this simple model can easily be implemented to both Gaussian and Eulerian urban dispersion models. Aerosol processes considered in this study were (i the coagulation of particles, (ii the condensation and evaporation of two organic vapors, and (iii dry deposition. The chemical transformation of gas-phase compounds was not taken into account. By choosing concentrations and particle size distributions at roadside as starting point of the computations, nucleation of gas-phase vapors from the exhaust has been regarded as post tail-pipe emission, avoiding the need to include nucleation in the process analysis. Dry deposition and coagulation of particles were identified to be the most important aerosol dynamic processes that control the evolution and removal of particles. The error of the contribution from dry deposition to PN losses due to the uncertainty of measured deposition velocities ranges from −76 to +64 %. The removal of nanoparticles by coagulation enhanced considerably when considering the fractal nature of soot aggregates and the combined effect of van der Waals and viscous interactions. The effect of

Stochastic models for atmospheric dispersion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ditlevsen, Ove Dalager

2003-01-01

Simple stochastic differential equation models have been applied by several researchers to describe the dispersion of tracer particles in the planetary atmospheric boundary layer and to form the basis for computer simulations of particle paths. To obtain the drift coefficient, empirical vertical...... positions close to the boundaries. Different rules have been suggested in the literature with justifications based on simulation studies. Herein the relevant stochastic differential equation model is formulated in a particular way. The formulation is based on the marginal transformation of the position...... velocity distributions that depend on height above the ground both with respect to standard deviation and skewness are substituted into the stationary Fokker/Planck equation. The particle position distribution is taken to be uniform *the well/mixed condition( and also a given dispersion coefficient...

A hybrid plume model for local-scale dispersion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nikmo, J.; Tuovinen, J.P.; Kukkonen, J.; Valkama, I.

1997-12-31

The report describes the contribution of the Finnish Meteorological Institute to the project `Dispersion from Strongly Buoyant Sources`, under the `Environment` programme of the European Union. The project addresses the atmospheric dispersion of gases and particles emitted from typical fires in warehouses and chemical stores. In the study only the `passive plume` regime, in which the influence of plume buoyancy is no longer important, is addressed. The mathematical model developed and its numerical testing is discussed. The model is based on atmospheric boundary-layer scaling theory. In the vicinity of the source, Gaussian equations are used in both the horizontal and vertical directions. After a specified transition distance, gradient transfer theory is applied in the vertical direction, while the horizontal dispersion is still assumed to be Gaussian. The dispersion parameters and eddy diffusivity are modelled in a form which facilitates the use of a meteorological pre-processor. Also a new model for the vertical eddy diffusivity (K{sub z}), which is a continuous function of height in the various atmospheric scaling regions is presented. The model includes a treatment of the dry deposition of gases and particulate matter, but wet deposition has been neglected. A numerical solver for the atmospheric diffusion equation (ADE) has been developed. The accuracy of the numerical model was analysed by comparing the model predictions with two analytical solutions of ADE. The numerical deviations of the model predictions from these analytic solutions were less than two per cent for the computational regime. The report gives numerical results for the vertical profiles of the eddy diffusivity and the dispersion parameters, and shows spatial concentration distributions in various atmospheric conditions 39 refs.

Mathematical modeling of disperse two-phase flows

CERN Document Server

Morel, Christophe

2015-01-01

This book develops the theoretical foundations of disperse two-phase flows, which are characterized by the existence of bubbles, droplets or solid particles finely dispersed in a carrier fluid, which can be a liquid or a gas. Chapters clarify many difficult subjects, including modeling of the interfacial area concentration. Basic knowledge of the subjects treated in this book is essential to practitioners of Computational Fluid Dynamics for two-phase flows in a variety of industrial and environmental settings. The author provides a complete derivation of the basic equations, followed by more advanced subjects like turbulence equations for the two phases (continuous and disperse) and multi-size particulate flow modeling. As well as theoretical material, readers will discover chapters concerned with closure relations and numerical issues. Many physical models are presented, covering key subjects including heat and mass transfers between phases, interfacial forces and fluid particles coalescence and breakup, a...

Development and evaluation of GRAL-C dispersion model, a hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian approach capturing NO-NO 2-O 3 chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Oettl, Dietmar; Uhrner, Ulrich

2011-02-01

Based on two recent publications using Lagrangian dispersion models to simulate NO-NO 2-O 3 chemistry for industrial plumes, a similar modified approach was implemented using GRAL-C ( Graz Lagrangian Model with Chemistry) and tested on two urban applications. In the hybrid dispersion model GRAL-C, the transport and turbulent diffusion of primary species such as NO and NO 2 are treated in a Lagrangian framework while those of O 3 are treated in an Eulerian framework. GRAL-C was employed on a one year street canyon simulation in Berlin and on a four-day simulation during a winter season in Graz, the second biggest city in Austria. In contrast to Middleton D.R., Jones A.R., Redington A.L., Thomson D.J., Sokhi R.S., Luhana L., Fisher B.E.A. (2008. Lagrangian modelling of plume chemistry for secondary pollutants in large industrial plumes. Atmospheric Environment 42, 415-427) and Alessandrini S., Ferrero E. (2008. A Lagrangian model with chemical reactions: application in real atmosphere. Proceedings of the 12th Int. Conf. on Harmonization within atmospheric dispersion modelling for regulatory purposes. Croatian Meteorological Journal, 43, ISSN: 1330-0083, 235-239) the treatment of ozone was modified in order to facilitate urban scale simulations encompassing dense road networks. For the street canyon application, modelled daily mean NO x/NO 2 concentrations deviated by +0.4%/-15% from observations, while the correlations for NO x and NO 2 were 0.67 and 0.76 respectively. NO 2 concentrations were underestimated in summer, but were captured well for other seasons. In Graz a fair agreement for NO x and NO 2 was obtained between observed and modelled values for NO x and NO 2. Simulated diurnal cycles of NO 2 and O 3 matched observations reasonably well, although O 3 was underestimated during the day. A possible explanation here might lie in the non-consideration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) chemistry.

Impacts of shape and height of upstream roof on airflow and pollutant dispersion inside an urban street canyon.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yuan-Dong; He, Wen-Rong; Kim, Chang-Nyung

2015-02-01

A two-dimensional numerical model for simulating flow and pollutant dispersion in an urban street canyon is firstly developed using the FLUENT code and then validated against the wind tunnel results. After this, the flow field and pollutant dispersion inside an urban street canyon with aspect ratio W/H = 1 are examined numerically considering five different shapes (vaulted, trapezoidal, slanted, upward wedged, and downward wedged roofs) as well as three different roof height to building height ratios (Z H /H = 1/6, 1/3, and 1/2) for the upstream building roof. The results obtained reveal that the shape and height of an upstream roof have significant influences on flow pattern and pollutant distribution in an urban canyon. A large single clockwise vortex is generated in the canyon for the vaulted upstream roof at Z H /H = 1/6, 1/3, and 1/2, the trapezoidal and downward wedged roofs at Z H /H = 1/6 and 1/3, and the slanted and upward wedged roofs at Z H /H = 1/6, while a main clockwise vortex and a secondary counterclockwise vortex are established for the trapezoidal and downward wedged roofs at Z H /H = 1/2 and the slanted and upward wedged roofs at Z H /H = 1/3 and 1/2. In the one-vortex flow regime, the clockwise vortex moves upward and grows in size with increasing upstream roof height for the vaulted, trapezoidal, and downward wedged roofs. In the two-vortex flow regime, the size and rotational velocity of both upper clockwise and lower counterclockwise vortices increase with the upstream roof height for the slanted and upward wedged roofs. At Z H /H = 1/6, the pollution levels in the canyon are close among all the upstream roof shapes studied. At Z H /H = 1/3, the pollution levels in the canyon for the upward wedged roof and slanted roof are much higher than those for the vaulted, trapezoidal, and downward wedged roofs. At Z H /H = 1/2, the lowest pollution level appears in the canyon for the vaulted upstream roof, while

Numerical simulation on pollutant dispersion from vehicle exhaust in street configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

Yassin, Mohamed F; Kellnerová, R; Janour, Z

2009-09-01

The impact of the street configurations on pollutants dispersion from vehicles exhausts within urban canyons was numerically investigated using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Three-dimensional flow and dispersion of gaseous pollutants were modeled using standard kappa - epsilon turbulence model, which was numerically solved based on Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations by the commercial CFD code FLUENT. The concentration fields in the urban canyons were examined in three cases of street configurations: (1) a regular-shaped intersection, (2) a T-shaped intersection and (3) a Skew-shaped crossing intersection. Vehicle emissions were simulated as double line sources along the street. The numerical model was validated against wind tunnel results in order to optimize the turbulence model. Numerical predictions agreed reasonably well with wind tunnel results. The results obtained indicate that the mean horizontal velocity was very small in the center near the lower region of street canyon. The lowest turbulent kinetic energy was found at the separation and reattachment points associated with the corner of the down part of the upwind and downwind buildings in the street canyon. The pollutant concentration at the upwind side in the regular-shaped street intersection was higher than that in the T-shaped and Skew-shaped street intersections. Moreover, the results reveal that the street intersections are important factors to predict the flow patterns and pollutant dispersion in street canyon.

A feasibility study for decision-making support of a radioactive contamination model in an urban environment (METRO-K)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Won Tae; Han, Moon Hee; Jeong, Hyo Joon; Kim, Eun Han; Lee, Chang Woo

2008-01-01

A Korean urban contamination model METRO-K (Model for Estimates the Transient behavior of RadiOactive materials in the Korean urban environment), which is capable of calculating the exposure doses resulting from radioactive contamination in an urban environment, is taking part in a model testing program EMRAS (Environmental Modelling for RAdiation Safety) organized by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). For radioactive contamination scenarios of Pripyat districts and a hypothetical RDD (Radiological Dispersal Device), the predicted results using METRO-K were submitted to the EMRAS's urban contamination working group. In this paper, the predicted results for the contamination scenarios of a pripyat district were shown in case of both without remediation measures and with ones. Comparing with the predicted results of the models that have taken part in EMRAS program, a feasibility for decision-making support of METRO-K was investigated. As a predicted result of METRO-K, to take immediately remediation measures following a radioactive contamination, if possible, might be one of the best ways to reduce exposure dose. It was found that the discrepancies of predicted results among the models are resulted from 1) modeling approaches and applied parameter values, 2) exposure pathways which are considered in models, 3) assumptions of assessor such as contamination surfaces which might affect to an exposure receptor and their sizes, 4) parameter values which are related with remediation measures applied through literature survey. It was identified that a Korean urban contamination model METRO-K is a useful tool for decision-making support through the participation of EMRAS program

Modelling solute dispersion in periodic heterogeneous porous media: Model benchmarking against intermediate scale experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Majdalani, Samer; Guinot, Vincent; Delenne, Carole; Gebran, Hicham

2018-06-01

This paper is devoted to theoretical and experimental investigations of solute dispersion in heterogeneous porous media. Dispersion in heterogenous porous media has been reported to be scale-dependent, a likely indication that the proposed dispersion models are incompletely formulated. A high quality experimental data set of breakthrough curves in periodic model heterogeneous porous media is presented. In contrast with most previously published experiments, the present experiments involve numerous replicates. This allows the statistical variability of experimental data to be accounted for. Several models are benchmarked against the data set: the Fickian-based advection-dispersion, mobile-immobile, multirate, multiple region advection dispersion models, and a newly proposed transport model based on pure advection. A salient property of the latter model is that its solutions exhibit a ballistic behaviour for small times, while tending to the Fickian behaviour for large time scales. Model performance is assessed using a novel objective function accounting for the statistical variability of the experimental data set, while putting equal emphasis on both small and large time scale behaviours. Besides being as accurate as the other models, the new purely advective model has the advantages that (i) it does not exhibit the undesirable effects associated with the usual Fickian operator (namely the infinite solute front propagation speed), and (ii) it allows dispersive transport to be simulated on every heterogeneity scale using scale-independent parameters.

Short-term gas dispersion in idealised urban canopy in street parallel with flow direction

Science.gov (United States)

Chaloupecká, Hana; Jaňour, Zbyněk; Nosek, Štěpán

2016-03-01

Chemical attacks (e.g. Syria 2014-15 chlorine, 2013 sarine or Iraq 2006-7 chlorine) as well as chemical plant disasters (e.g. Spain 2015 nitric oxide, ferric chloride; Texas 2014 methyl mercaptan) threaten mankind. In these crisis situations, gas clouds are released. Dispersion of gas clouds is the issue of interest investigated in this paper. The paper describes wind tunnel experiments of dispersion from ground level point gas source. The source is situated in a model of an idealised urban canopy. The short duration releases of passive contaminant ethane are created by an electromagnetic valve. The gas cloud concentrations are measured in individual places at the height of the human breathing zone within a street parallel with flow direction by Fast-response Ionisation Detector. The simulations of the gas release for each measurement position are repeated many times under the same experimental set up to obtain representative datasets. These datasets are analysed to compute puff characteristics (arrival, leaving time and duration). The results indicate that the mean value of the dimensionless arrival time can be described as a growing linear function of the dimensionless coordinate in the street parallel with flow direction where the gas source is situated. The same might be stated about the dimensionless leaving time as well as the dimensionless duration, however these fits are worse. Utilising a linear function, we might also estimate some other statistical characteristics from datasets than the datasets means (medians, trimeans). The datasets of the dimensionless arrival time, the dimensionless leaving time and the dimensionless duration can be fitted by the generalized extreme value distribution (GEV) in all sampling positions except one.

Prediction of dosage-based parameters from the puff dispersion of airborne materials in urban environments using the CFD-RANS methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Efthimiou, G. C.; Andronopoulos, S.; Bartzis, J. G.

2018-02-01

One of the key issues of recent research on the dispersion inside complex urban environments is the ability to predict dosage-based parameters from the puff release of an airborne material from a point source in the atmospheric boundary layer inside the built-up area. The present work addresses the question of whether the computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) methodology can be used to predict ensemble-average dosage-based parameters that are related with the puff dispersion. RANS simulations with the ADREA-HF code were, therefore, performed, where a single puff was released in each case. The present method is validated against the data sets from two wind-tunnel experiments. In each experiment, more than 200 puffs were released from which ensemble-averaged dosage-based parameters were calculated and compared to the model's predictions. The performance of the model was evaluated using scatter plots and three validation metrics: fractional bias, normalized mean square error, and factor of two. The model presented a better performance for the temporal parameters (i.e., ensemble-average times of puff arrival, peak, leaving, duration, ascent, and descent) than for the ensemble-average dosage and peak concentration. The majority of the obtained values of validation metrics were inside established acceptance limits. Based on the obtained model performance indices, the CFD-RANS methodology as implemented in the code ADREA-HF is able to predict the ensemble-average temporal quantities related to transient emissions of airborne material in urban areas within the range of the model performance acceptance criteria established in the literature. The CFD-RANS methodology as implemented in the code ADREA-HF is also able to predict the ensemble-average dosage, but the dosage results should be treated with some caution; as in one case, the observed ensemble-average dosage was under-estimated slightly more than the acceptance criteria. Ensemble

Modeling of corium dispersion in DCH accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Q.

1996-01-01

A model that governs the dispersion process in the direct containment heating (DCH) reactor accident scenario is developed by a stepwise approach. In this model, the whole transient is subdivided into four phases with an isothermal assumption. These are the liquid and gas discharge, the liquid film flow in the cavity before gas blowdown, the liquid and gas flow in the cavity with droplet entrainment, and the liquid transport and re-entrainment in the subcompartment. In each step, the dominant driving mechanisms are identified to construct the governing equations. By combining all the steps together, the corium dispersion information is obtained in detail. The key parameters are predicted quantitatively. These include the fraction of liquid that flows out of the cavity before gas blowdown, the dispersion fraction and the mean droplet diameter in the cavity, the cavity pressure rise due to the liquid friction force, and the dispersion fractions in the containment via different paths. Compared with the data of the 1:10 scale experiments carried out at Purdue University, fairly good agreement is obtained. A stand-alone prediction of the corium dispersion under prototypic Zion reactor conditions is carried out by assuming an isothermal process without chemical reactions. (orig.)

Urban Land Allocation Model of Territorial Expansion by Urban Planners and Housing Developers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina Cantergiani

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Agent-based models have recently been proposed as potential tools to support urban planning due to their capacity to simulate complex behaviors. The complexity of the urban development process arises from strong interactions between various components driven by different agents. AMEBA (agent-based model for the evolution of urban areas is a prototype of an exploratory, spatial, agent-based model that considers the main agents involved in the urban development process (urban planners, developers, and the population. The prototype consists of three submodels (one for each agent that have been developed independently and present the same structure. However, the first two are based on a land use allocation technique, and the last one, as well as their integration, on an agent-based model approach. This paper describes the conceptualization and performance of the submodels that represent urban planners and developers, who are the agents responsible for officially launching expansion and defining the spatial allocation of urban land. The prototype was tested in the Corredor del Henares (an urban–industrial area in the Region of Madrid, Spain, but is sufficiently flexible to be adapted to other study areas and generate different future urban growth contexts. The results demonstrate that this combination of agents can be used to explore various policy-relevant research questions, including urban system interactions in adverse political and socioeconomic scenarios.

Modeling of facade leaching in urban catchments

Science.gov (United States)

Coutu, S.; Del Giudice, D.; Rossi, L.; Barry, D. A.

2012-12-01

Building facades are protected from microbial attack by incorporation of biocides within them. Flow over facades leaches these biocides and transports them to the urban environment. A parsimonious water quantity/quality model applicable for engineered urban watersheds was developed to compute biocide release from facades and their transport at the urban basin scale. The model couples two lumped submodels applicable at the basin scale, and a local model of biocide leaching at the facade scale. For the facade leaching, an existing model applicable at the individual wall scale was utilized. The two lumped models describe urban hydrodynamics and leachate transport. The integrated model allows prediction of biocide concentrations in urban rivers. It was applied to a 15 km2urban hydrosystem in western Switzerland, the Vuachère river basin, to study three facade biocides (terbutryn, carbendazim, diuron). The water quality simulated by the model matched well most of the pollutographs at the outlet of the Vuachère watershed. The model was then used to estimate possible ecotoxicological impacts of facade leachates. To this end, exceedance probabilities and cumulative pollutant loads from the catchment were estimated. Results showed that the considered biocides rarely exceeded the relevant predicted no-effect concentrations for the riverine system. Despite the heterogeneities and complexity of (engineered) urban catchments, the model application demonstrated that a computationally "light" model can be employed to simulate the hydrograph and pollutograph response within them. It thus allows catchment-scale assessment of the potential ecotoxicological impact of biocides on receiving waters.

Comparative calculations and validation studies with atmospheric dispersion models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paesler-Sauer, J.

1986-11-01

This report presents the results of an intercomparison of different mesoscale dispersion models and measured data of tracer experiments. The types of models taking part in the intercomparison are Gaussian-type, numerical Eulerian, and Lagrangian dispersion models. They are suited for the calculation of the atmospherical transport of radionuclides released from a nuclear installation. For the model intercomparison artificial meteorological situations were defined and corresponding arithmetical problems were formulated. For the purpose of model validation real dispersion situations of tracer experiments were used as input data for model calculations; in these cases calculated and measured time-integrated concentrations close to the ground are compared. Finally a valuation of the models concerning their efficiency in solving the problems is carried out by the aid of objective methods. (orig./HP) [de

CODASC : a database for the validation of street canyon dispersion models

OpenAIRE

Gromke, C.B.

2013-01-01

CODASC stands for Concentration Data of Street Canyons (CODASC 2008, www.codasc.de). It is a database which provides traffic pollutant concentrations in urban street canyons obtained from wind-tunnel dispersion experiments. CODASC comprises concentration data of street canyons with different aspect ratios subjected to various wind directions and also for street canyons with tree-avenues. The database includes concentration data of tree-avenue configurations of different tree arrangement, tree...

Can dispersion modeling of air pollution be improved by land-use regression? An example from Stockholm, Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Korek, Michal; Johansson, Christer; Svensson, Nina; Lind, Tomas; Beelen, Rob; Hoek, Gerard; Pershagen, Göran; Bellander, Tom

2017-11-01

Both dispersion modeling (DM) and land-use regression modeling (LUR) are often used for assessment of long-term air pollution exposure in epidemiological studies, but seldom in combination. We developed a hybrid DM-LUR model using 93 biweekly observations of NO x at 31 sites in greater Stockholm (Sweden). The DM was based on spatially resolved topographic, physiographic and emission data, and hourly meteorological data from a diagnostic wind model. Other data were from land use, meteorology and routine monitoring of NO x . We built a linear regression model for NO x , using a stepwise forward selection of covariates. The resulting model predicted observed NO x (R 2 =0.89) better than the DM without covariates (R 2 =0.68, P-interaction <0.001) and with minimal apparent bias. The model included (in descending order of importance) DM, traffic intensity on the nearest street, population (number of inhabitants) within 100 m radius, global radiation (direct sunlight plus diffuse or scattered light) and urban contribution to NO x levels (routine urban NO x , less routine rural NO x ). Our results indicate that there is a potential for improving estimates of air pollutant concentrations based on DM, by incorporating further spatial characteristics of the immediate surroundings, possibly accounting for imperfections in the emission data.

Offshore and coastal dispersion (OCD) model. Users guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanna, S.R.; Schulman, L.L.; Paine, R.J.; Pleim, J.E.

1984-09-01

The Offshore and Coastal Dispersion (OCD) model was adapted from the EPA guideline model MPTER to simulate the effect of offshore emissions from point sources in coastal regions. Modifications were made to incorporate overwater plume transport and dispersion as well as changes that occur as the plume crosses the shoreline. Hourly meteorological data are needed from overwater and overland locations. Turbulence intensities are used but are not mandatory. For overwater dispersion, the turbulence intensities are parameterized from boundary-layer similarity relationships if they are not measured. Specifications of emission characteristics and receptor locations are the same as for MPTER; 250 point sources and 180 receptors may be used

Wide-area decontamination in an urban environment after radiological dispersion: A review and perspectives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaminski, Michael D., E-mail: Kaminski@anl.gov [Nuclear Decontamination and Separations, Nuclear Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory (United States); Lee, Sang Don; Magnuson, Matthew [US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Homeland Security Research Center (United States)

2016-03-15

Highlights: • We review wide area, urban decontamination techniques for rapid response. • We examine historical data and its application to radiological terrorism scenario. • Data is insufficient to ensure a detailed, organized mitigation response. • Primary deficit is lessons-learned and relations to extrapolate a limited data set. • Research is needed to model a mitigation response and help guide data gathering. - Abstract: Nuclear or radiological terrorism in the form of uncontrolled radioactive contamination presents a unique challenge in the field of nuclear decontamination. Potential targets require an immediate decontamination response, or mitigation plan to limit the social and economic impact. To date, experience with urban decontamination of building materials – specifically hard, porous, external surfaces – is limited to nuclear weapon fallout and nuclear reactor accidents. Methods are lacking for performing wide-area decontamination in an urban environment so that in all release scenarios the area may be re-occupied without evaluation and/or restriction. Also lacking is experience in developing mitigation strategies, that is, methods of mitigating contamination and its resultant radiation dose in key areas during the immediate aftermath of an event and after lifesaving operations. To date, the tremendous strategy development effort primarily by the European community has focused on the recovery phase, which extends years beyond the release event. In this review, we summarize the methods and data collected over the past 70 years in the field of hard, external surface decontamination of radionuclide contaminations, with emphasis on methods suitable for response to radiological dispersal devices and their potentially unique physico-chemical characteristics. This review concludes that although a tremendous amount of work has been completed primarily by the European Community (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK), the few studies existing on each

Wide-area decontamination in an urban environment after radiological dispersion: A review and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaminski, Michael D.; Lee, Sang Don; Magnuson, Matthew

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We review wide area, urban decontamination techniques for rapid response. • We examine historical data and its application to radiological terrorism scenario. • Data is insufficient to ensure a detailed, organized mitigation response. • Primary deficit is lessons-learned and relations to extrapolate a limited data set. • Research is needed to model a mitigation response and help guide data gathering. - Abstract: Nuclear or radiological terrorism in the form of uncontrolled radioactive contamination presents a unique challenge in the field of nuclear decontamination. Potential targets require an immediate decontamination response, or mitigation plan to limit the social and economic impact. To date, experience with urban decontamination of building materials – specifically hard, porous, external surfaces – is limited to nuclear weapon fallout and nuclear reactor accidents. Methods are lacking for performing wide-area decontamination in an urban environment so that in all release scenarios the area may be re-occupied without evaluation and/or restriction. Also lacking is experience in developing mitigation strategies, that is, methods of mitigating contamination and its resultant radiation dose in key areas during the immediate aftermath of an event and after lifesaving operations. To date, the tremendous strategy development effort primarily by the European community has focused on the recovery phase, which extends years beyond the release event. In this review, we summarize the methods and data collected over the past 70 years in the field of hard, external surface decontamination of radionuclide contaminations, with emphasis on methods suitable for response to radiological dispersal devices and their potentially unique physico-chemical characteristics. This review concludes that although a tremendous amount of work has been completed primarily by the European Community (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK), the few studies existing on each

Meteorological Uncertainty of atmospheric Dispersion model results (MUD)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Havskov Sørensen, Jens; Amstrup, Bjarne; Feddersen, Henrik

The MUD project addresses assessment of uncertainties of atmospheric dispersion model predictions, as well as optimum presentation to decision makers. Previously, it has not been possible to estimate such uncertainties quantitatively, but merely to calculate the 'most likely' dispersion scenario....

Characterizing near-road air pollution using local-scale emission and dispersion models and validation against in-situ measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, An; Fallah-Shorshani, Masoud; Xu, Junshi; Hatzopoulou, Marianne

2016-10-01

Near-road concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a known marker of traffic-related air pollution, were simulated along a busy urban corridor in Montreal, Quebec using a combination of microscopic traffic simulation, instantaneous emission modeling, and air pollution dispersion. In order to calibrate and validate the model, a data collection campaign was designed. For this purpose, measurements of NO2 were conducted mid-block along four segments of the corridor throughout a four-week campaign conducted between March and April 2015. The four segments were chosen to be consecutive and yet exhibiting variability in road configuration and built environment characteristics. Roadside NO2 measurements were also paired with on-site and fixed-station meteorological data. In addition, traffic volumes, composition, and routing decisions were collected using video-cameras located at upstream and downstream intersections. Dispersion of simulated emissions was conducted for eight time slots and under a range of meteorological conditions using three different models with vastly different dispersion algorithms (OSPM, CALINE 4, and SIRANE). The three models exhibited poor correlation with near-road NO2 concentrations and were better able to simulate average concentrations occurring along the roadways rather than the range of concentrations measured under diverse meteorological and traffic conditions. As hypothesized, the model SIRANE that can handle a street canyon configuration was the most sensitive to the built environment especially to the presence of tall buildings around the road. In contrast, CALINE exhibited the lowest sensitivity to the built environment.

Debris Dispersion Model Using Java 3D

Science.gov (United States)

Thirumalainambi, Rajkumar; Bardina, Jorge

2004-01-01

This paper describes web based simulation of Shuttle launch operations and debris dispersion. Java 3D graphics provides geometric and visual content with suitable mathematical model and behaviors of Shuttle launch. Because the model is so heterogeneous and interrelated with various factors, 3D graphics combined with physical models provides mechanisms to understand the complexity of launch and range operations. The main focus in the modeling and simulation covers orbital dynamics and range safety. Range safety areas include destruct limit lines, telemetry and tracking and population risk near range. If there is an explosion of Shuttle during launch, debris dispersion is explained. The shuttle launch and range operations in this paper are discussed based on the operations from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA.

Stochastic backscatter modelling for the prediction of pollutant removal from an urban street canyon: A large-eddy simulation

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neill, J. J.; Cai, X.-M.; Kinnersley, R.

2016-10-01

The large-eddy simulation (LES) approach has recently exhibited its appealing capability of capturing turbulent processes inside street canyons and the urban boundary layer aloft, and its potential for deriving the bulk parameters adopted in low-cost operational urban dispersion models. However, the thin roof-level shear layer may be under-resolved in most LES set-ups and thus sophisticated subgrid-scale (SGS) parameterisations may be required. In this paper, we consider the important case of pollutant removal from an urban street canyon of unit aspect ratio (i.e. building height equal to street width) with the external flow perpendicular to the street. We show that by employing a stochastic SGS model that explicitly accounts for backscatter (energy transfer from unresolved to resolved scales), the pollutant removal process is better simulated compared with the use of a simpler (fully dissipative) but widely-used SGS model. The backscatter induces additional mixing within the shear layer which acts to increase the rate of pollutant removal from the street canyon, giving better agreement with a recent wind-tunnel experiment. The exchange velocity, an important parameter in many operational models that determines the mass transfer between the urban canopy and the external flow, is predicted to be around 15% larger with the backscatter SGS model; consequently, the steady-state mean pollutant concentration within the street canyon is around 15% lower. A database of exchange velocities for various other urban configurations could be generated and used as improved input for operational street canyon models.

Traffic Multiresolution Modeling and Consistency Analysis of Urban Expressway Based on Asynchronous Integration Strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liyan Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper studies multiresolution traffic flow simulation model of urban expressway. Firstly, compared with two-level hybrid model, three-level multiresolution hybrid model has been chosen. Then, multiresolution simulation framework and integration strategies are introduced. Thirdly, the paper proposes an urban expressway multiresolution traffic simulation model by asynchronous integration strategy based on Set Theory, which includes three submodels: macromodel, mesomodel, and micromodel. After that, the applicable conditions and derivation process of the three submodels are discussed in detail. In addition, in order to simulate and evaluate the multiresolution model, “simple simulation scenario” of North-South Elevated Expressway in Shanghai has been established. The simulation results showed the following. (1 Volume-density relationships of three submodels are unanimous with detector data. (2 When traffic density is high, macromodel has a high precision and smaller error and the dispersion of results is smaller. Compared with macromodel, simulation accuracies of micromodel and mesomodel are lower but errors are bigger. (3 Multiresolution model can simulate characteristics of traffic flow, capture traffic wave, and keep the consistency of traffic state transition. Finally, the results showed that the novel multiresolution model can have higher simulation accuracy and it is feasible and effective in the real traffic simulation scenario.

Wind Tunnel Measurements of Turbulent Boundary Layer over Hypothetical Urban Roughness Elements

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Y. K.; Liu, C. H.

2012-04-01

Urban morphology affects the near-ground atmospheric boundary layer that in turn modifies the wind flows and pollutant dispersion over urban areas. A number of numerical models (large-eddy simulation, LES and k-ɛ turbulence models) have been developed to elucidate the transport processes in and above urban street canyons. To complement the modelling results, we initiated a wind tunnel study to examine the influence of idealized urban roughness on the flow characteristics and pollutant dispersion mechanism over 2D idealized street canyons placed in cross flows. Hot-wire anemometry (HWA) was employed in this study to measure the flows over 2D street canyons in the wind tunnel in our university. Particular focus in the beginning stage was on the fabrication of hot-wire probes, data acquisition system, and signal processing technique. Employing the commonly adopted hot-wire universal function, we investigated the relationship in between and developed a scaling factor which could generalize the output of our hot-wire probes to the standardized one as each hot-wire probes has its unique behaviour. Preliminary experiments were performed to measure the wind flows over street canyons of unity aspect ratio. Vertical profiles of the ensemble average velocity and fluctuations at three different segments over the street canyons were collected. The results were then compared with our LES that show a good argument with each other. Additional experiments are undertaken to collect more data in order to formulate the pollutant dispersion mechanism of street canyons and urban areas.

Spatial stochastic regression modelling of urban land use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arshad, S H M; Jaafar, J; Abiden, M Z Z; Latif, Z A; Rasam, A R A

2014-01-01

Urbanization is very closely linked to industrialization, commercialization or overall economic growth and development. This results in innumerable benefits of the quantity and quality of the urban environment and lifestyle but on the other hand contributes to unbounded development, urban sprawl, overcrowding and decreasing standard of living. Regulation and observation of urban development activities is crucial. The understanding of urban systems that promotes urban growth are also essential for the purpose of policy making, formulating development strategies as well as development plan preparation. This study aims to compare two different stochastic regression modeling techniques for spatial structure models of urban growth in the same specific study area. Both techniques will utilize the same datasets and their results will be analyzed. The work starts by producing an urban growth model by using stochastic regression modeling techniques namely the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). The two techniques are compared to and it is found that, GWR seems to be a more significant stochastic regression model compared to OLS, it gives a smaller AICc (Akaike's Information Corrected Criterion) value and its output is more spatially explainable

Evaluation of the WRF-Urban Modeling System Coupled to Noah and Noah-MP Land Surface Models Over a Semiarid Urban Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Salamanca, Francisco; Zhang, Yizhou; Barlage, Michael; Chen, Fei; Mahalov, Alex; Miao, Shiguang

2018-03-01

We have augmented the existing capabilities of the integrated Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-urban modeling system by coupling three urban canopy models (UCMs) available in the WRF model with the new community Noah with multiparameterization options (Noah-MP) land surface model (LSM). The WRF-urban modeling system's performance has been evaluated by conducting six numerical experiments at high spatial resolution (1 km horizontal grid spacing) during a 15 day clear-sky summertime period for a semiarid urban environment. To assess the relative importance of representing urban surfaces, three different urban parameterizations are used with the Noah and Noah-MP LSMs, respectively, over the two major cities of Arizona: Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas. Our results demonstrate that Noah-MP reproduces somewhat better than Noah the daily evolution of surface skin temperature and near-surface air temperature (especially nighttime temperature) and wind speed. Concerning the urban areas, bulk urban parameterization overestimates nighttime 2 m air temperature compared to the single-layer and multilayer UCMs that reproduce more accurately the daily evolution of near-surface air temperature. Regarding near-surface wind speed, only the multilayer UCM was able to reproduce realistically the daily evolution of wind speed, although maximum winds were slightly overestimated, while both the single-layer and bulk urban parameterizations overestimated wind speed considerably. Based on these results, this paper demonstrates that the new community Noah-MP LSM coupled to an UCM is a promising physics-based predictive modeling tool for urban applications.

Urban Sprawl Analysis and Modeling in Asmara, Eritrea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mussie G. Tewolde

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The extension of urban perimeter markedly cuts available productive land. Hence, studies in urban sprawl analysis and modeling play an important role to ensure sustainable urban development. The urbanization pattern of the Greater Asmara Area (GAA, the capital of Eritrea, was studied. Satellite images and geospatial tools were employed to analyze the spatiotemporal urban landuse changes. Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA, Landuse Cover Change (LUCC analysis and urban sprawl analysis using Shannon Entropy were carried out. The Land Change Modeler (LCM was used to develop a model of urban growth. The Multi-layer Perceptron Neural Network was employed to model the transition potential maps with an accuracy of 85.9% and these were used as an input for the ‘actual’ urban modeling with Markov chains. Model validation was assessed and a scenario of urban land use change of the GAA up to year 2020 was presented. The result of the study indicated that the built-up area has tripled in size (increased by 4,441 ha between 1989 and 2009. Specially, after year 2000 urban sprawl in GAA caused large scale encroachment on high potential agricultural lands and plantation cover. The scenario for year 2020 shows an increase of the built-up areas by 1,484 ha (25% which may cause further loss. The study indicated that the land allocation system in the GAA overrode the landuse plan, which caused the loss of agricultural land and plantation cover. The recommended policy options might support decision makers to resolve further loss of agricultural land and plantation cover and to achieve sustainable urban development planning in the GAA.

Review of potential models for UF6 dispersion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sykes, R.I.; Lewellen, W.S.

1992-07-01

A survey of existing atmospheric dispersion models has been conducted to determine the most appropriate basis for the development of a model for predicting the consequences of an accidental UF 6 release. The model is required for safety analysis studies and should therefore be computationally efficient. The release of UF 6 involves a number of physical phenomena which make the situation more complicated than passive dispersion of a trace gas. The safety analysis must consider the density variations in the UF 6 cloud, which can be heavier or lighter than the ambient air. The release also involves rapid chemical reactions and associated heat release, which must be modeled. Other Department of Energy storage facilities require a dense gas prediction capability, so the model must be sufficiently general for use with a variety of release scenarios. The special problems associated with UF 6 make it unique, so there are very few models with existing capability for the problem. There are, however, a large number of dense gas dispersion models, some with relevant chemical reaction modeling, that could potentially form the basis of an advanced UF 6 model. We have examined a large selection of possible candidates, and selected 5 models for detailed consideration

A Validation of FEM3MP with Joint Urban 2003 Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan, S T; Leach, M J

2006-08-29

Under the sponsorship of the U.S. DOE and DHS, we have recently developed a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for simulating airflow and dispersion of chemical/biological agents released in urban areas. Our model, FEM3MP, is based on solving the three-dimensional, time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations with appropriate physics submodels on massively parallel computer platforms. It employs finite-element discretization for effective treatment of complex geometries and a semi-implicit projection scheme for efficient time-integration. A simplified CFD approach, using both explicitly resolved and virtual buildings, was implemented to further improve the model's efficiency. Predictions from our model are continuously being verified against measured data from wind tunnel and field studies. Herein our model is further evaluated using observed data from IOPs (intensive operation periods) 3 and 9 of the Joint Urban 2003 field study conducted in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in July 2003. Our model predictions of wind and concentration fields in the near and intermediate regions, as well as profiles of wind speed, wind direction, friction velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in the urban wake region, are generally consistent with and compared reasonably well with field observations. In addition, our model was able to predict the observed split plume of IOP 3 and the end vortices along Park Avenue in IOP 9. The dispersion results and TKE profiles at the crane station indicate the effects of convective mixing are relatively important for the daytime release of IOP 3 but the stable effects are relatively unimportant for the nighttime release of IOP 9. Results of this study also suggest that the simplified CFD approach implemented in FEM3MP can be a cost-effective tool for simulating urban dispersion problems.

Evaluation of uncertainties in selected environmental dispersion models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Little, C.A.; Miller, C.W.

1979-01-01

Compliance with standards of radiation dose to the general public has necessitated the use of dispersion models to predict radionuclide concentrations in the environment due to releases from nuclear facilities. Because these models are only approximations of reality and because of inherent variations in the input parameters used in these models, their predictions are subject to uncertainty. Quantification of this uncertainty is necessary to assess the adequacy of these models for use in determining compliance with protection standards. This paper characterizes the capabilities of several dispersion models to predict accurately pollutant concentrations in environmental media. Three types of models are discussed: aquatic or surface water transport models, atmospheric transport models, and terrestrial and aquatic food chain models. Using data published primarily by model users, model predictions are compared to observations

Smart Mobility Stakeholders - Curating Urban Data & Models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sperling, Joshua [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2017-09-01

This presentation provides an overview of the curation of urban data and models through engaging SMART mobility stakeholders. SMART Mobility Urban Science Efforts are helping to expose key data sets, models, and roles for the U.S. Department of Energy in engaging across stakeholders to ensure useful insights. This will help to support other Urban Science and broader SMART initiatives.

Modelling and observing urban climate in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Hove, B.; Steeneveld, G.J.; Heusinkveld, B.; Holtslag, B.; Jacobs, C.; Ter Maat, H.; Elbers, J.; Moors, E.

2011-06-01

The main aims of the present study are: (1) to evaluate the performance of two well-known mesoscale NWP (numerical weather prediction) models coupled to a UCM (Urban Canopy Models), and (2) to develop a proper measurement strategy for obtaining meteorological data that can be used in model evaluation studies. We choose the mesoscale models WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting Model) and RAMS (Regional Atmospheric Modeling System), respectively, because the partners in the present project have a large expertise with respect to these models. In addition WRF and RAMS have been successfully used in the meteorology and climate research communities for various purposes, including weather prediction and land-atmosphere interaction research. Recently, state-of-the-art UCM's were embedded within the land surface scheme of the respective models, in order to better represent the exchange of heat, momentum, and water vapour in the urban environment. Key questions addressed here are: What is the general model performance with respect to the urban environment?; How can useful and observational data be obtained that allow sensible validation and further parameterization of the models?; and Can the models be easily modified to simulate the urban climate under Dutch climatic conditions, urban configuration and morphology? Chapter 2 reviews the available Urban Canopy Models; we discuss their theoretical basis, the different representations of the urban environment, the required input and the output. Much of the information was obtained from the Urban Surface Energy Balance: Land Surface Scheme Comparison project (PILPS URBAN, PILPS stands for Project for Inter-comparison of Land-Surface Parameterization Schemes). This project started in March 2008 and was coordinated by the Department of Geography, King's College London. In order to test the performance of our models we participated in this project. Chapter 3 discusses the main results of the first phase of PILPS URBAN. A first

Modelling the impact of Water Sensitive Urban Design technologies on the urban water cycle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Locatelli, Luca

Alternative stormwater management approaches for urban developments, also called Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), are increasingly being adopted with the aims of providing flood control, flow management, water quality improvements and opportunities to harvest stormwater for non-potable uses....... To model the interaction of infiltration based WSUDs with groundwater. 4. To assess a new combination of different WSUD techniques for improved stormwater management. 5. To model the impact of a widespread implementation of multiple soakaway systems at the catchment scale. 6. Test the models by simulating...... the hydrological performance of single devices relevant for urban drainage applications. Moreover, the coupling of soakaway and detention storages is also modeled to analyze the benefits of combining different local stormwater management systems. These models are then integrated into urban drainage network models...

The Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) model: quantifying urban forest structure and functions

Science.gov (United States)

David J. Nowak; Daniel E. Crane

2000-01-01

The Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) computer model was developed to help managers and researchers quantify urban forest structure and functions. The model quantifies species composition and diversity, diameter distribution, tree density and health, leaf area, leaf biomass, and other structural characteristics; hourly volatile organic compound emissions (emissions that...

One-dimensional Analytical Modelling of Floating Seed Dispersal in Tidal Channels

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, W.; Purnama, A.; Shao, D.; Cui, B.; Gao, W.

2017-12-01

Seed dispersal is a primary factor influencing plant community development, and thus plays a critical role in maintaining wetland ecosystem functioning. However, compared with fluvial seed dispersal of riparian plants, dispersal of saltmarsh plant seeds in tidal channels is much less studied due to its complex behavior, and relevant mathematical modelling is particularly lacking. In this study, we developed a one-dimensional advection-dispersion model to explore the patterns of tidal seed dispersal. Oscillatory tidal current and water depth were assumed to represent the tidal effects. An exponential decay coefficient λ was introduced to account for seed deposition and retention. Analytical solution in integral form was derived using Green's function and further evaluated using numerical integration. The developed model was applied to simulate Spartina densiflora seed dispersal in a tidal channel located at the Mad River Slough in North Humboldt Bay, California, USA, to demonstrate its practical applicability. Model predictions agree satisfactorily with field observation and simulation results from Delft3D numerical model. Sensitivity analyses were also conducted to evaluate the effects of varying calibrated parameters on model predictions. The range of the seed dispersion as well as the distribution of the seed concentration were further analyzed through statistical parameters such as centroid displacement and variance of the seed cloud together with seed concentration contours. Implications of the modelling results on tidal marsh restoration and protection, e.g., revegetation through seed addition, were also discussed through scenario analysis. The developed analytical model provides a useful tool for ecological management of tidal marshes.

LNG vapor dispersion prediction with the DEGADIS dense-gas dispersion model. Topical report, April 1988-July 1990. Documentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Havens, J.; Spicer, T.

1990-09-01

The topical report is one of a series on the development of methods for LNG vapor dispersion prediction for regulatory application. The results indicate that the DEGADIS model is superior both phenomenologically and in performance to the Gaussian line source model promulgated in 49 CFR 193 for LNG vapor dispersion simulation. Availability of the DEGADIS model for VAX and IBM-PC formats provides for wider use of the model and greater potential for industry and regulatory acceptance. The acceptance is seen as an important interim objective while research continues on vapor dispersion estimation methods which provide for effects of vapor detention systems, turbulence induced by plant structure, and plant/area topographical features

Modeling the dispersion effects of contractile fibers in smooth muscles

Science.gov (United States)

Murtada, Sae-Il; Kroon, Martin; Holzapfel, Gerhard A.

2010-12-01

Micro-structurally based models for smooth muscle contraction are crucial for a better understanding of pathological conditions such as atherosclerosis, incontinence and asthma. It is meaningful that models consider the underlying mechanical structure and the biochemical activation. Hence, a simple mechanochemical model is proposed that includes the dispersion of the orientation of smooth muscle myofilaments and that is capable to capture available experimental data on smooth muscle contraction. This allows a refined study of the effects of myofilament dispersion on the smooth muscle contraction. A classical biochemical model is used to describe the cross-bridge interactions with the thin filament in smooth muscles in which calcium-dependent myosin phosphorylation is the only regulatory mechanism. A novel mechanical model considers the dispersion of the contractile fiber orientations in smooth muscle cells by means of a strain-energy function in terms of one dispersion parameter. All model parameters have a biophysical meaning and may be estimated through comparisons with experimental data. The contraction of the middle layer of a carotid artery is studied numerically. Using a tube the relationships between the internal pressure and the stretches are investigated as functions of the dispersion parameter, which implies a strong influence of the orientation of smooth muscle myofilaments on the contraction response. It is straightforward to implement this model in a finite element code to better analyze more complex boundary-value problems.

Dispersal and oviposition of laboratory-reared gravid females of Toxorhynchites moctezuma in an arid urban area of Sonora, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Macías-Duarte, Alberto; Alvarado-Castro, J Andrés; Dórame-Navarro, María E; Félix-Torres, A Amalia

2009-12-01

Dengue is a serious public health problem worldwide. Biological control of its vector, Aedes aegypti, remains a feasible option in light of increasing urbanization and insecticide resistance. We studied the dispersal and oviposition activity of Toxorhynchites moctezuma in a dengue-endemic urban area in SSonora, Mexico, to provide information about the potential of Toxorhynchites as a control agent for Ae. aegypti in arid areas. We released 210 and 100 laboratory-reared gravid females of Tx. moctezuma in 2 city blocks during the summer and fall of 1993. We set 3 1-liter containers and 1 car tire as sentinel traps at each of 10 backyards within each city block. Spatial and temporal patterns of dispersal and oviposition activity differed between city blocks and between releases. However, a Cox regression analysis showed no significant difference in the per-day probability of Tx. moctezuma oviposition events in sentinel traps between summer and fall releases. Per-day oviposition probability was nearly 5 times greater for sentineltraps that contained larvae of Ae. aegypti, suggesting a high specificity of the predator for its prey. The proportion of sentinel traps positive for Tx. moctezuma eggs did not increase substantially after the 8th day piost-release, reaching 66% and 23% for sentinel traps with and without Ae. aegypti larvae, respectively.

Building-Resolved CFD Simulations for Greenhouse Gas Transport and Dispersion over Washington DC / Baltimore

Science.gov (United States)

Prasad, K.; Lopez-Coto, I.; Ghosh, S.; Mueller, K.; Whetstone, J. R.

2015-12-01

The North-East Corridor project aims to use a top-down inversion methodology to quantify sources of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions over urban domains such as Washington DC / Baltimore with high spatial and temporal resolution. Atmospheric transport of tracer gases from an emission source to a tower mounted receptor are usually conducted using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. For such simulations, WRF employs a parameterized turbulence model and does not resolve the fine scale dynamics generated by the flow around buildings and communities comprising a large city. The NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) is a computational fluid dynamics model that utilizes large eddy simulation methods to model flow around buildings at length scales much smaller than is practical with WRF. FDS has the potential to evaluate the impact of complex urban topography on near-field dispersion and mixing difficult to simulate with a mesoscale atmospheric model. Such capabilities may be important in determining urban GHG emissions using atmospheric measurements. A methodology has been developed to run FDS as a sub-grid scale model within a WRF simulation. The coupling is based on nudging the FDS flow field towards that computed by WRF, and is currently limited to one way coupling performed in an off-line mode. Using the coupled WRF / FDS model, NIST will investigate the effects of the urban canopy at horizontal resolutions of 10-20 m in a domain of 12 x 12 km. The coupled WRF-FDS simulations will be used to calculate the dispersion of tracer gases in the North-East Corridor and to evaluate the upwind areas that contribute to tower observations, referred to in the inversion community as influence functions. Results of this study will provide guidance regarding the importance of explicit simulations of urban atmospheric turbulence in obtaining accurate estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and transport.

Dispersion Modeling Using Ensemble Forecasts Compared to ETEX Measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Straume, Anne Grete; N'dri Koffi, Ernest; Nodop, Katrin

1998-11-01

Numerous numerical models are developed to predict long-range transport of hazardous air pollution in connection with accidental releases. When evaluating and improving such a model, it is important to detect uncertainties connected to the meteorological input data. A Lagrangian dispersion model, the Severe Nuclear Accident Program, is used here to investigate the effect of errors in the meteorological input data due to analysis error. An ensemble forecast, produced at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, is then used as model input. The ensemble forecast members are generated by perturbing the initial meteorological fields of the weather forecast. The perturbations are calculated from singular vectors meant to represent possible forecast developments generated by instabilities in the atmospheric flow during the early part of the forecast. The instabilities are generated by errors in the analyzed fields. Puff predictions from the dispersion model, using ensemble forecast input, are compared, and a large spread in the predicted puff evolutions is found. This shows that the quality of the meteorological input data is important for the success of the dispersion model. In order to evaluate the dispersion model, the calculations are compared with measurements from the European Tracer Experiment. The model manages to predict the measured puff evolution concerning shape and time of arrival to a fairly high extent, up to 60 h after the start of the release. The modeled puff is still too narrow in the advection direction.

Modelling surface radioactive spill dispersion in the Alborán Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Periáñez, R

2006-01-01

The Strait of Gibraltar and the Alborán Sea are the only connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Intense shipping activities occur in the area, including transport of waste radionuclides and transit of nuclear submarines. Thus, it is relevant to have a dispersion model that can be used in an emergency situation after an accident, to help the decision-making process. Such dispersion model requires an appropriate description of the physical oceanography of the region of interest, with simulations of tides and residual (average) circulation. In this work, a particle-tracking dispersion model that can be used to simulate the dispersion of radionuclides in the system Strait of Gibraltar-Alborán Sea is described. Tides are simulated using a barotropic model and for the average circulation a reduced-gravity model is applied. This model is able to reproduce the main features of the Alborán circulation (the well known Western Alborán Gyre, WAG, and the coastal circulation mode). The dispersion model is run off-line, using previously computed tidal and residual currents. The contamination patch is simulated by a number of particles whose individual paths are computed; diffusion and decay being modelled using a Monte Carlo method. Radionuclide concentrations may be obtained from the density of particles per water volume unit. Results from the hydrodynamic models have been compared with observations in the area. Several examples of dispersion computations under different wind and circulation conditions are presented.

Nest suitability, fine-scale population structure and male-mediated dispersal of a solitary ground nesting bee in an urban landscape.

Science.gov (United States)

López-Uribe, Margarita M; Morreale, Stephen J; Santiago, Christine K; Danforth, Bryan N

2015-01-01

Bees are the primary pollinators of flowering plants in almost all ecosystems. Worldwide declines in bee populations have raised awareness about the importance of their ecological role in maintaining ecosystem functioning. The naturally strong philopatric behavior that some bee species show can be detrimental to population viability through increased probability of inbreeding. Furthermore, bee populations found in human-altered landscapes, such as urban areas, can experience lower levels of gene flow and effective population sizes, increasing potential for inbreeding depression in wild bee populations. In this study, we investigated the fine-scale population structure of the solitary bee Colletes inaequalis in an urbanized landscape. First, we developed a predictive spatial model to detect suitable nesting habitat for this ground nesting bee and to inform our field search for nests. We genotyped 18 microsatellites in 548 female individuals collected from nest aggregations throughout the study area. Genetic relatedness estimates revealed that genetic similarity among individuals was slightly greater within nest aggregations than among randomly chosen individuals. However, genetic structure among nest aggregations was low (Nei's GST = 0.011). Reconstruction of parental genotypes revealed greater genetic relatedness among females than among males within nest aggregations, suggesting male-mediated dispersal as a potentially important mechanism of population connectivity and inbreeding avoidance. Size of nesting patch was positively correlated with effective population size, but not with other estimators of genetic diversity. We detected a positive trend between geographic distance and genetic differentiation between nest aggregations. Our landscape genetic models suggest that increased urbanization is likely associated with higher levels of inbreeding. Overall, these findings emphasize the importance of density and distribution of suitable nesting patches for enhancing

Nest suitability, fine-scale population structure and male-mediated dispersal of a solitary ground nesting bee in an urban landscape.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margarita M López-Uribe

Full Text Available Bees are the primary pollinators of flowering plants in almost all ecosystems. Worldwide declines in bee populations have raised awareness about the importance of their ecological role in maintaining ecosystem functioning. The naturally strong philopatric behavior that some bee species show can be detrimental to population viability through increased probability of inbreeding. Furthermore, bee populations found in human-altered landscapes, such as urban areas, can experience lower levels of gene flow and effective population sizes, increasing potential for inbreeding depression in wild bee populations. In this study, we investigated the fine-scale population structure of the solitary bee Colletes inaequalis in an urbanized landscape. First, we developed a predictive spatial model to detect suitable nesting habitat for this ground nesting bee and to inform our field search for nests. We genotyped 18 microsatellites in 548 female individuals collected from nest aggregations throughout the study area. Genetic relatedness estimates revealed that genetic similarity among individuals was slightly greater within nest aggregations than among randomly chosen individuals. However, genetic structure among nest aggregations was low (Nei's GST = 0.011. Reconstruction of parental genotypes revealed greater genetic relatedness among females than among males within nest aggregations, suggesting male-mediated dispersal as a potentially important mechanism of population connectivity and inbreeding avoidance. Size of nesting patch was positively correlated with effective population size, but not with other estimators of genetic diversity. We detected a positive trend between geographic distance and genetic differentiation between nest aggregations. Our landscape genetic models suggest that increased urbanization is likely associated with higher levels of inbreeding. Overall, these findings emphasize the importance of density and distribution of suitable nesting

Computer modelling of contaminant migration in natural disperse media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kundas, S.P.; Gishkelyuk, I.A.; Khil'ko, O.S.

2012-01-01

The theoretical foundations for modeling of the contaminants migration in natural disperses media taking into account interconnected heat and moisture transport are developed. The calculation of mass transfer parameters based on adsorption isotherms of water and thermodynamic equations in the developed mathematical models. The artificial neural networks use to predict migration of contaminants in natural disperse media is proposed. The developed software package is presented and results of practical application of models and software are discussed. (authors)

Evaluation of impacts of trees on PM2.5 dispersion in urban streets

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Sijia; Guo, Jiankang; Wheeler, Stephen; Kan, Liyan; Che, Shengquan

2014-12-01

Reducing airborne particulate matter (PM), especially PM2.5 (PM with aerodynamic diameters of 2.5 μm or less), in urban street canyons is critical to the health of central city population. Tree-planting in urban street canyons is a double-edged sword, providing landscape benefits while inevitably resulting in PM2.5 concentrating at street level, thus showing negative environmental effects. Thereby, it is necessary to quantify the impact of trees on PM2.5 dispersion and obtain the optimum structure of street trees for minimizing the PM2.5 concentration in street canyons. However, most of the previous findings in this field were derived from wind tunnel or numerical simulation rather than on-site measuring data. In this study, a seasonal investigation was performed in six typical street canyons in the residential area of central Shanghai, which has been suffering from haze pollution while having large numbers of green streets. We monitored and measured PM2.5 concentrations at five heights, structural parameters of street trees and weather. For tree-free street canyons, declining PM2.5 concentrations were found with increasing height. However, in presence of trees the reduction rate of PM2.5 concentrations was less pronounced, and for some cases, the concentrations even increased at the top of street canyons, indicating tree canopies are trapping PM2.5. To quantify the decrease of PM2.5 reduction rate, we developed the attenuation coefficient of PM2.5 (PMAC). The wind speed was significantly lower in street canyons with trees than in tree-free ones. A mixed-effects model indicated that canopy density (CD), leaf area index (LAI), rate of change of wind speed were the most significant predictors influencing PMAC. Further regression analysis showed that in order to balance both environmental and landscape benefits of green streets, the optimum range of CD and LAI was 50%-60% and 1.5-2.0 respectively. We concluded by suggesting an optimized tree-planting pattern and

Optimal redistribution of an urban air quality monitoring network using atmospheric dispersion model and genetic algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Yufang; Xie, Shaodong

2018-03-01

Air quality monitoring networks play a significant role in identifying the spatiotemporal patterns of air pollution, and they need to be deployed efficiently, with a minimum number of sites. The revision and optimal adjustment of existing monitoring networks is crucial for cities that have undergone rapid urban expansion and experience temporal variations in pollution patterns. The approach based on the Weather Research and Forecasting-California PUFF (WRF-CALPUFF) model and genetic algorithm (GA) was developed to design an optimal monitoring network. The maximization of coverage with minimum overlap and the ability to detect violations of standards were developed as the design objectives for redistributed networks. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm was applied to optimize the network size and site locations simultaneously for Shijiazhuang city, one of the most polluted cities in China. The assessment on the current network identified the insufficient spatial coverage of SO2 and NO2 monitoring for the expanding city. The optimization results showed that significant improvements were achieved in multiple objectives by redistributing the original network. Efficient coverage of the resulting designs improved to 60.99% and 76.06% of the urban area for SO2 and NO2, respectively. The redistributing design for multi-pollutant including 8 sites was also proposed, with the spatial representation covered 52.30% of the urban area and the overlapped areas decreased by 85.87% compared with the original network. The abilities to detect violations of standards were not improved as much as the other two objectives due to the conflicting nature between the multiple objectives. Additionally, the results demonstrated that the algorithm was slightly sensitive to the parameter settings, with the number of generations presented the most significant effect. Overall, our study presents an effective and feasible procedure for air quality network optimization at a city scale.

Resuspension parameters for TRAC dispersion model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langer, G.

1987-01-01

Resuspension factors for the wind erosion of soil contaminated with plutonium are necessary to run the Rocky Flats Plant Terrain Responsive Atmospheric Code (TRAC). The model predicts the dispersion and resulting population dose due to accidental plutonium releases

Understanding complex urban systems multidisciplinary approaches to modeling

CERN Document Server

Gurr, Jens; Schmidt, J

2014-01-01

Understanding Complex Urban Systems takes as its point of departure the insight that the challenges of global urbanization and the complexity of urban systems cannot be understood – let alone ‘managed’ – by sectoral and disciplinary approaches alone. But while there has recently been significant progress in broadening and refining the methodologies for the quantitative modeling of complex urban systems, in deepening the theoretical understanding of cities as complex systems, or in illuminating the implications for urban planning, there is still a lack of well-founded conceptual thinking on the methodological foundations and the strategies of modeling urban complexity across the disciplines. Bringing together experts from the fields of urban and spatial planning, ecology, urban geography, real estate analysis, organizational cybernetics, stochastic optimization, and literary studies, as well as specialists in various systems approaches and in transdisciplinary methodologies of urban analysis, the volum...

Numerical study of dispersing pollutant clouds in a built-up environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Bingchen; Yee, Eugene; Lien, F.-S.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we study numerically the dispersion of a passive scalar released from an instantaneous point source in a built-up (urban) environment using a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes method. A nonlinear k-ε turbulence model [Speziale, C.G., 1987. On nonlinear k-l and k-ε models of turbulence. J. Fluid Mech., 178, 459-475] was used for the closure of the mean momentum equations. A tensor diffusivity model [Yoshizawa, A., 1985. Statistical analysis of the anisotropy of scalar diffusion in turbulent shear flows. Phys. Fluids, 28, 3226-3231] was used for closure of the scalar transport equations. The concentration variance was also calculated from its transport equation, for which new values of Yoshizawa's closure coefficients are used, in order to account for the instantaneous tracer release and the complex geometry. A new dissipation length-scale model, required for the modelling of the dissipation rate of concentration variance, is also proposed. The numerical results for the flow, the pollutant concentration and the concentration variance, are compared with experimental data. This data was obtained from a water-channel simulation of a full-scale field experiment of tracer dispersion through a large array of building-like obstacles known as the Mock Urban Setting Trial (MUST)

Numerical study of dispersing pollutant clouds in a built-up environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Bingchen [Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Manitoba, 75A Chancellors Circle, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 5V6 (Canada)], E-mail: bc_wang@umanitoba.ca; Yee, Eugene [Defence Research and Development Canada - Suffield, P.O. Box 4000, STN Main, Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 8K6 (Canada)], E-mail: eugene.yee@drdc-rddc.gc.ca; Lien, F.-S. [Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1 (Canada)], E-mail: fslien@mecheng1.uwaterloo.ca

2009-02-15

In this paper, we study numerically the dispersion of a passive scalar released from an instantaneous point source in a built-up (urban) environment using a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes method. A nonlinear k-{epsilon} turbulence model [Speziale, C.G., 1987. On nonlinear k-l and k-{epsilon} models of turbulence. J. Fluid Mech., 178, 459-475] was used for the closure of the mean momentum equations. A tensor diffusivity model [Yoshizawa, A., 1985. Statistical analysis of the anisotropy of scalar diffusion in turbulent shear flows. Phys. Fluids, 28, 3226-3231] was used for closure of the scalar transport equations. The concentration variance was also calculated from its transport equation, for which new values of Yoshizawa's closure coefficients are used, in order to account for the instantaneous tracer release and the complex geometry. A new dissipation length-scale model, required for the modelling of the dissipation rate of concentration variance, is also proposed. The numerical results for the flow, the pollutant concentration and the concentration variance, are compared with experimental data. This data was obtained from a water-channel simulation of a full-scale field experiment of tracer dispersion through a large array of building-like obstacles known as the Mock Urban Setting Trial (MUST)

Joint Urban 2003: Study Overview And Instrument Locations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allwine, K Jerry; Flaherty, Julia E.

2006-08-16

Quality-assured meteorological and tracer data sets are vital for establishing confidence that indoor and outdoor dispersion models used to simulate dispersal of potential toxic agents in urban atmospheres are giving trustworthy results. The U.S. Department of Defense-Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security joined together to conduct the Joint Urban 2003 atmospheric dispersion study to provide this critically-needed high-resolution dispersion data. This major urban study was conducted from June 28 through July 31, 2003, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with the participation of over 150 scientists and engineers from over 20 U.S. and foreign institutions. The Joint Urban 2003 lead scientist was Jerry Allwine (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) who oversaw study design, logistical arrangements and field operations with the help of Joe Shinn (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), Marty Leach (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), Ray Hosker (Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division), Leo Stockham (Northrop Grumman Information Technology) and Jim Bowers (Dugway Proving Grounds). This report gives a brief overview of the field campaign, describing the scientific objectives, the dates of the intensive observation periods, and the instruments deployed. The data from this field study is available to the scientific community through an on-line database that is managed by Dugway Proving Ground. This report will be included in the database to provide its users with some general information about the field study, and specific information about the instrument coordinates. Appendix A of this document provides the definitive record of the instrument locations during this field campaign, and Appendix B lists all the study principal investigators and participants.

Urban flood simulation based on the SWMM model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Jiang

2015-05-01

Full Text Available China is the nation with the fastest urbanization in the past decades which has caused serious urban flooding. Flood forecasting is regarded as one of the important flood mitigation methods, and is widely used in catchment flood mitigation, but is not widely used in urban flooding mitigation. This paper, employing the SWMM model, one of the widely used urban flood planning and management models, simulates the urban flooding of Dongguan City in the rapidly urbanized southern China. SWMM is first set up based on the DEM, digital map and underground pipeline network, then parameters are derived based on the properties of the subcatchment and the storm sewer conduits; the parameter sensitivity analysis shows the parameter robustness. The simulated results show that with the 1-year return period precipitation, the studied area will have no flooding, but for the 2-, 5-, 10- and 20-year return period precipitation, the studied area will be inundated. The results show the SWMM model is promising for urban flood forecasting, but as it has no surface runoff routing, the urban flooding could not be forecast precisely.

Spatially varying dispersion to model breakthrough curves.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Guangquan

2011-01-01

Often the water flowing in a karst conduit is a combination of contaminated water entering at a sinkhole and cleaner water released from the limestone matrix. Transport processes in the conduit are controlled by advection, mixing (dilution and dispersion), and retention-release. In this article, a karst transport model considering advection, spatially varying dispersion, and dilution (from matrix seepage) is developed. Two approximate Green's functions are obtained using transformation of variables, respectively, for the initial-value problem and for the boundary-value problem. A numerical example illustrates that mixing associated with strong spatially varying conduit dispersion can cause strong skewness and long tailing in spring breakthrough curves. Comparison of the predicted breakthrough curve against that measured from a dye-tracing experiment between Ames Sink and Indian Spring, Northwest Florida, shows that the conduit dispersivity can be as large as 400 m. Such a large number is believed to imply strong solute interaction between the conduit and the matrix and/or multiple flow paths in a conduit network. It is concluded that Taylor dispersion is not dominant in transport in a karst conduit, and the complicated retention-release process between mobile- and immobile waters may be described by strong spatially varying conduit dispersion. Copyright © 2010 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2010 National Ground Water Association.

Dense-gas dispersion advection-diffusion model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ermak, D.L.

1992-07-01

A dense-gas version of the ADPIC particle-in-cell, advection- diffusion model was developed to simulate the atmospheric dispersion of denser-than-air releases. In developing the model, it was assumed that the dense-gas effects could be described in terms of the vertically-averaged thermodynamic properties and the local height of the cloud. The dense-gas effects were treated as a perturbation to the ambient thermodynamic properties (density and temperature), ground level heat flux, turbulence level (diffusivity), and windfield (gravity flow) within the local region of the dense-gas cloud. These perturbations were calculated from conservation of energy and conservation of momentum principles along with the ideal gas law equation of state for a mixture of gases. ADPIC, which is generally run in conjunction with a mass-conserving wind flow model to provide the advection field, contains all the dense-gas modifications within it. This feature provides the versatility of coupling the new dense-gas ADPIC with alternative wind flow models. The new dense-gas ADPIC has been used to simulate the atmospheric dispersion of ground-level, colder-than-ambient, denser-than-air releases and has compared favorably with the results of field-scale experiments

Model-based dispersive wave processing: A recursive Bayesian solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Candy, J.V.; Chambers, D.H.

1999-01-01

Wave propagation through dispersive media represents a significant problem in many acoustic applications, especially in ocean acoustics, seismology, and nondestructive evaluation. In this paper we propose a propagation model that can easily represent many classes of dispersive waves and proceed to develop the model-based solution to the wave processing problem. It is shown that the underlying wave system is nonlinear and time-variable requiring a recursive processor. Thus the general solution to the model-based dispersive wave enhancement problem is developed using a Bayesian maximum a posteriori (MAP) approach and shown to lead to the recursive, nonlinear extended Kalman filter (EKF) processor. The problem of internal wave estimation is cast within this framework. The specific processor is developed and applied to data synthesized by a sophisticated simulator demonstrating the feasibility of this approach. copyright 1999 Acoustical Society of America.

Urban eco-efficiency and system dynamics modelling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hradil, P., Email: petr.hradil@vtt.fi

2012-06-15

Assessment of urban development is generally based on static models of economic, social or environmental impacts. More advanced dynamic models have been used mostly for prediction of population and employment changes as well as for other macro-economic issues. This feasibility study was arranged to test the potential of system dynamic modelling in assessing eco-efficiency changes during urban development. (orig.)

A New Era for Urban Modelling

OpenAIRE

Pumain , Denise

1994-01-01

International audience; In the last two decades, several interesting innovations have appeared in the field of urban research. New paradigms such as the dynamics of open systems, self-organization, synergetics, chaos, evolution, were recognized as conveying fruitful analogies for urban theory. New types of modeling were investigated, as sets of non-linear differential equations for spatial systems, cellular automata, multi-agents models, fractal growth, neural networks, evolutionary models… H...

A multi-model approach to monitor emissions of CO2 and CO from an urban-industrial complex

Science.gov (United States)

Super, Ingrid; Denier van der Gon, Hugo A. C.; van der Molen, Michiel K.; Sterk, Hendrika A. M.; Hensen, Arjan; Peters, Wouter

2017-11-01

deviation of 0.4 ppb ppm-1. This is partly due to improved wind fields (increase in R2 of 0.10) but also due to improved point source representation (increase in R2 of 0.05) and dilution (increase in R2 of 0.07). Based on our analysis we conclude that a plume model with detailed and accurate dispersion parameters adds substantially to top-down monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions in urban environments with large point source contributions within a ˜ 10 km radius from the observation sites.

Wide-area decontamination in an urban environment after radiological dispersion: A review and perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaminski, Michael D; Lee, Sang Don; Magnuson, Matthew

2016-03-15

Nuclear or radiological terrorism in the form of uncontrolled radioactive contamination presents a unique challenge in the field of nuclear decontamination. Potential targets require an immediate decontamination response, or mitigation plan to limit the social and economic impact. To date, experience with urban decontamination of building materials - specifically hard, porous, external surfaces - is limited to nuclear weapon fallout and nuclear reactor accidents. Methods are lacking for performing wide-area decontamination in an urban environment so that in all release scenarios the area may be re-occupied without evaluation and/or restriction. Also lacking is experience in developing mitigation strategies, that is, methods of mitigating contamination and its resultant radiation dose in key areas during the immediate aftermath of an event and after lifesaving operations. To date, the tremendous strategy development effort primarily by the European community has focused on the recovery phase, which extends years beyond the release event. In this review, we summarize the methods and data collected over the past 70 years in the field of hard, external surface decontamination of radionuclide contaminations, with emphasis on methods suitable for response to radiological dispersal devices and their potentially unique physico-chemical characteristics. This review concludes that although a tremendous amount of work has been completed primarily by the European Community (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK), the few studies existing on each technique permit only very preliminary estimates of decontamination factors for various building materials and methods and extrapolation of those values for use in environments outside the EU and UK. This data shortage prevents us from developing an effective and detailed mitigation response plan and remediation effort. Perhaps most importantly, while the data available does include valuable information on the practical aspects of performing

Modeling Global Urbanization Supported by Nighttime Light Remote Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Y.

2015-12-01

Urbanization, a major driver of global change, profoundly impacts our physical and social world, for example, altering carbon cycling and climate. Understanding these consequences for better scientific insights and effective decision-making unarguably requires accurate information on urban extent and its spatial distributions. In this study, we developed a cluster-based method to estimate the optimal thresholds and map urban extents from the nighttime light remote sensing data, extended this method to the global domain by developing a computational method (parameterization) to estimate the key parameters in the cluster-based method, and built a consistent 20-year global urban map series to evaluate the time-reactive nature of global urbanization (e.g. 2000 in Fig. 1). Supported by urban maps derived from nightlights remote sensing data and socio-economic drivers, we developed an integrated modeling framework to project future urban expansion by integrating a top-down macro-scale statistical model with a bottom-up urban growth model. With the models calibrated and validated using historical data, we explored urban growth at the grid level (1-km) over the next two decades under a number of socio-economic scenarios. The derived spatiotemporal information of historical and potential future urbanization will be of great value with practical implications for developing adaptation and risk management measures for urban infrastructure, transportation, energy, and water systems when considered together with other factors such as climate variability and change, and high impact weather events.

Urban Hydrology and Water Quality Modeling - Resolution Modeling Comparison for Water Quantity and Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Fry, T. J.; Maxwell, R. M.

2014-12-01

Urbanization presents challenging water resource problems for communities worldwide. The hydromodifications associated with urbanization results in increased runoff rates and volumes and increased peak flows. These hydrologic changes can lead to increased erosion and stream destabilization, decreased evapotranspiration, decreased ground water recharge, increases in pollutant loading, and localized anthropogenic climate change or Urban Heat Islands. Stormwater represents a complex and dynamic component of the urban water cycle that requires careful mitigation. With the implementation of Phase II rules under the CWA, stormwater management is shifting from a drainage-efficiency focus to a natural systems focus. The natural system focus, referred to as Low Impact Development (LID), or Green Infrastructure, uses best management practices (BMPs) to reduce the impacts caused by urbanization hydromodification. Large-scale patterns of stormwater runoff from urban environments are complex and it is unclear what the large-scale impacts of green infrastructure are on the water cycle. High resolution physically based hydrologic models can be used to more accurately simulate the urban hydrologic cycle. These types of models tend to be more dynamic and allow for greater flexibility in evaluating and accounting for various hydrologic processes in the urban environment that may be lost with lower resolution conceptual models. We propose to evaluate the effectiveness of high resolution models to accurately represent and determine the urban hydrologic cycle with the overall goal of being able to accurately assess the impacts of LID BMPs in urban environments. We propose to complete a rigorous model intercomparison between ParFlow and FLO-2D. Both of these models can be scaled to higher resolutions, allow for rainfall to be spatially and temporally input, and solve the shallow water equations. Each model is different in the way it accounts for infiltration, initial abstraction losses

A 'Puff' dispersion model for routine and accidental releases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grsic, Z.; Rajkovic, B.; Milutinovic, P.

1999-01-01

A Puff dispersion model for accidental or routine releases is presented. This model was used as a constitutive part of an automatic meteorological station.All measured quantities are continuously displayed on PC monitor in a digital and graphical form, they are averaging every 10 minutes and sending to the civil information center of Belgrade. In the paper simulation of a pollutant plume dispersion from The oil refinery 'Pancevo', on April 18 th 1999 is presented. (author)

Effects of Compact Urban Development on Air Pollution: Empirical Evidence from Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hee-Sun Cho

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the effects of compact urban development on air pollution, taking into account both the spatial distribution of pollutants resulting from an increase in inner urban densities and the dispersion of pollutants associated with an increase in outer green open spaces. The empirical analysis is based upon a panel data model covering 17 cities in Korea from 1996–2009; this approach is used because urban air pollution is influenced by spatial and temporal changes. Measuring the air pollution level by distance from city centers demonstrates that the spatial concentration of emission sources does not necessarily increase air pollution levels. The two-way fixed effects model, which is employed to control both individual (regional and time effects, shows that SO2 decreases as the proportion of green area increases, while a rise in net density leads to an increase of NO2. Both effects are observed in the case of CO dispersion by green area as well as emission source concentration by high densities. Therefore, there is no clear impact of compact urban development on air quality, which is instead related to pollutant-specific characteristics and the emission source.

Atmospheric dispersion models help to improve air quality; Los modelos de dispersion atmosferica ayudan a mejorar la calidad del aire

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martin, F.

2013-07-01

One of the main challenges of the atmospheric sciences is to reproduce as well as possible the phenomena and processes of pollutants in the atmosphere. To do it, mathematical models based in this case on fluid dynamics and mass and energy conservation equations, equations that govern the atmospheric chemistry, etc., adapted to the spatial scales to be simulated, are developed. The dispersion models simulate the processes of transport, dispersion, chemical transformation and elimination by deposition that air pollutants undergo once they are emitted. Atmospheric dispersion models with their multiple applications have become essential tools for the air quality management. (Author)

A model for long-distance dispersal of boll weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Science.gov (United States)

Westbrook, John K.; Eyster, Ritchie S.; Allen, Charles T.

2011-07-01

The boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis (Boheman), has been a major insect pest of cotton production in the US, accounting for yield losses and control costs on the order of several billion US dollars since the introduction of the pest in 1892. Boll weevil eradication programs have eliminated reproducing populations in nearly 94%, and progressed toward eradication within the remaining 6%, of cotton production areas. However, the ability of weevils to disperse and reinfest eradicated zones threatens to undermine the previous investment toward eradication of this pest. In this study, the HYSPLIT atmospheric dispersion model was used to simulate daily wind-aided dispersal of weevils from the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. Simulated weevil dispersal was compared with weekly capture of weevils in pheromone traps along highway trap lines between the LRGV and the South Texas / Winter Garden zone of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Program. A logistic regression model was fit to the probability of capturing at least one weevil in individual pheromone traps relative to specific values of simulated weevil dispersal, which resulted in 60.4% concordance, 21.3% discordance, and 18.3% ties in estimating captures and non-captures. During the first full year of active eradication with widespread insecticide applications in 2006, the dispersal model accurately estimated 71.8%, erroneously estimated 12.5%, and tied 15.7% of capture and non-capture events. Model simulations provide a temporal risk assessment over large areas of weevil reinfestation resulting from dispersal by prevailing winds. Eradication program managers can use the model risk assessment information to effectively schedule and target enhanced trapping, crop scouting, and insecticide applications.

Evaluation of atmospheric dispersion/consequence models supporting safety analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Kula, K.R.; Lazaro, M.A.; Woodard, K.

1996-01-01

Two DOE Working Groups have completed evaluation of accident phenomenology and consequence methodologies used to support DOE facility safety documentation. The independent evaluations each concluded that no one computer model adequately addresses all accident and atmospheric release conditions. MACCS2, MATHEW/ADPIC, TRAC RA/HA, and COSYMA are adequate for most radiological dispersion and consequence needs. ALOHA, DEGADIS, HGSYSTEM, TSCREEN, and SLAB are recommended for chemical dispersion and consequence applications. Additional work is suggested, principally in evaluation of new models, targeting certain models for continued development, training, and establishing a Web page for guidance to safety analysts

A Deformation Model of TRU Metal Dispersion Fuel Rod for HYPER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Byoung Oon; Hwang, Woan; Park, Won S.

2002-01-01

Deformation analysis in fuel rod design is essential to assure adequate fuel performance and integrity under irradiation conditions. An in-reactor performance computer code for a dispersion fuel rod is being developed in the conceptual design stage of blanket fuel for HYPER. In this paper, a mechanistic deformation model was developed and the model was installed into the DIMAC program. The model was based on the elasto-plasticity theory and power-law creep theory. The preliminary deformation calculation results for (TRU-Zr)-Zr dispersion fuel predicted by DIMAC were compared with those of silicide dispersion fuel predicted by DIFAIR. It appeared that the deformation levels for (TRU-Zr)-Zr dispersion fuel were relatively higher than those of silicide fuel. Some experimental tests including in-pile and out-pile experiments are needed for verifying the predictive capability of the DIMAC code. An in-reactor performance analysis computer code for blanket fuel is being developed at the conceptual design stage of blanket fuel for HYPER. In this paper, a mechanistic deformation model was developed and the model was installed into the DIMAC program. The model was based on the elasto-plasticity theory and power-law creep theory. The preliminary deformation calculation results for (TRUZr)- Zr dispersion fuel predicted by DIMAC were compared with those of silicide dispersion fuel predicted by DIFAIR. It appears that the deformation by swelling within fuel meat is very large for both fuels, and the major deformation mechanism at cladding is creep. The swelling strain is almost constant within the fuel meat, and is assumed to be zero in the cladding made of HT9. It is estimated that the deformation levels for (TRU-Zr)-Zr dispersion fuel were relatively higher than those of silicide fuel, and the dispersion fuel performance may be limited by swelling. But the predicted volume change of the (TRU-Zr)-Zr dispersion fuel models is about 6.1% at 30 at.% burnup. The value of cladding

Modeling the generation and dispersion of odors from mushroom composting facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinemann, P.; Wahanik, D.

1998-01-01

An odor source generation model and an odor dispersion model were developed to predict the local distribution of odors emanating from mushroom composting facilities. The odor source generation model allowed for simulation of various composting wharf configurations and odor source strengths. This model was linked to a Gaussian plume diffusion model that predicted odor dispersion. Dimethyl disulfide production at a rate of 1760 micrograms/h was simulated by the source generation model and six different atmospheric conditions were analyzed to demonstrate the effect of wind speed, atmospheric stability, and source generation on the dispersion of this odor producing compound. Detectable levels of dimethyl disulfide were predicted to range from less than 100 m from the source during very unstable conditions to almost 5000 m during very stable conditions

In-town dispersion calculations with RIMPUFF and UDM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Astrup, P.; Thykier-Nielsen, Søren; Mikkelsen, Torben

2005-01-01

and in depositions obtained with a code designed for dispersion of a release from a nuclear power plant, typically situated at a distance from densely inhabited areas, and a code specifically designed forpredicting dispersion from sources inside urban areas. The codes applied are the RIMPUFF code, RIsø Mesoscale...

Lagrangian modelling of dispersion, sedimentation and resuspension processes in marine environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gidhagen, L.; Rahm, L.; Nyberg, L.

1989-01-01

The model is based on a modified Langevin's equation which simulates the turbulent crossflow velocity fluctuations in shear flows. The velocity and turbulence fields used are generated by a 2-dimensional hydrodynamical model including a k-ε turbulence scheme. Since the dispersion model is formulated for only low particle concentrations, it is decoupled from the hydrodynamical model calculations. A great drawback in conventional dispersion modelling is the more or less unavoidable numerical diffusion. The use of a Lagrangian particle model will avoid this effect and the resulting too low concentrations for a given release. One consequence is a more realistic distribution of deposited particles. However, with regard to the overall deposition rates the simulated sedimentation process agrees well with well-established advection/diffusion model formulations. With a modified hydrodynamic model, the dispersion model can directly be applied to stratified 3D simulations. (orig./HP) [de

A model for the dispersion of pollution from a road network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haerkoenen, J.; Valkonen, E.; Kukkonen, J.; Rantakarans, E.; Lahtinen, K.; Karppinen, A.; Jalkanen, L.

1996-12-31

A mathematical model for predicting the dispersion of pollution from a road network, for use in a regulatory context is presented in the report. The model includes an emission model a treatment of the meteorological and background concentration time series, a dispersion model statistical analysis of the computed time series of concentrations and a Windows-based user interface. The dispersion model is based on a partly analytical solution of the Gaussian diffusion equation for a finite dine source. It allows for any wind direction with respect to the road. The dispersion parameters are modelled in a form which facilitates the use of the meteorological preprocessor. The chemical transformation is modelled by using a modified form of the discrete parcel method, developed in this study. The chemistry model contains the basic reactions of nitrogen oxides, oxygen and ozone. An operational model for evaluating the meteorological and background concentration data for the model applications is also presented. The model does not take into account the influence of buildings and inhomogeneous terrain on the dispersion processes. The validity of the mathematical solution presented has been tested against a more detailed numerical model. The overall differences are reasonable, and the solution can be used with confidence in an operational model. The program has been implemented on a personal computer and on a main-frame computer, and in the later case also executed on a Cray C94 supercomputer. The validation of the model against experimental data is reported elsewhere. Testing of the model near a major road Turunvaeylae Finland 1994 showed that the overall agreement of the measured and predicted values for NO{sub x} and NO{sub 2} concentrations was fairly good 30 refs.

Atmospheric dispersion modelling over complex terrain at small scale

Science.gov (United States)

Nosek, S.; Janour, Z.; Kukacka, L.; Jurcakova, K.; Kellnerova, R.; Gulikova, E.

2014-03-01

Previous study concerned of qualitative modelling neutrally stratified flow over open-cut coal mine and important surrounding topography at meso-scale (1:9000) revealed an important area for quantitative modelling of atmospheric dispersion at small-scale (1:3300). The selected area includes a necessary part of the coal mine topography with respect to its future expansion and surrounding populated areas. At this small-scale simultaneous measurement of velocity components and concentrations in specified points of vertical and horizontal planes were performed by two-dimensional Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) and Fast-Response Flame Ionization Detector (FFID), respectively. The impact of the complex terrain on passive pollutant dispersion with respect to the prevailing wind direction was observed and the prediction of the air quality at populated areas is discussed. The measured data will be used for comparison with another model taking into account the future coal mine transformation. Thus, the impact of coal mine transformation on pollutant dispersion can be observed.

Large eddy simulation of pollutant gas dispersion with buoyancy ejected from building into an urban street canyon.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, L H; Xu, Y; Zhu, W; Wu, L; Tang, F; Lu, K H

2011-09-15

The dispersion of buoyancy driven smoke soot and carbon monoxide (CO) gas, which was ejected out from side building into an urban street canyon with aspect ratio of 1 was investigated by large eddy simulation (LES) under a perpendicular wind flow. Strong buoyancy effect, which has not been revealed before, on such pollution dispersion in the street canyon was studied. The buoyancy release rate was 5 MW. The wind speed concerned ranged from 1 to 7.5m/s. The characteristics of flow pattern, distribution of smoke soot and temperature, CO concentration were revealed by the LES simulation. Dimensionless Froude number (Fr) was firstly introduced here to characterize the pollutant dispersion with buoyancy effect counteracting the wind. It was found that the flow pattern can be well categorized into three regimes. A regular characteristic large vortex was shown for the CO concentration contour when the wind velocity was higher than the critical re-entrainment value. A new formula was theoretically developed to show quantitatively that the critical re-entrainment wind velocities, u(c), for buoyancy source at different floors, were proportional to -1/3 power of the characteristic height. LES simulation results agreed well with theoretical analysis. The critical Froude number was found to be constant of 0.7. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Numerical simulation of pollutant dispersion in urban roadway tunnels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingliang Dong

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Vehicular toxic emissions can easily contaminate the air quality of the enclosed tunnel environment, especially during rush hours with traffic jam events or low vehicle speeds, which poses serious health hazards to road utilizers. The piston effect generated by moving vehicles was normally considered adequate to discharge vitiated air out of short tunnel based on a typical driving speed. However, complex traffic conditions may yield unexpected consequences on in-tunnel air quality levels. This study numerically investigated the CO2 concentration to identify the in-tunnel pollutant dispersion under three traffic conditions including severe traffic congestion and traffic flow with low vehicle speeds. Fan conditions were considered to model the influence of mechanical winds on pollutant dispersion and comparison with vehicular piston effect was also performed. The results revealed elevated pollutant concentration regions were found at the vicinity of near-ground region and tunnel downstream. The vehicular piston effect can sufficiently remove the in-tunnel vehicular emissions when vehicles travel at relatively higher speed. However, pollutant accumulation occurs when vehicles are idling or moving at slow speed. Compared with traffic piston effect at high travelling speed, the mechanical ventilation of ceiling mounted fans only generate a limited contribution to the removal of emissions.

Large-eddy simulation of pollutant dispersion from a ground-level area source over urban street canyons with irreversible chemical reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Du, T. Z.; Liu, C.-H.; Zhao, Y. B.

2014-10-01

In this study, the dispersion of chemically reactive pollutants is calculated by large-eddy simulation (LES) in a neutrally stratified urban canopy layer (UCL) over urban areas. As a pilot attempt, idealized street canyons of unity building-height-to-street-width (aspect) ratio are used. Nitric oxide (NO) is emitted from the ground surface of the first street canyon into the domain doped with ozone (O3). In the absence of ultraviolet radiation, this irreversible chemistry produces nitrogen dioxide (NO2), developing a reactive plume over the rough urban surface. A range of timescales of turbulence and chemistry are utilized to examine the mechanism of turbulent mixing and chemical reactions in the UCL. The Damköhler number (Da) and the reaction rate (r) are analyzed along the vertical direction on the plane normal to the prevailing flow at 10 m after the source. The maximum reaction rate peaks at an elevation where Damköhler number Da is equal or close to unity. Hence, comparable timescales of turbulence and reaction could enhance the chemical reactions in the plume.

Combining multimedia models with integrated urban water system models for micropollutants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

De Keyser, W.; Gevaert, V.; Verdonck, F.

2009-01-01

Integrated urban water system (IUWS) modelling aims at assessing the quality of the surface water receiving the urban emissions through sewage treatment plants, combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and stormwater drainage systems. However, some micropollutants have the tendency to occur in more than one...... environmental medium. In this work, a multimedia fate and transport model (MFTM) is “wrapped around” a dynamic IUWS model for organic micropollutants to enable integrated environmental assessment. The combined model was tested on a hypothetical catchment using two scenarios: a reference scenario...... and a stormwater infiltration pond scenario, as an example of a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS). A case for Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was simulated and resulted in a reduced surface water concentration for the latter scenario. However, the model also showed that this was at the expense...

Integrated city as a model for a new wave urban tourism

Science.gov (United States)

Ariani, V.

2018-03-01

Cities are a major player for an urban tourism destination. Massive tourism movement for urban tourism gains competitiveness to the city with similar characteristic. The new framework model for new wave urban tourism is crucial to give more experience to the tourist and valuing for the city itself. The integrated city is the answer for creating a new model for an urban tourism destination. The purpose of this preliminary research is to define integrated city framework for urban tourism development. It provides a rationale for tourism planner pursuing an innovative approach, competitive advantages, and general urban tourism destination model. The methodology applies to this research includes desk survey, literature review and focus group discussion. A conceptual framework is proposed, discussed and exemplified. The framework model adopts a place-based approach to tourism destination and suggests an integrated city model for urban tourism development. This model is a tool for strategy making in re-invention integrated city as an urban tourism destination.

Modeling compressible multiphase flows with dispersed particles in both dense and dilute regimes

Science.gov (United States)

McGrath, T.; St. Clair, J.; Balachandar, S.

2018-05-01

Many important explosives and energetics applications involve multiphase formulations employing dispersed particles. While considerable progress has been made toward developing mathematical models and computational methodologies for these flows, significant challenges remain. In this work, we apply a mathematical model for compressible multiphase flows with dispersed particles to existing shock and explosive dispersal problems from the literature. The model is cast in an Eulerian framework, treats all phases as compressible, is hyperbolic, and satisfies the second law of thermodynamics. It directly applies the continuous-phase pressure gradient as a forcing function for particle acceleration and thereby retains relaxed characteristics for the dispersed particle phase that remove the constituent material sound velocity from the eigenvalues. This is consistent with the expected characteristics of dispersed particle phases and can significantly improve the stable time-step size for explicit methods. The model is applied to test cases involving the shock and explosive dispersal of solid particles and compared to data from the literature. Computed results compare well with experimental measurements, providing confidence in the model and computational methods applied.

Modelling drivers of mangrove propagule dispersal and restoration of abandoned shrimp farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Di Nitto

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Propagule dispersal of four mangrove species Rhizophora mucronata, R. apiculata, Ceriops tagal and Avicennia officinalis in the Pambala–Chilaw Lagoon Complex (Sri Lanka was studied by combining a hydrodynamic model with species-specific knowledge on propagule dispersal behaviour. Propagule transport was simulated using a finite-volume advection-diffusion model to investigate the effect of dispersal vectors (tidal flow, freshwater discharge and wind, trapping agents (retention by vegetation and seed characteristics (buoyancy on propagule dispersal patterns. Sensitivity analysis showed that smaller propagules, like the oval-shaped propagules of Avicennia officinalis, dispersed over larger distances and were most sensitive to changing values of retention by mangrove vegetation compared to larger, torpedo-shaped propagules of Rhizophora spp. and C. tagal. Directional propagule dispersal in this semi-enclosed lagoon with a small tidal range was strongly concentrated towards the edges of the lagoon and channels. Short distance dispersal appeared to be the main dispersal strategy for all four studied species, with most of the propagules being retained within the vegetation. Only a small proportion (max. 5% of propagules left the lagoon through a channel connecting the lagoon with the open sea. Wind significantly influenced dispersal distance and direction once propagules entered the lagoon or adjacent channels. Implications of these findings for mangrove restoration were tested by simulating partial removal in the model of dikes around abandoned shrimp ponds to restore tidal hydrology and facilitate natural recolonisation by mangroves. The specific location of dike removal, (with respect to the vicinity of mangroves and independently suitable hydrodynamic flows, was found to significantly affect the resultant quantities and species of inflowing propagules and hence the potential effectiveness of natural regeneration. These results demonstrate the

Comparison of turbulent particle dispersion models in turbulent shear flows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Laín

2007-09-01

Full Text Available This work compares the performance of two Lagrangian turbulent particle dispersion models: the standard model (e.g., that presented in Sommerfeld et al. (1993, in which the fluctuating fluid velocity experienced by the particle is composed of two components, one correlated with the previous time step and a second one randomly sampled from a Wiener process, and the model proposed by Minier and Peirano (2001, which is based on the PDF approach and performs closure at the level of acceleration of the fluid experienced by the particle. Formulation of a Langevin equation model for the increments of fluid velocity seen by the particle allows capturing some underlying physics of particle dispersion in general turbulent flows while keeping the mathematical manipulation of the stochastic model simple, thereby avoiding some pitfalls and simplifying the derivation of macroscopic relations. The performance of both dispersion models is tested in the configurations of grid-generated turbulence (Wells and Stock (1983 experiments, simple shear flow (Hyland et al., 1999 and confined axisymmetric jet flow laden with solids (Hishida and Maeda (1987 experiments.

Numerical models for computation of pollutant-dispersion in the atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leder, S.M.; Biesemann-Krueger, A.

1985-04-01

The report describes some models which are used to compute the concentration of emitted pollutants in the lower atmosphere. A dispersion model, developed at the University of Hamburg, is considered in more detail and treated with two different numerical methods. The convergence of the methods is investigated and a comparison of numerical results and dispersion experiments carried out at the Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe is given. (orig.) [de

Swarm Intelligence for Urban Dynamics Modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghnemat, Rawan; Bertelle, Cyrille; Duchamp, Gerard H. E.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we propose swarm intelligence algorithms to deal with dynamical and spatial organization emergence. The goal is to model and simulate the developement of spatial centers using multi-criteria. We combine a decentralized approach based on emergent clustering mixed with spatial constraints or attractions. We propose an extension of the ant nest building algorithm with multi-center and adaptive process. Typically, this model is suitable to analyse and simulate urban dynamics like gentrification or the dynamics of the cultural equipment in urban area.

Swarm Intelligence for Urban Dynamics Modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Ghnemat, Rawan; Bertelle, Cyrille; Duchamp, Gérard H. E.

2009-04-01

In this paper, we propose swarm intelligence algorithms to deal with dynamical and spatial organization emergence. The goal is to model and simulate the developement of spatial centers using multi-criteria. We combine a decentralized approach based on emergent clustering mixed with spatial constraints or attractions. We propose an extension of the ant nest building algorithm with multi-center and adaptive process. Typically, this model is suitable to analyse and simulate urban dynamics like gentrification or the dynamics of the cultural equipment in urban area.

Modelling airborne dispersion for disaster management

Science.gov (United States)

Musliman, I. A.; Yohnny, L.

2017-05-01

Industrial disasters, like any other disasters, can happen anytime, anywhere and in any form. Airborne industrial disaster is a kind of catastrophic event involving the release of particles such as chemicals and industrial wastes into environment in gaseous form, for instance gas leakages. Unlike solid and liquid materials, gases are often colourless and odourless, the particles are too tiny to be visible to the naked eyes; hence it is difficult to identify the presence of the gases and to tell the dispersion and location of the substance. This study is to develop an application prototype to perform simulation modelling on the gas particles to determine the dispersion of the gas particles and to identify the coverage of the affected area. The prototype adopted Lagrangian Particle Dispersion (LPD) model to calculate the position of the gas particles under the influence of wind and turbulent velocity components, which are the induced wind due to the rotation of the Earth, and Convex Hull algorithm to identify the convex points of the gas cloud to form the polygon of the coverage area. The application performs intersection and overlay analysis over a set of landuse data at Pasir Gudang, Johor industrial and residential area. Results from the analysis would be useful to tell the percentage and extent of the affected area, and are useful for the disaster management to evacuate people from the affected area. The developed application can significantly increase efficiency of emergency handling during a crisis. For example, by using a simulation model, the emergency handling can predict what is going to happen next, so people can be well informed and preparations works can be done earlier and better. Subsequently, this application helps a lot in the decision making process.

Modelling airborne dispersion for disaster management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musliman, I A; Yohnny, L

2017-01-01

Industrial disasters, like any other disasters, can happen anytime, anywhere and in any form. Airborne industrial disaster is a kind of catastrophic event involving the release of particles such as chemicals and industrial wastes into environment in gaseous form, for instance gas leakages. Unlike solid and liquid materials, gases are often colourless and odourless, the particles are too tiny to be visible to the naked eyes; hence it is difficult to identify the presence of the gases and to tell the dispersion and location of the substance. This study is to develop an application prototype to perform simulation modelling on the gas particles to determine the dispersion of the gas particles and to identify the coverage of the affected area. The prototype adopted Lagrangian Particle Dispersion (LPD) model to calculate the position of the gas particles under the influence of wind and turbulent velocity components, which are the induced wind due to the rotation of the Earth, and Convex Hull algorithm to identify the convex points of the gas cloud to form the polygon of the coverage area. The application performs intersection and overlay analysis over a set of landuse data at Pasir Gudang, Johor industrial and residential area. Results from the analysis would be useful to tell the percentage and extent of the affected area, and are useful for the disaster management to evacuate people from the affected area. The developed application can significantly increase efficiency of emergency handling during a crisis. For example, by using a simulation model, the emergency handling can predict what is going to happen next, so people can be well informed and preparations works can be done earlier and better. Subsequently, this application helps a lot in the decision making process. (paper)

The implementation of biofiltration systems, rainwater tanks and urban irrigation in a single-layer urban canopy model

Science.gov (United States)

Demuzere, Matthias; Coutts, Andrew; Goehler, Maren; Broadbent, Ashley; Wouters, Hendrik; van Lipzig, Nicole; Gebert, Luke

2015-04-01

Urban vegetation is generally considered as a key tool to modify the urban energy balance through enhanced evapotranspiration (ET). Given that vegetation is most effective when it is healthy, stormwater harvesting and retention strategies (such as water sensitive urban design) could be used to support vegetation and promote ET. This study presents the implementation of a vegetated lined bio-filtration system (BFS) combined with a rainwater tank (RWT) and urban irrigation system in the single-layer urban canopy model Community Land Model-Urban. Runoff from roof and impervious road surface fractions is harvested and used to support an adequate soil moisture level for vegetation in the BFS. In a first stage, modelled soil moisture dynamics are evaluated and found reliable compared to observed soil moisture levels from biofiltration pits in Smith Street, Melbourne (Australia). Secondly, the impact of BFS, RWT and urban irrigation on ET is illustrated for a two-month period in 2012 using varying characteristics for all components. Results indicate that (i) a large amount of stormwater is potentially available for indoor and outdoor water demands, including irrigation of urban vegetation, (ii) ET from the BFS is an order of magnitude larger compared to the contributions from the impervious surfaces, even though the former only covers 10% of the surface fraction and (iii) attention should be paid to the cover fraction and soil texture of the BFS, size of the RWT and the surface fractions contributing to the collection of water in the RWT. Overall, this study reveals that this model development can effectuate future research with state-of-the-art urban climate models to further explore the benefits of vegetated biofiltration systems as a water sensitive urban design tool optimised with an urban irrigation system to maintain healthy vegetation.

Excellent approach to modeling urban expansion by fuzzy cellular automata: agent base model

Science.gov (United States)

Khajavigodellou, Yousef; Alesheikh, Ali A.; Mohammed, Abdulrazak A. S.; Chapi, Kamran

2014-09-01

Recently, the interaction between humans and their environment is the one of important challenges in the world. Landuse/ cover change (LUCC) is a complex process that includes actors and factors at different social and spatial levels. The complexity and dynamics of urban systems make the applicable practice of urban modeling very difficult. With the increased computational power and the greater availability of spatial data, micro-simulation such as the agent based and cellular automata simulation methods, has been developed by geographers, planners, and scholars, and it has shown great potential for representing and simulating the complexity of the dynamic processes involved in urban growth and land use change. This paper presents Fuzzy Cellular Automata in Geospatial Information System and remote Sensing to simulated and predicted urban expansion pattern. These FCA-based dynamic spatial urban models provide an improved ability to forecast and assess future urban growth and to create planning scenarios, allowing us to explore the potential impacts of simulations that correspond to urban planning and management policies. A fuzzy inference guided cellular automata approach. Semantic or linguistic knowledge on Land use change is expressed as fuzzy rules, based on which fuzzy inference is applied to determine the urban development potential for each pixel. The model integrates an ABM (agent-based model) and FCA (Fuzzy Cellular Automata) to investigate a complex decision-making process and future urban dynamic processes. Based on this model rapid development and green land protection under the influences of the behaviors and decision modes of regional authority agents, real estate developer agents, resident agents and non- resident agents and their interactions have been applied to predict the future development patterns of the Erbil metropolitan region.

Mapping the radioactive contamination in urban environments after nuclear emergencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaiser, Jan Christian; Proehl, Gerhard; Woda, Clemens

2008-01-01

Full text: In the event of a nuclear emergency in an urban environment a reliable overview on the radioactive contamination is crucial for decision making. To assess the radiological situation both measurements of the gamma dose or dose rate (GDR) and results from urban dispersion and deposition models are used. Measurements may arrive from various sources like car-borne detectors or man-borne radiation-sensitive materials embedded in cell phones, flash memory devices or RFID chips. The measurements depend strongly on the detector environment. To account for this dependence each signal is multiplied by a location factor, which quantifies the deviation of the recorded signal from the hypothetical signal of a reference surface of infinitely extended lawn. Furthermore, the data originate from geo-referenced points or lines but do not provide full spatial information. We present here two approaches to produce maps of the reference GDR or surface contamination in urban areas, which are implemented in the Inhabited Areas Monitoring Module (IAMM) as part of the European decision support systems RODOS and ARGOS. Immediately after the accident, a few measurements are combined with the predictions of urban models using data assimilation. If enough measurements are available they are regionalised with geo-statistical interpolation algorithms like inverse distance weighting or kriging. Both approaches are demonstrated in hypothetical scenarios based on the explosion of a radioactive dispersion device. (author)

3D Urban Virtual Models generation methodology for smart cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Álvarez

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Currently the use of Urban 3D Models goes beyond the mere support of three-dimensional image for the visualization of our urban surroundings. The three-dimensional Urban Models are in themselves fundamental tools to manage the different phenomena that occur in smart cities. It is therefore necessary to generate realistic models, in which BIM building design information can be integrated with GIS and other space technologies. The generation of 3D Urban Models benefit from the amount of data from sensors with the latest technologies such as airborne sensors and of the existence of international standards such as CityGML. This paper presents a methodology for the development of a three - dimensional Urban Model, based on LiDAR data and the CityGML standard, applied to the city of Lorca.

Modeling urban building energy use: A review of modeling approaches and procedures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Wenliang; Zhou, Yuyu; Cetin, Kristen; Eom, Jiyong; Wang, Yu; Chen, Gang; Zhang, Xuesong

2017-12-01

With rapid urbanization and economic development, the world has been experiencing an unprecedented increase in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions is a common interest shared by major developed and developing countries, actions to enable these global reductions are generally implemented at the city scale. This is because baseline information from individual cities plays an important role in identifying economical options for improving building energy efficiency and reducing GHG emissions. Numerous approaches have been proposed for modeling urban building energy use in the past decades. This paper aims to provide an up-to-date review of the broad categories of energy models for urban buildings and describes the basic workflow of physics-based, bottom-up models and their applications in simulating urban-scale building energy use. Because there are significant differences across models with varied potential for application, strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed models are also presented. This is followed by a discussion of challenging issues associated with model preparation and calibration.

Combining multimedia models with integrated urban water system models for micropollutants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

De Keyser, W.; Gevaert, V.; Verdonck, F.

2010-01-01

Integrated urban water system (IUWS) modeling aims at assessing the quality of the surface water receiving the urban emissions through sewage treatment plants, combined sewer overflows (CSOS) and stormwater drainage systems However, some micropollutants tend to appear in more than one environmental...... medium (air, water, sediment, soil, groundwater, etc) In this work, a multimedia fate and transport model (MFTM) is "wrapped around" a dynamic IUWS model for organic micropollutants to enable integrated environmental assessment The combined model was tested on a hypothetical catchment using two scenarios...... on the one hand a reference scenario with a combined sewerage system and on the other hand a stormwater infiltration pond scenario, as an example of a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) A case for Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was simulated and resulted in reduced surface water concentrations...

Landau fluid model for weakly nonlinear dispersive magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passot, T.; Sulem, P. L.

2005-01-01

In may astrophysical plasmas such as the solar wind, the terrestrial magnetosphere, or in the interstellar medium at small enough scales, collisions are negligible. When interested in the large-scale dynamics, a hydrodynamic approach is advantageous not only because its numerical simulations is easier than of the full Vlasov-Maxwell equations, but also because it provides a deep understanding of cross-scale nonlinear couplings. It is thus of great interest to construct fluid models that extended the classical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations to collisionless situations. Two ingredients need to be included in such a model to capture the main kinetic effects: finite Larmor radius (FLR) corrections and Landau damping, the only fluid-particle resonance that can affect large scales and can be modeled in a relatively simple way. The Modelization of Landau damping in a fluid formalism is hardly possible in the framework of a systematic asymptotic expansion and was addressed mainly by means of parameter fitting in a linearized setting. We introduced a similar Landau fluid model but, that has the advantage of taking dispersive effects into account. This model properly describes dispersive MHD waves in quasi-parallel propagation. Since, by construction, the system correctly reproduces their linear dynamics, appropriate tests should address the nonlinear regime. In a first case, we show analytically that the weakly nonlinear modulational dynamics of quasi-parallel propagating Alfven waves is well captured. As a second test we consider the parametric decay instability of parallel Alfven waves and show that numerical simulations of the dispersive Landau fluid model lead to results that closely match the outcome of hybrid simulations. (Author)

Difficulties in modeling dispersed-flow film boiling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreani, M.; Yadigaroglu, G.

1991-01-01

Dispersed Flow Film Boiling (DFFB) is characterized by important departures from thermal and velocity equilibrium that make it suitable for modeling with two-fluid models. The fundamental limitations and difficulties imposed by the one-dimensional nature of these models are extensively discussed. The validity of the assumptions and empirical laws used to close the system of conservation equations is critically reviewed, in light of the multidimensional aspects of the problem. Modifications that could improve the physics of the models are identified. (orig.) [de

Analysis of the effects of meteorology on aircraft exhaust dispersion and deposition using a Lagrangian particle model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pecorari, Eliana, E-mail: eliana.pecorari@unive.it [Department of Environmental Science, Informatics and Statistics, University Ca’ Foscari Venice, Calle Larga Santa Marta 2137, Dorsoduro, 30123 Venezia (Italy); Mantovani, Alice [OSMOTECH S.r.l., via Francesco Sforza, 15, 20122 Milano (Italy); Franceschini, Chiara [Department of Environmental Science, Informatics and Statistics, University Ca’ Foscari Venice, Calle Larga Santa Marta 2137, Dorsoduro, 30123 Venezia (Italy); Bassano, Davide [SAVE S.p.A., Marco Polo Venice airport viale G. Galilei 30/1, 30173 Tessera-Venezia (Italy); Palmeri, Luca [Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, v. Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova (Italy); Rampazzo, Giancarlo [Department of Environmental Science, Informatics and Statistics, University Ca’ Foscari Venice, Calle Larga Santa Marta 2137, Dorsoduro, 30123 Venezia (Italy)

2016-01-15

The risk of air quality degradation is of considerable concern particularly for those airports that are located near urban areas. The ability to quantitatively predict the effects of air pollutants originated by airport operations is important for assessing air quality and the related impacts on human health. Current emission regulations have focused on local air quality in the proximity of airports. However, an integrated study should consider the effects of meteorological events, at both regional and local level, that can affect the dispersion and the deposition of exhausts. Rigorous scientific studies and extensive experimental data could contribute to the analysis of the impacts of airports expansion plans. This paper is focused on the analysis of the effects of meteorology on aircraft emission for the Marco Polo Airport in Venice. This is the most important international airport in the eastern part of the Po’ Valley, one of the most polluted area in Europe. Air pollution is exacerbated by meteorology that is a combination of large and local scale effects that do not allow significant dispersion. Moreover, the airport is located near Venice, a city of noteworthy cultural and architectural relevance, and nearby the lagoon that hosts several areas of outstanding ecological importance at European level (Natura 2000 sites). Dispersion and deposit of the main aircraft exhausts (NOx, HC and CO) have been evaluated by using a Lagrangian particle model. Spatial and temporal aircraft exhaust dispersion has been analyzed for LTO cycle. Aircraft taxiing resulted to be the most impacting aircraft operation especially for the airport working area and its surroundings, however occasionally peaks may be observed even at high altitudes when cruise mode starts. Mixing height can affect concentrations more significantly than the concentrations in the exhausts themselves. An increase of HC and CO concentrations (15–50%) has been observed during specific meteorological events

Analysis of the effects of meteorology on aircraft exhaust dispersion and deposition using a Lagrangian particle model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pecorari, Eliana; Mantovani, Alice; Franceschini, Chiara; Bassano, Davide; Palmeri, Luca; Rampazzo, Giancarlo

2016-01-01

The risk of air quality degradation is of considerable concern particularly for those airports that are located near urban areas. The ability to quantitatively predict the effects of air pollutants originated by airport operations is important for assessing air quality and the related impacts on human health. Current emission regulations have focused on local air quality in the proximity of airports. However, an integrated study should consider the effects of meteorological events, at both regional and local level, that can affect the dispersion and the deposition of exhausts. Rigorous scientific studies and extensive experimental data could contribute to the analysis of the impacts of airports expansion plans. This paper is focused on the analysis of the effects of meteorology on aircraft emission for the Marco Polo Airport in Venice. This is the most important international airport in the eastern part of the Po’ Valley, one of the most polluted area in Europe. Air pollution is exacerbated by meteorology that is a combination of large and local scale effects that do not allow significant dispersion. Moreover, the airport is located near Venice, a city of noteworthy cultural and architectural relevance, and nearby the lagoon that hosts several areas of outstanding ecological importance at European level (Natura 2000 sites). Dispersion and deposit of the main aircraft exhausts (NOx, HC and CO) have been evaluated by using a Lagrangian particle model. Spatial and temporal aircraft exhaust dispersion has been analyzed for LTO cycle. Aircraft taxiing resulted to be the most impacting aircraft operation especially for the airport working area and its surroundings, however occasionally peaks may be observed even at high altitudes when cruise mode starts. Mixing height can affect concentrations more significantly than the concentrations in the exhausts themselves. An increase of HC and CO concentrations (15–50%) has been observed during specific meteorological events

URBAN EFFICIENT ENERGY EVALUATION IN HIGH RESOLUTION URBAN AREAS BY USING ADAPTED WRF-UCM AND MICROSYS CFD MODELS

Science.gov (United States)

San Jose, R.; Perez, J. L.; Gonzalez, R. M.

2009-12-01

Urban metabolism modeling has advanced substantially during the last years due to the increased detail in mesoscale urban parameterization in meteorological mesoscale models and CFD numerical tools. Recently the implementation of the “urban canopy model” (UCM) into the WRF mesoscale meteorological model has produced a substantial advance on the understanding of the urban atmospheric heat flux exchanges in the urban canopy. The need to optimize the use of heat energy in urban environment has produced a substantial increase in the detailed investigation of the urban heat flux exchanges. In this contribution we will show the performance of using a tool called MICROSYS (MICRO scale CFD modelling SYStem) which is an adaptation of the classical urban canopy model but on a high resolution environment by using a classical CFD approach. The energy balance in the urban system can be determined in a micrometeorologicl sense by considering the energy flows in and out of a control volume. For such a control volume reaching from ground to a certain height above buildings, the energy balance equation includes the net radiation, the anthropogenic heat flux, the turbulent sensible heat flux, the turbulent latent heat flux, the net storage change within the control volume, the net advected flux and other sources and sinks. We have applied the MICROSYS model to an area of 5 km x 5 km with 200 m spatial resolution by using the WRF-UCM (adapted and the MICROSYS CFD model. The anthropogenic heat flux has been estimated by using the Flanner M.G. (2009) database and detailed GIS information (50 m resolution) of Madrid city. The Storage energy has been estimated by calculating the energy balance according to the UCM procedure and implementing it into the MICROSYS tool. Results show that MICROSYS can be used as an energy efficient tool to estimate the energy balance of different urban areas and buildings.

Large urban fire environment: trends and model city predictions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larson, D.A.; Small, R.D.

1983-01-01

The urban fire environment that would result from a megaton-yield nuclear weapon burst is considered. The dependence of temperatures and velocities on fire size, burning intensity, turbulence, and radiation is explored, and specific calculations for three model urban areas are presented. In all cases, high velocity fire winds are predicted. The model-city results show the influence of building density and urban sprawl on the fire environment. Additional calculations consider large-area fires with the burning intensity reduced in a blast-damaged urban center

A novel ultrawideband FDTD numerical modeling of ground penetrating radar on arbitrary dispersive soils

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mescia, L.; Bia, P.; Caratelli, D.

2017-01-01

A novel two-dimensional (2-D) finite-difference timedomain algorithm for modeling ultrawideband pulse propagation in arbitrary dispersive soils is presented. The soil dispersion is modeled by general power law series representation, accounting for multiple higher order dispersive relaxation

Smoke incursions into urban areas: simulation of a Georgia prescribed burn

Science.gov (United States)

Y. Liu; S. Goodrick; G. Achtemeier

2009-01-01

This study investigates smoke incursion into urban areas by examining a prescribed burn in central Georgia,USA, on 28 February 2007. Simulations were conducted with a regional modeling framework to understand transport, dispersion,and structure of smoke plumes, the air quality effects, sensitivity to emissions,...

Objectives for next generation of practical short-range atmospheric dispersion models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olesen, H.R.; Mikkelsen, T.

1992-01-01

The proceedings contains papers from the workshop ''Objectives for Next Generation of Practical Short-Range Atmospheric Dispersion Models''. They deal with two types of models, namely models for regulatory purposes and models for real-time applications. The workshop was the result of an action started in 1991 for increased cooperation and harmonization within atmospheric dispersion modelling. The focus of the workshop was on the management of model development and the definition of model objectives, rather than on detailed model contents. It was the intention to identify actions that can be taken in order to improve the development and use of atmospheric dispersion models. The papers in the proceedings deal with various topics within the broad spectrum of matters related to up-to-date practical models, such as their scientific basis, requirements for model input and output, meteorological preprocessing, standardisation within modelling, electronic information exchange as a potentially useful tool, model evaluation and data bases for model evaluation. In addition to the papers, the proceedings contain summaries of the discussions at the workshop. These summaries point to a number of recommended actions which can be taken in order to improve ''modelling culture''. (AB)

Simulation of atmospheric dispersion of radionuclides using an Eulerian-Lagrangian modelling system.

Science.gov (United States)

Basit, Abdul; Espinosa, Francisco; Avila, Ruben; Raza, S; Irfan, N

2008-12-01

In this paper we present an atmospheric dispersion scenario for a proposed nuclear power plant in Pakistan involving the hypothetical accidental release of radionuclides. For this, a concept involving a Lagrangian stochastic particle model (LSPM) coupled with an Eulerian regional atmospheric modelling system (RAMS) is used. The atmospheric turbulent dispersion of radionuclides (represented by non-buoyant particles/neutral traces) in the LSPM is modelled by applying non-homogeneous turbulence conditions. The mean wind velocities governed by the topography of the region and the surface fluxes of momentum and heat are calculated by the RAMS code. A moving least squares (MLS) technique is introduced to calculate the concentration of radionuclides at ground level. The numerically calculated vertical profiles of wind velocity and temperature are compared with observed data. The results obtained demonstrate that in regions of complex terrain it is not sufficient to model the atmospheric dispersion of particles using a straight-line Gaussian plume model, and that by utilising a Lagrangian stochastic particle model and regional atmospheric modelling system a much more realistic estimation of the dispersion in such a hypothetical scenario was ascertained. The particle dispersion results for a 12 h ground release show that a triangular area of about 400 km(2) situated in the north-west quadrant of release is under radiological threat. The particle distribution shows that the use of a Gaussian plume model (GPM) in such situations will yield quite misleading results.

Assessing ecological sustainability in urban planning - EcoBalance model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wahlgren, I., Email: irmeli.wahlgren@vtt.fi

2012-06-15

Urban planning solutions and decisions have large-scale significance for ecological sustainability (eco-efficiency) the consumption of energy and other natural resources, the production of greenhouse gas and other emissions and the costs caused by urban form. Climate change brings new and growing challenges for urban planning. The EcoBalance model was developed to assess the sustainability of urban form and has been applied at various planning levels: regional plans, local master plans and detailed plans. The EcoBalance model estimates the total consumption of energy and other natural resources, the production of emissions and wastes and the costs caused directly and indirectly by urban form on a life cycle basis. The results of the case studies provide information about the ecological impacts of various solutions in urban development. (orig.)

Socio-Environmental Resilience and Complex Urban Systems Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Deal, Brian; Petri, Aaron; Pan, Haozhi; Goldenberg, Romain; Kalantari, Zahra; Cvetkovic, Vladimir

2017-04-01

The increasing pressure of climate change has inspired two normative agendas; socio-technical transitions and socio-ecological resilience, both sharing a complex-systems epistemology (Gillard et al. 2016). Socio-technical solutions include a continuous, massive data gathering exercise now underway in urban places under the guise of developing a 'smart'(er) city. This has led to the creation of data-rich environments where large data sets have become central to monitoring and forming a response to anomalies. Some have argued that these kinds of data sets can help in planning for resilient cities (Norberg and Cumming 2008; Batty 2013). In this paper, we focus on a more nuanced, ecologically based, socio-environmental perspective of resilience planning that is often given less consideration. Here, we broadly discuss (and model) the tightly linked, mutually influenced, social and biophysical subsystems that are critical for understanding urban resilience. We argue for the need to incorporate these sub system linkages into the resilience planning lexicon through the integration of systems models and planning support systems. We make our case by first providing a context for urban resilience from a socio-ecological and planning perspective. We highlight the data needs for this type of resilient planning and compare it to currently collected data streams in various smart city efforts. This helps to define an approach for operationalizing socio-environmental resilience planning using robust systems models and planning support systems. For this, we draw from our experiences in coupling a spatio-temporal land use model (the Landuse Evolution and impact Assessment Model (LEAM)) with water quality and quantity models in Stockholm Sweden. We describe the coupling of these systems models using a robust Planning Support System (PSS) structural framework. We use the coupled model simulations and PSS to analyze the connection between urban land use transformation (social) and water

Include dispersion in quantum chemical modeling of enzymatic reactions: the case of isoaspartyl dipeptidase.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hai-Mei; Chen, Shi-Lu

2015-06-09

The lack of dispersion in the B3LYP functional has been proposed to be the main origin of big errors in quantum chemical modeling of a few enzymes and transition metal complexes. In this work, the essential dispersion effects that affect quantum chemical modeling are investigated. With binuclear zinc isoaspartyl dipeptidase (IAD) as an example, dispersion is included in the modeling of enzymatic reactions by two different procedures, i.e., (i) geometry optimizations followed by single-point calculations of dispersion (approach I) and (ii) the inclusion of dispersion throughout geometry optimization and energy evaluation (approach II). Based on a 169-atom chemical model, the calculations show a qualitative consistency between approaches I and II in energetics and most key geometries, demonstrating that both approaches are available with the latter preferential since both geometry and energy are dispersion-corrected in approach II. When a smaller model without Arg233 (147 atoms) was used, an inconsistency was observed, indicating that the missing dispersion interactions are essentially responsible for determining equilibrium geometries. Other technical issues and mechanistic characteristics of IAD are also discussed, in particular with respect to the effects of Arg233.

Improved atmospheric dispersion modelling in the new program system UFOMOD for accident consequence assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panitz, H.J.

1988-01-01

An essential aim of the improvements of the new program system UFOMOD for Accident Consequence Assessments (ACAs) was to substitute the straightline Gaussian plume model conventionally used in ACA models by more realistic atmospheric dispersion models. To identify improved models which can be applied in ACA codes and to quantify the implications of different concepts of dispersion modelling on the results of an ACA, probabilistic comparative calculations with different atmospheric dispersion models have been carried out. The study showed that there are trajectory models available which can be applied in ACAs and that these trajectory models provide more realistic results of ACAs than straight-line Gaussian models. This led to a completly novel concept of atmospheric dispersion modelling which distinguish between two different distance ranges of validity: the near range ( 50 km). The two ranges are assigned to respective trajectory models

Assessment of the Impact of Metropolitan-Scale Urban Planning Scenarios on the Moist Thermal Environment under Global Warming: A Study of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area Using Regional Climate Modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asuka Suzuki-Parker

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Using a high-resolution regional climate model coupled with urban canopy model, the present study provides the first attempt in quantifying the impact of metropolitan-scale urban planning scenarios on moist thermal environment under global warming. Tokyo metropolitan area is selected as a test case. Three urban planning scenarios are considered: status quo, dispersed city, and compact city. Their impact on the moist thermal environment is assessed using wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT. Future projections for the 2070s show a 2–4°C increase in daytime mean WBGT relative to the current climate. The urban scenario impacts are shown to be small, with a −0.4 to +0.4°C range. Relative changes in temperature and humidity as the result of a given urban scenario are shown to be critical in determining the sign of the WBGT changes; however, such changes are not necessarily determined by local changes in urban land surface parameters. These findings indicate that urban land surface changes may improve or worsen the local moist thermal environment and that metropolitan-scale urban planning is inefficient in mitigating heat-related health risks for mature cities like Tokyo.

Modelling of atmospheric dispersion in a complex medium and associated uncertainties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demael, Emmanuel

2007-01-01

This research thesis addresses the study of the digital modelling of atmospheric dispersions. It aimed at validating the Mercure-Saturne tool used with a RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) approach within the frame of an impact study or of an accidental scenario on a nuclear site while taking buildings and ground relief into account, at comparing the Mercure-Saturne model with a more simple and less costly (in terms of computation time) Gaussian tool (the ADMS software, Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling System), and at quantifying uncertainties related to the use of the Mercure-Saturne model. The first part introduces theoretical elements of atmosphere physics and of the atmospheric dispersion in a boundary layer, presents the Gaussian model and the Mercure-Saturne tool and its associated RANS approach. The second part reports the comparison of the Mercure-Saturne model with conventional Gaussian plume models. The third part reports the study of the atmospheric flow and dispersion about the Bugey nuclear site, based on a study performed in a wind tunnel. The fourth part reports the same kind of study for the Flamanville site. The fifth part reports the use of different approaches for the study of uncertainties in the case of the Bugey site: application of the Morris method (a screening method), and of the Monte Carlo method (quantification of the uncertainty and of the sensitivity of each uncertainty source) [fr

Seed dispersal in fens

Science.gov (United States)

Middleton, B.; Van Diggelen, R.; Jensen, K.

2006-01-01

Question: How does seed dispersal reduce fen isolation and contribute to biodiversity? Location: European and North American fens. Methods: This paper reviews the literature on seed dispersal to fens. Results: Landscape fragmentation may reduce dispersal opportunities thereby isolating fens and reducing genetic exchange. Species in fragmented wetlands may have lower reproductive success, which can lead to biodiversity loss. While fens may have always been relatively isolated from each other, they have become increasingly fragmented in modern times within agricultural and urban landscapes in both Europe and North America. Dispersal by water, animals and wind has been hampered by changes related to development in landscapes surrounding fens. Because the seeds of certain species are long-lived in the seed bank, frequent episodes of dispersal are not always necessary to maintain the biodiversity of fens. However, of particular concern to restoration is that some dominant species, such as the tussock sedge Carex stricta, may not disperse readily between fens. Conclusions: Knowledge of seed dispersal can be used to maintain and restore the biodiversity of fens in fragmented landscapes. Given that development has fragmented landscapes and that this situation is not likely to change, the dispersal of seeds might be enhanced by moving hay or cattle from fens to damaged sites, or by reestablishing lost hydrological connections. ?? IAVS; Opulus Press.

Longitudinal dispersion coefficients for numerical modeling of groundwater solute transport in heterogeneous formations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lee, Jonghyun; Rolle, Massimo; Kitanidis, Peter K.

2018-01-01

Most recent research on hydrodynamic dispersion in porous media has focused on whole-domain dispersion while other research is largely on laboratory-scale dispersion. This work focuses on the contribution of a single block in a numerical model to dispersion. Variability of fluid velocity and conc...

Advection models of longitudinal dispersion in rivers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kranenburg, C.

1996-01-01

A derivation is presented of a general cross-section averaged model of longitudinal dispersion, which is based on the notion of the advection of tracer particles. Particle displacement length and particle travel time are conceived as stochastic variables, and a joint probability density function is

Modeling of Rayleigh wave dispersion in Iberia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Badal

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Phase and group velocities of 15–70 s Rayleigh waves propagating across the Iberian Peninsula have been transformed into local dispersion curves by linear inversion of travel times. The procedure permits that the waveform dispersion to be obtained as a continuous period-dependent velocity function at grid points belonging to the area probed by the waves, thus providing phase- and group-velocity contour maps for several periods within the interval of interest. The regionalization process rests on a homogeneous initial data set in which the number of observations remains almost constant for all periods of reference. Damped least-squares inversion of the local dispersion curves for shear-wave velocity structure is performed to obtain depth-dependent S-wave velocity profiles at the grid points covering the model region. The reliability of the results should improve significantly owing to the use of phase and group velocities simultaneously. On this basis, we have built horizontal depth sections that give an updated view of the seismic velocity structure of the peninsula at lithospheric and upper mantle depths (20–200 km. After averaging all the pure-path S-wave velocities previously determined at each grid point, the velocity-depth models so obtained for major tectonic units allow the comparison between the Hercynian basement and other areas of Mesozoic folding and Tertiary basins.

Calibration of Discrete Random Walk (DRW) Model via G.I Taylor's Dispersion Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Javaherchi, Teymour; Aliseda, Alberto

2012-11-01

Prediction of particle dispersion in turbulent flows is still an important challenge with many applications to environmental, as well as industrial, fluid mechanics. Several models of dispersion have been developed to predict particle trajectories and their relative velocities, in combination with a RANS-based simulation of the background flow. The interaction of the particles with the velocity fluctuations at different turbulent scales represents a significant difficulty in generalizing the models to the wide range of flows where they are used. We focus our attention on the Discrete Random Walk (DRW) model applied to flow in a channel, particularly to the selection of eddies lifetimes as realizations of a Poisson distribution with a mean value proportional to κ / ɛ . We present a general method to determine the constant of this proportionality by matching the DRW model dispersion predictions for fluid element and particle dispersion to G.I Taylor's classical dispersion theory. This model parameter is critical to the magnitude of predicted dispersion. A case study of its influence on sedimentation of suspended particles in a tidal channel with an array of Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) turbines highlights the dependency of results on this time scale parameter. Support from US DOE through the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, a UW-OSU partnership.

A linearized dispersion relation for orthorhombic pseudo-acoustic modeling

KAUST Repository

Song, Xiaolei; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

2012-01-01

Wavefield extrapolation in acoustic orthorhombic anisotropic media suffers from wave-mode coupling and stability limitations in the parameter range. We introduce a linearized form of the dispersion relation for acoustic orthorhombic media to model acoustic wavefields. We apply the lowrank approximation approach to handle the corresponding space-wavenumber mixed-domain operator. Numerical experiments show that the proposed wavefield extrapolator is accurate and practically free of dispersions. Further, there is no coupling of qSv and qP waves, because we use the analytical dispersion relation. No constraints on Thomsen's parameters are required for stability. The linearized expression may provide useful application for parameter estimation in orthorhombic media.

A linearized dispersion relation for orthorhombic pseudo-acoustic modeling

KAUST Repository

Song, Xiaolei

2012-11-04

Wavefield extrapolation in acoustic orthorhombic anisotropic media suffers from wave-mode coupling and stability limitations in the parameter range. We introduce a linearized form of the dispersion relation for acoustic orthorhombic media to model acoustic wavefields. We apply the lowrank approximation approach to handle the corresponding space-wavenumber mixed-domain operator. Numerical experiments show that the proposed wavefield extrapolator is accurate and practically free of dispersions. Further, there is no coupling of qSv and qP waves, because we use the analytical dispersion relation. No constraints on Thomsen\\'s parameters are required for stability. The linearized expression may provide useful application for parameter estimation in orthorhombic media.

Wind tunnel modeling of roadways: Comparison with mathematical models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heidorn, K.; Davies, A.E.; Murphy, M.C.

1991-01-01

The assessment of air quality impacts from roadways is a major concern to urban planners. In order to assess future road and building configurations, a number of techniques have been developed including mathematical models, which simulate traffic emissions and atmospheric dispersion through a series of mathematical relationships and physical models. The latter models simulate emissions and dispersion through scaling of these processes in a wind tunnel. Two roadway mathematical models, HIWAY-2 and CALINE-4, were applied to a proposed development in a large urban area. Physical modeling procedures developed by Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin Inc. (RWDI) in the form of line source simulators were also applied, and the resulting carbon monoxide concentrations were compared. The results indicated a factor of two agreement between the mathematical and physical models. The physical model, however, reacted to change in building massing and configuration. The mathematical models did not, since no provision for such changes was included in the mathematical models. In general, the RWDI model resulted in higher concentrations than either HIWAY-2 or CALINE-4. Where there was underprediction, it was often due to shielding of the receptor by surrounding buildings. Comparison of these three models with the CALTRANS Tracer Dispersion Experiment showed good results although concentrations were consistently underpredicted

Modeling Urban Spatial Growth in Mountainous Regions of Western China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guoping Huang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The scale and speed of urbanization in the mountainous regions of western China have received little attention from researchers. These cities are facing rapid population growth and severe environmental degradation. This study analyzed historical urban growth trends in this mountainous region to better understand the interaction between the spatial growth pattern and the mountainous topography. Three major factors—slope, accessibility, and land use type—were studied in light of their relationships with urban spatial growth. With the analysis of historical data as the basis, a conceptual urban spatial growth model was devised. In this model, slope, accessibility, and land use type together create resistance to urban growth, while accessibility controls the sequence of urban development. The model was tested and evaluated using historical data. It serves as a potential tool for planners to envision and assess future urban growth scenarios and their potential environmental impacts to make informed decisions.

Dispersion in the wake of a model industrial complex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatcher, R.V.; Meroney, R.N.; Peterka, J.A.; Kothari, K.

1977-06-01

Models (1:200 scale) of the EOCR reactor building and surrounding silo and tank buildings at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho were put into the Meteorological Wind Tunnel at Colorado State University for the purpose of studying the effects of building wakes on dispersion. Flow visualization was done and concentration measurements were taken. The test program consisted of systematic releases from ground, building height, and stack height sources with no appreciable plume rise. The program was repeated for cases of moderately unstable, neutral, moderately stable, and stable conditions in the wind tunnel. Results show that the buildings significantly alter the dispersion patterns and the addition of any extra buildings or slight terrain change in the immediate vicinity of the building has a major effect. In the near wake region the effects of stratification were still evident causing slightly higher concentrations for stable conditions and slightly lower for unstable. Current dispersion models are discussed and evaluated that predict concentrations in the building wake region

Modelling of the urban concentrations of PM2.5 on a high resolution for a period of 35 years, for the assessment of lifetime exposure and health effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Kukkonen

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Reliable and self-consistent data on air quality are needed for an extensive period of time for conducting long-term, or even lifetime health impact assessments. We have modelled the urban-scale concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area for a period of 35 years, from 1980 to 2014. The regional background concentrations were evaluated based on reanalyses of the atmospheric composition on global and European scales, using the SILAM model. The high-resolution urban computations included both the emissions originated from vehicular traffic (separately exhaust and suspension emissions and those from small-scale combustion, and were conducted using the road network dispersion model CAR-FMI and the multiple-source Gaussian dispersion model UDM-FMI. The modelled concentrations of PM2.5 agreed fairly well with the measured data at a regional background station and at four urban measurement stations, during 1999–2014. The modelled concentration trends were also evaluated for earlier years, until 1988, using proxy analyses. There was no systematic deterioration of the agreement of predictions and data for earlier years (the 1980s and 1990s, compared with the results for more recent years (2000s and early 2010s. The local vehicular emissions were about 5 times higher in the 1980s, compared with the emissions during the latest considered years. The local small-scale combustion emissions increased slightly over time. The highest urban concentrations of PM2.5 occurred in the 1980s; these have since decreased to about to a half of the highest values. In general, regional background was the largest contribution in this area. Vehicular exhaust has been the most important local source, but the relative shares of both small-scale combustion and vehicular non-exhaust emissions have increased in time. The study has provided long-term, high-resolution concentration databases on regional and urban scales that can be used for

Numerical simulations of atmospheric dispersion of iodine-131 by different models.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ádám Leelőssy

Full Text Available Nowadays, several dispersion models are available to simulate the transport processes of air pollutants and toxic substances including radionuclides in the atmosphere. Reliability of atmospheric transport models has been demonstrated in several recent cases from local to global scale; however, very few actual emission data are available to evaluate model results in real-life cases. In this study, the atmospheric dispersion of 131I emitted to the atmosphere during an industrial process was simulated with different models, namely the WRF-Chem Eulerian online coupled model and the HYSPLIT and the RAPTOR Lagrangian models. Although only limited data of 131I detections has been available, the accuracy of modeled plume direction could be evaluated in complex late autumn weather situations. For the studied cases, the general reliability of models has been demonstrated. However, serious uncertainties arise related to low level inversions, above all in case of an emission event on 4 November 2011, when an important wind shear caused a significant difference between simulated and real transport directions. Results underline the importance of prudent interpretation of dispersion model results and the identification of weather conditions with a potential to cause large model errors.

Integration agent-based models and GIS as a virtual urban dynamic laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Peng; Liu, Miaolong

2007-06-01

Based on the Agent-based Model and spatial data model, a tight-coupling integrating method of GIS and Agent-based Model (ABM) is to be discussed in this paper. The use of object-orientation for both spatial data and spatial process models facilitates their integration, which can allow exploration and explanation of spatial-temporal phenomena such as urban dynamic. In order to better understand how tight coupling might proceed and to evaluate the possible functional and efficiency gains from such a tight coupling, the agent-based model and spatial data model are discussed, and then the relationships affecting spatial data model and agent-based process models interaction. After that, a realistic crowd flow simulation experiment is presented. Using some tools provided by general GIS systems and a few specific programming languages, a new software system integrating GIS and MAS as a virtual laboratory applicable for simulating pedestrian flows in a crowd activity centre has been developed successfully. Under the environment supported by the software system, as an applicable case, a dynamic evolution process of the pedestrian's flows (dispersed process for the spectators) in a crowds' activity center - The Shanghai Stadium has been simulated successfully. At the end of the paper, some new research problems have been pointed out for the future.

Effect of stable stratification on dispersion within urban street canyons: A large-eddy simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xian-Xiang; Britter, Rex; Norford, Leslie K.

2016-11-01

This study employs a validated large-eddy simulation (LES) code with high tempo-spatial resolution to investigate the effect of a stably stratified roughness sublayer (RSL) on scalar transport within an urban street canyon. The major effect of stable stratification on the flow and turbulence inside the street canyon is that the flow slows down in both streamwise and vertical directions, a stagnant area near the street level emerges, and the vertical transport of momentum is weakened. Consequently, the transfer of heat between the street canyon and overlying atmosphere also gets weaker. The pollutant emitted from the street level 'pools' within the lower street canyon, and more pollutant accumulates within the street canyon with increasing stability. Under stable stratification, the dominant mechanism for pollutant transport within the street canyon has changed from ejections (flow carries high-concentration pollutant upward) to unorganized motions (flow carries high-concentration pollutant downward), which is responsible for the much lower dispersion efficiency under stable stratifications.

Physical modelling of flow and dispersion over complex terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Cermak, J. E.

1984-09-01

Atmospheric motion and dispersion over topography characterized by irregular (or regular) hill-valley or mountain-valley distributions are strongly dependent upon three general sets of variables. These are variables that describe topographic geometry, synoptic-scale winds and surface-air temperature distributions. In addition, pollutant concentration distributions also depend upon location and physical characteristics of the pollutant source. Overall fluid-flow complexity and variability from site to site have stimulated the development and use of physical modelling for determination of flow and dispersion in many wind-engineering applications. Models with length scales as small as 1:12,000 have been placed in boundary-layer wind tunnels to study flows in which forced convection by synoptic winds is of primary significance. Flows driven primarily by forces arising from temperature differences (gravitational or free convection) have been investigated by small-scale physical models placed in an isolated space (gravitational convection chamber). Similarity criteria and facilities for both forced and gravitational-convection flow studies are discussed. Forced-convection modelling is illustrated by application to dispersion of air pollutants by unstable flow near a paper mill in the state of Maryland and by stable flow over Point Arguello, California. Gravitational-convection modelling is demonstrated by a study of drainage flow and pollutant transport from a proposed mining operation in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Other studies in which field data are available for comparison with model data are reviewed.

Urbancontext: A Management Model For Pervasive Environments In User-Oriented Urban Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia L. Zuniga-Canon

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, urban computing has gained a lot of interest for guiding the evolution of citiesinto intelligent environments. These environments are appropriated for individuals’ inter-actions changing in their behaviors. These changes require new approaches that allow theunderstanding of how urban computing systems should be modeled.In this work we present UrbanContext, a new model for designing of urban computingplatforms that applies the theory of roles to manage the individual’s context in urban envi-ronments. The theory of roles helps to understand the individual’s behavior within a socialenvironment, allowing to model urban computing systems able to adapt to individuals statesand their needs.UrbanContext collects data in urban atmospheres and classifies individuals’ behaviorsaccording to their change of roles, to optimize social interaction and offer secure services.Likewise, UrbanContext serves as a generic model to provide interoperability, and to facilitatethe design, implementation and expansion of urban computing systems.

Impact of height and shape of building roof on air quality in urban street canyons

Science.gov (United States)

Yassin, Mohamed F.

2011-09-01

A building's roof shape and roof height play an important role in determining pollutant concentrations from vehicle emissions and its complex flow patterns within urban street canyons. The impact of the roof shape and height on wind flow and dispersion of gaseous pollutants from vehicle exhaust within urban canyons were investigated numerically using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. Two-dimensional flow and dispersion of gaseous pollutants were analyzed using standard κ- ɛ turbulence model, which was numerically solved based on Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The diffusion fields in the urban canyons were examined with three roof heights ( Z H/ H = 0.17, 0.33 and 0.5) and five roof shapes: (1) flat-shaped roof, (2) slanted-shaped roof, (3) downwind wedge-shaped roof, (4) upwind wedge-shaped roof, and (5) trapezoid-shaped roof. The numerical model was validated against the wind tunnels results in order to optimize the turbulence model. The numerical simulations agreed reasonably with the wind tunnel results. The results obtained indicated that the pollutant concentration increased as the roof height decreases. It also decreased with the slanted and trapezoid-shaped roofs but increased with the flat-shaped roof. The pollutant concentration distributions simulated in the present work, indicated that the variability of the roof shapes and roof heights of the buildings are important factors for estimating air quality within urban canyons.

A new framework for modeling urban land expansion in peri-urban area by combining multi-source datasets and data assimilation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Z.; Xiao, R.; Li, X.

2015-12-01

Peri-urban area is a new type region under the impacts of both rural Industrialization and the radiation of metropolitan during rapid urbanization. Due to its complex natural and social characteristics and unique development patterns, many problems such as environmental pollution and land use waste emerged, which became an urgent issue to be addressed. Study area in this paper covers three typical peri-urban districts (Pudong, Fengxian and Jinshan), which around the Shanghai inner city. By coupling cellular automata and multi-agent system model as the basic tools, this research focus on modelling the urban land expansion and driving mechanism in peri-urban area. The big data is aslo combined with the Bayesian maximum entropy method (BME) for spatiotemporal prediction of multi-source data, which expand the dataset of urban expansion models. Data assimilation method is used to optimize the parameters of the coupling model and minimize the uncertainty of observations, improving the precision of future simulation in peri-urban area. By setting quantitative parameters, the coupling model can effectively improve the simulation of the process of urban land expansion under different policies and management schemes, in order to provide scientificimplications for new urbanization strategy. In this research, we precise the urban land expansion simulation and prediction for peri-urban area, expand the scopes and selections of data acquisition measurements and methods, develop the new applications of the data assimilation method in geographical science, provide a new idea for understanding the inherent rules of urban land expansion, and give theoretical and practical support for the peri-urban area in urban planning and decision making.

Planning instruments to control urban growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Gertrud; Nielsen, Thomas Alexander Sick

2010-01-01

It is challenging to plan and control urban development in peri-urban areas. But if no planning is done, the result will often be unsustainable, including widespread, dispersed and uncoordinated urban growth. Spatial planning based on zoning remains the most important planning instrument and its...... success depend on regional coordination. Incentive based instruments may contrbute to growth management, but only few examples are available and their effects on urban growth patterns yet to be seen....

Characterizing Factors Associated with Built-Up Land Expansion in Urban and Non-Urban Areas from a Morphological Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhonghao Zhang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, built-up land expansion patterns and the associated factors were characterized in urban and non-urban areas across the Wen-Tai region of eastern China. Fractal dimension can be used as a reliable indicator of the complexity of built-up land form, and the increasing trend of fractal dimension indicated a more complex, dispersed pattern of built-up land in urban areas. Spatial regression models were quantitatively implemented to identify the indicators influencing the variation of fractal dimensions. Our findings suggested that the fractal dimension of built-up land forms was positively correlated to the patch density and elevation when built-up land expansion was more concentrated. Both landscape shape index and Gross Domestic Product (GDP were positively correlated with fractal dimension in urban areas, and total edge, edge density, and connective index had impacts on fractal dimension in non-urban areas. Slope and agricultural population also showed an influence on fractal dimension. This study provided a new way for urban studies in interpreting the complex interactions between fractal dimension and related factors. The combined approach of fractal dimension and spatial analysis can provide the government planners with valuable information that can be efficiently used to realize the influences of land use policies in urban and non-urban areas.

Modeling urbanized watershed flood response changes with distributed hydrological model: key hydrological processes, parameterization and case studies

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Y.

2017-12-01

Urbanization is the world development trend for the past century, and the developing countries have been experiencing much rapider urbanization in the past decades. Urbanization brings many benefits to human beings, but also causes negative impacts, such as increasing flood risk. Impact of urbanization on flood response has long been observed, but quantitatively studying this effect still faces great challenges. For example, setting up an appropriate hydrological model representing the changed flood responses and determining accurate model parameters are very difficult in the urbanized or urbanizing watershed. In the Pearl River Delta area, rapidest urbanization has been observed in China for the past decades, and dozens of highly urbanized watersheds have been appeared. In this study, a physically based distributed watershed hydrological model, the Liuxihe model is employed and revised to simulate the hydrological processes of the highly urbanized watershed flood in the Pearl River Delta area. A virtual soil type is then defined in the terrain properties dataset, and its runoff production and routing algorithms are added to the Liuxihe model. Based on a parameter sensitive analysis, the key hydrological processes of a highly urbanized watershed is proposed, that provides insight into the hydrological processes and for parameter optimization. Based on the above analysis, the model is set up in the Songmushan watershed where there is hydrological data observation. A model parameter optimization and updating strategy is proposed based on the remotely sensed LUC types, which optimizes model parameters with PSO algorithm and updates them based on the changed LUC types. The model parameters in Songmushan watershed are regionalized at the Pearl River Delta area watersheds based on the LUC types of the other watersheds. A dozen watersheds in the highly urbanized area of Dongguan City in the Pearl River Delta area were studied for the flood response changes due to

MODELING URBAN DYNAMICS USING RANDOM FOREST: IMPLEMENTING ROC AND TOC FOR MODEL EVALUATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Ahmadlou

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The importance of spatial accuracy of land use/cover change maps necessitates the use of high performance models. To reach this goal, calibrating machine learning (ML approaches to model land use/cover conversions have received increasing interest among the scholars. This originates from the strength of these techniques as they powerfully account for the complex relationships underlying urban dynamics. Compared to other ML techniques, random forest has rarely been used for modeling urban growth. This paper, drawing on information from the multi-temporal Landsat satellite images of 1985, 2000 and 2015, calibrates a random forest regression (RFR model to quantify the variable importance and simulation of urban change spatial patterns. The results and performance of RFR model were evaluated using two complementary tools, relative operating characteristics (ROC and total operating characteristics (TOC, by overlaying the map of observed change and the modeled suitability map for land use change (error map. The suitability map produced by RFR model showed 82.48% area under curve for the ROC model which indicates a very good performance and highlights its appropriateness for simulating urban growth.

Urban drainage models - making uncertainty analysis simple

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vezzaro, Luca; Mikkelsen, Peter Steen; Deletic, Ana

2012-01-01

in each measured/observed datapoint; an issue which is commonly overlook in the uncertainty analysis of urban drainage models. This comparison allows the user to intuitively estimate the optimum number of simulations required to conduct uncertainty analyses. The output of the method includes parameter......There is increasing awareness about uncertainties in modelling of urban drainage systems and, as such, many new methods for uncertainty analyses have been developed. Despite this, all available methods have limitations which restrict their widespread application among practitioners. Here...

radionuclides modelling dispersion of in the atmosphere for continuous discharges and accidental

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teyeb, Malika

2011-01-01

The study of the dispersion of radionuclides in the atmosphere is the subject of a physical and numerical modeling of the phenomenon of dispersion. This work aims to study the atmospheric dispersion of accidental releases and continuous, from the possible establishment of a nuclear pressurized water reactor in the potential in Bizerte and Skhira.

Urban weather data and building models for the inclusion of the urban heat island effect in building performance simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Palme, M; Inostroza, L; Villacreses, G; Lobato, A; Carrasco, C

2017-10-01

This data article presents files supporting calculation for urban heat island (UHI) inclusion in building performance simulation (BPS). Methodology is used in the research article "From urban climate to energy consumption. Enhancing building performance simulation by including the urban heat island effect" (Palme et al., 2017) [1]. In this research, a Geographical Information System (GIS) study is done in order to statistically represent the most important urban scenarios of four South-American cities (Guayaquil, Lima, Antofagasta and Valparaíso). Then, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is done to obtain reference Urban Tissues Categories (UTC) to be used in urban weather simulation. The urban weather files are generated by using the Urban Weather Generator (UWG) software (version 4.1 beta). Finally, BPS is run out with the Transient System Simulation (TRNSYS) software (version 17). In this data paper, four sets of data are presented: 1) PCA data (excel) to explain how to group different urban samples in representative UTC; 2) UWG data (text) to reproduce the Urban Weather Generation for the UTC used in the four cities (4 UTC in Lima, Guayaquil, Antofagasta and 5 UTC in Valparaíso); 3) weather data (text) with the resulting rural and urban weather; 4) BPS models (text) data containing the TRNSYS models (four building models).

Large-Eddy Simulation of Chemically Reactive Pollutant Transport from a Point Source in Urban Area

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Tangzheng; Liu, Chun-Ho

2013-04-01

Most air pollutants are chemically reactive so using inert scalar as the tracer in pollutant dispersion modelling would often overlook their impact on urban inhabitants. In this study, large-eddy simulation (LES) is used to examine the plume dispersion of chemically reactive pollutants in a hypothetical atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) in neutral stratification. The irreversible chemistry mechanism of ozone (O3) titration is integrated into the LES model. Nitric oxide (NO) is emitted from an elevated point source in a rectangular spatial domain doped with O3. The LES results are compared well with the wind tunnel results available in literature. Afterwards, the LES model is applied to idealized two-dimensional (2D) street canyons of unity aspect ratio to study the behaviours of chemically reactive plume over idealized urban roughness. The relation among various time scales of reaction/turbulence and dimensionless number are analysed.

Removal of Disperse Blue 56 and Disperse Red 135 dyes from aqueous dispersions by modified montmorillonite nanoclay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmadishoar Javad

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this study modified montmorillonite was used as an adsorbent for the removal of two selected disperse dyes i.e., Disperse Blue 56 (DB and Disperse Red 135 (DR from dye dispersions. The adsorption equilibrium data of dyes adsorption were investigated by using Nernst, Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The adsorption kinetics was analyzed by using different models including pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich and Intraparticle diffusion model. The Freundlich isotherm was found to be the most appropriate model for describing the sorption of the dyes on modified nanoclay. The best fit to the experimental results was obtained by using the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation, which satisfactorily described the process of dye adsorption. Although different kinetic models may control the rate of the adsorption process, the results indicated that the main rate limiting step was the intraparticle diffusion. The results showed that the proposed modified montmorillonite could be used as an effective adsorbent for the removal of disperse dyes even from highly concentrated dispersions.

Ensemble atmospheric dispersion modeling for emergency response consequence assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Addis, R.P.; Buckley, R.L.

2003-01-01

Full text: Prognostic atmospheric dispersion models are used to generate consequence assessments, which assist decision-makers in the event of a release from a nuclear facility. Differences in the forecast wind fields generated by various meteorological agencies, differences in the transport and diffusion models themselves, as well as differences in the way these models treat the release source term, all may result in differences in the simulated plumes. This talk will address the U.S. participation in the European ENSEMBLE project, and present a perspective an how ensemble techniques may be used to enable atmospheric modelers to provide decision-makers with a more realistic understanding of how both the atmosphere and the models behave. Meteorological forecasts generated by numerical models from national and multinational meteorological agencies provide individual realizations of three-dimensional, time dependent atmospheric wind fields. These wind fields may be used to drive atmospheric dispersion (transport and diffusion) models, or they may be used to initiate other, finer resolution meteorological models, which in turn drive dispersion models. Many modeling agencies now utilize ensemble-modeling techniques to determine how sensitive the prognostic fields are to minor perturbations in the model parameters. However, the European Union programs RTMOD and ENSEMBLE are the first projects to utilize a WEB based ensemble approach to interpret the output from atmospheric dispersion models. The ensembles produced are different from those generated by meteorological forecasting centers in that they are ensembles of dispersion model outputs from many different atmospheric transport and diffusion models utilizing prognostic atmospheric fields from several different forecast centers. As such, they enable a decision-maker to consider the uncertainty in the plume transport and growth as a result of the differences in the forecast wind fields as well as the differences in the

Atmospheric aerosol dispersion models and their applications to environmental risk assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej Mazur

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Numerical models of dispersion of atmospheric pollutants are widely used to forecast the spread of contaminants in the air and to analyze the effects of this phenomenon. The aim of the study is to investigate the possibilities and the quality of diagnosis and prediction of atmospheric transport of aerosols in the air using the dispersion model of atmospheric pollutants, developed at the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMWM in Warsaw. Material and methods. A model of the dispersion of atmospheric pollutants, linked with meteorological models in a diagnostic mode, was used to simulate the transport of the cloud of aerosols released during the crash near the town of Ożydiw (Ukraine and of volcanic ash – during the volcanic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Results. Possible directions of dispersion of pollutants in the air and its concentration in the atmosphere and deposition to the soil were assessed. The analysis of temporal variability of concentrations of aerosols in the atmosphere confirmed that the model developed at IMWM is an effective tool for diagnosis of air quality in the area of Poland as well as for determination of exposure duration to the aerosol clouds for different weather scenarios. Conclusions. The results are a confirmation of the thesis, that because in the environmental risk assessment, an important element is not only current information on the level of pollution concentrations, but also the time of exposure to pollution and forecast of these elements, and consequently the predicted effects on man or the environment in general; so it is necessary to use forecasting tools, similar to presented application. The dispersion model described in the paper is an operational tool for description, analysis and forecasting of emergency situations in case of emissions of hazardous substances.

EVALUATION OF A FAST-RESPONSE URBAN WIND MODEL - COMPARISON TO SINGLE-BUILDING WIND TUNNEL DATA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

E.R. PARDYJAK; M.J. BROWN

2001-01-01

Prediction of the 3-dimensional flow field around buildings and other obstacles is important for a number of applications, including urban air quality studies, the tracking of plumes from accidental releases of toxic air contaminants, indoor/outdoor air pollution problems, and thermal comfort assessments. Various types of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models have been used for determining the flow fields around buildings (e.g., Reisner et al., 1998; Eichhorn et al., 1988). Comparisons to measurements show that these models work reasonably well for the most part (e.g., Ehrhard et al., 2 ; Johnson and Hunter, 1998; Murakami, 1997). However, CFD models are computationally intensive and for some applications turn-around time is of the essence. For example, planning and assessment studies in which hundreds of cases must be analyzed or emergency response scenarios in which plume transport must be computed quickly. Several fast-response dispersion models of varying levels of fidelity have been developed to explicitly account for the effects of a single building or groups of buildings (e.g., UDM - Hall et al. (2000), NRC-Ramsdell and Fosmire (1995), CBP-3 - Yamartino and Wiegand (1986), APRAC - Daerdt et al. (1973)). Although a few of these models include the Hotchkiss and Harlow (1973) analytical solution for potential flow in a notch to describe the velocity field within an urban canyon, in general, these models do not explicitly compute the velocity field around groups of buildings. The EPA PRIME model (Schulman et al., 2000) has been empirically derived to provide streamlines around a single isolated building

URBAN MODELLING PERFORMANCE OF NEXT GENERATION SAR MISSIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. G. Sefercik

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In synthetic aperture radar (SAR technology, urban mapping and modelling have become possible with revolutionary missions TerraSAR-X (TSX and Cosmo-SkyMed (CSK since 2007. These satellites offer 1m spatial resolution in high-resolution spotlight imaging mode and capable for high quality digital surface model (DSM acquisition for urban areas utilizing interferometric SAR (InSAR technology. With the advantage of independent generation from seasonal weather conditions, TSX and CSK DSMs are much in demand by scientific users. The performance of SAR DSMs is influenced by the distortions such as layover, foreshortening, shadow and double-bounce depend up on imaging geometry. In this study, the potential of DSMs derived from convenient 1m high-resolution spotlight (HS InSAR pairs of CSK and TSX is validated by model-to-model absolute and relative accuracy estimations in an urban area. For the verification, an airborne laser scanning (ALS DSM of the study area was used as the reference model. Results demonstrated that TSX and CSK urban DSMs are compatible in open, built-up and forest land forms with the absolute accuracy of 8–10 m. The relative accuracies based on the coherence of neighbouring pixels are superior to absolute accuracies both for CSK and TSX.

Evaluation of hydrodynamic ocean models as a first step in larval dispersal modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Vasile, Roxana; Hartmann, Klaas; Hobday, Alistair J.; Oliver, Eric; Tracey, Sean

2018-01-01

Larval dispersal modelling, a powerful tool in studying population connectivity and species distribution, requires accurate estimates of the ocean state, on a high-resolution grid in both space (e.g. 0.5-1 km horizontal grid) and time (e.g. hourly outputs), particularly of current velocities and water temperature. These estimates are usually provided by hydrodynamic models based on which larval trajectories and survival are computed. In this study we assessed the accuracy of two hydrodynamic models around Australia - Bluelink ReANalysis (BRAN) and Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) - through comparison with empirical data from the Australian National Moorings Network (ANMN). We evaluated the models' predictions of seawater parameters most relevant to larval dispersal - temperature, u and v velocities and current speed and direction - on the continental shelf where spawning and nursery areas for major fishery species are located. The performance of each model in estimating ocean parameters was found to depend on the parameter investigated and to vary from one geographical region to another. Both BRAN and HYCOM models systematically overestimated the mean water temperature, particularly in the top 140 m of water column, with over 2 °C bias at some of the mooring stations. HYCOM model was more accurate than BRAN for water temperature predictions in the Great Australian Bight and along the east coast of Australia. Skill scores between each model and the in situ observations showed lower accuracy in the models' predictions of u and v ocean current velocities compared to water temperature predictions. For both models, the lowest accuracy in predicting ocean current velocities, speed and direction was observed at 200 m depth. Low accuracy of both model predictions was also observed in the top 10 m of the water column. BRAN had more accurate predictions of both u and v velocities in the upper 50 m of water column at all mooring station locations. While HYCOM

Utilities for high performance dispersion model PHYSIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamazawa, Hiromi

1992-09-01

The description and usage of the utilities for the dispersion calculation model PHYSIC were summarized. The model was developed in the study of developing high performance SPEEDI with the purpose of introducing meteorological forecast function into the environmental emergency response system. The procedure of PHYSIC calculation consists of three steps; preparation of relevant files, creation and submission of JCL, and graphic output of results. A user can carry out the above procedure with the help of the Geographical Data Processing Utility, the Model Control Utility, and the Graphic Output Utility. (author)

Research on application of intelligent computation based LUCC model in urbanization process

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zemin

2007-06-01

Global change study is an interdisciplinary and comprehensive research activity with international cooperation, arising in 1980s, with the largest scopes. The interaction between land use and cover change, as a research field with the crossing of natural science and social science, has become one of core subjects of global change study as well as the front edge and hot point of it. It is necessary to develop research on land use and cover change in urbanization process and build an analog model of urbanization to carry out description, simulation and analysis on dynamic behaviors in urban development change as well as to understand basic characteristics and rules of urbanization process. This has positive practical and theoretical significance for formulating urban and regional sustainable development strategy. The effect of urbanization on land use and cover change is mainly embodied in the change of quantity structure and space structure of urban space, and LUCC model in urbanization process has been an important research subject of urban geography and urban planning. In this paper, based upon previous research achievements, the writer systematically analyzes the research on land use/cover change in urbanization process with the theories of complexity science research and intelligent computation; builds a model for simulating and forecasting dynamic evolution of urban land use and cover change, on the basis of cellular automation model of complexity science research method and multi-agent theory; expands Markov model, traditional CA model and Agent model, introduces complexity science research theory and intelligent computation theory into LUCC research model to build intelligent computation-based LUCC model for analog research on land use and cover change in urbanization research, and performs case research. The concrete contents are as follows: 1. Complexity of LUCC research in urbanization process. Analyze urbanization process in combination with the contents

The Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART-WRF VERSION 3.1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brioude, J.; Arnold, D.; Stohl, A.; Cassiani, M.; Morton, Don; Seibert, P.; Angevine, W. M.; Evan, S.; Dingwell, A.; Fast, Jerome D.; Easter, Richard C.; Pisso, I.; Bukhart, J.; Wotawa, G.

2013-11-01

The Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART was originally designed for cal- culating long-range and mesoscale dispersion of air pollutants from point sources, such as after an accident in a nuclear power plant. In the meantime FLEXPART has evolved into a comprehensive tool for atmospheric transport modeling and analysis at different scales. This multiscale need from the modeler community has encouraged new developments in FLEXPART. In this document, we present a version that works with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale meteoro- logical model. Simple procedures on how to run FLEXPART-WRF are presented along with special options and features that differ from its predecessor versions. In addition, test case data, the source code and visualization tools are provided to the reader as supplementary material.

Longitudinal dispersion coefficients for numerical modeling of groundwater solute transport in heterogeneous formations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jonghyun; Rolle, Massimo; Kitanidis, Peter K

2017-09-15

Most recent research on hydrodynamic dispersion in porous media has focused on whole-domain dispersion while other research is largely on laboratory-scale dispersion. This work focuses on the contribution of a single block in a numerical model to dispersion. Variability of fluid velocity and concentration within a block is not resolved and the combined spreading effect is approximated using resolved quantities and macroscopic parameters. This applies whether the formation is modeled as homogeneous or discretized into homogeneous blocks but the emphasis here being on the latter. The process of dispersion is typically described through the Fickian model, i.e., the dispersive flux is proportional to the gradient of the resolved concentration, commonly with the Scheidegger parameterization, which is a particular way to compute the dispersion coefficients utilizing dispersivity coefficients. Although such parameterization is by far the most commonly used in solute transport applications, its validity has been questioned. Here, our goal is to investigate the effects of heterogeneity and mass transfer limitations on block-scale longitudinal dispersion and to evaluate under which conditions the Scheidegger parameterization is valid. We compute the relaxation time or memory of the system; changes in time with periods larger than the relaxation time are gradually leading to a condition of local equilibrium under which dispersion is Fickian. The method we use requires the solution of a steady-state advection-dispersion equation, and thus is computationally efficient, and applicable to any heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity K field without requiring statistical or structural assumptions. The method was validated by comparing with other approaches such as the moment analysis and the first order perturbation method. We investigate the impact of heterogeneity, both in degree and structure, on the longitudinal dispersion coefficient and then discuss the role of local dispersion

Dispersion Relations for Electroweak Observables in Composite Higgs Models

CERN Document Server

Contino, Roberto

2015-12-14

We derive dispersion relations for the electroweak oblique observables measured at LEP in the context of $SO(5)/SO(4)$ composite Higgs models. It is shown how these relations can be used and must be modified when modeling the spectral functions through a low-energy effective description of the strong dynamics. The dispersion relation for the parameter $\\epsilon_3$ is then used to estimate the contribution from spin-1 resonances at the 1-loop level. Finally, it is shown that the sign of the contribution to the $\\hat S$ parameter from the lowest-lying spin-1 states is not necessarily positive definite, but depends on the energy scale at which the asymptotic behavior of current correlators is attained.

Applicability of models to estimate traffic noise for urban roads.

Science.gov (United States)

Melo, Ricardo A; Pimentel, Roberto L; Lacerda, Diego M; Silva, Wekisley M

2015-01-01

Traffic noise is a highly relevant environmental impact in cities. Models to estimate traffic noise, in turn, can be useful tools to guide mitigation measures. In this paper, the applicability of models to estimate noise levels produced by a continuous flow of vehicles on urban roads is investigated. The aim is to identify which models are more appropriate to estimate traffic noise in urban areas since several models available were conceived to estimate noise from highway traffic. First, measurements of traffic noise, vehicle count and speed were carried out in five arterial urban roads of a brazilian city. Together with geometric measurements of width of lanes and distance from noise meter to lanes, these data were input in several models to estimate traffic noise. The predicted noise levels were then compared to the respective measured counterparts for each road investigated. In addition, a chart showing mean differences in noise between estimations and measurements is presented, to evaluate the overall performance of the models. Measured Leq values varied from 69 to 79 dB(A) for traffic flows varying from 1618 to 5220 vehicles/h. Mean noise level differences between estimations and measurements for all urban roads investigated ranged from -3.5 to 5.5 dB(A). According to the results, deficiencies of some models are discussed while other models are identified as applicable to noise estimations on urban roads in a condition of continuous flow. Key issues to apply such models to urban roads are highlighted.

Urban Air Pollution Climates Throughout the World

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hertel, Ole; Goodsite, Michael Evan

2009-01-01

The extent of the urban area, the local emission density, and the temporal pattern in the releases govern the local contribution to air pollution levels in urban environments. However, meteorological conditions also heavily affect the actual pollution levels as they govern the dispersion conditio...... population and provide the right basis for future urban air pollution management....

A data model for simulation models relying on spatio-temporal urban data

OpenAIRE

Langlois , G ,; Tourre , Vincent; Servières , Myriam; Gervais , G ,; Gesquière , Gilles

2016-01-01

International audience; To understand the complexity of modern cities and anticipate their expansion, experts from various fields conceive simulation models that can be very different. Those simulation models work with a variety of data with their own organization. Furthermore, because the urban objects are studied in the context of the evolution of a city or urban area, they carry temporal and spatial information. In this paper, we present the base classes of a common data model robust and f...

Urban weather data and building models for the inclusion of the urban heat island effect in building performance simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Palme

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This data article presents files supporting calculation for urban heat island (UHI inclusion in building performance simulation (BPS. Methodology is used in the research article “From urban climate to energy consumption. Enhancing building performance simulation by including the urban heat island effect” (Palme et al., 2017 [1]. In this research, a Geographical Information System (GIS study is done in order to statistically represent the most important urban scenarios of four South-American cities (Guayaquil, Lima, Antofagasta and Valparaíso. Then, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA is done to obtain reference Urban Tissues Categories (UTC to be used in urban weather simulation. The urban weather files are generated by using the Urban Weather Generator (UWG software (version 4.1 beta. Finally, BPS is run out with the Transient System Simulation (TRNSYS software (version 17. In this data paper, four sets of data are presented: 1 PCA data (excel to explain how to group different urban samples in representative UTC; 2 UWG data (text to reproduce the Urban Weather Generation for the UTC used in the four cities (4 UTC in Lima, Guayaquil, Antofagasta and 5 UTC in Valparaíso; 3 weather data (text with the resulting rural and urban weather; 4 BPS models (text data containing the TRNSYS models (four building models.

Uncertainty propagation in urban hydrology water quality modelling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Torres Matallana, Arturo; Leopold, U.; Heuvelink, G.B.M.

2016-01-01

Uncertainty is often ignored in urban hydrology modelling. Engineering practice typically ignores uncertainties and uncertainty propagation. This can have large impacts, such as the wrong dimensioning of urban drainage systems and the inaccurate estimation of pollution in the environment caused

Development of river flood model in lower reach of urbanized river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshimura, Kouhei; Tajima, Yoshimitsu; Sanuki, Hiroshi; Shibuo, Yoshihiro; Sato, Shinji; Lee, SungAe; Furumai, Hiroaki; Koike, Toshio

2014-05-01

Japan, with its natural mountainous landscape, has demographic feature that population is concentrated in lower reach of elevation close to the coast, and therefore flood damage with large socio-economic value tends to occur in low-lying region. Modeling of river flood in such low-lying urbanized river basin is complex due to the following reasons. In upstream it has been experienced urbanization, which changed land covers from natural forest or agricultural fields to residential or industrial area. Hence rate of infiltration and runoff are quite different from natural hydrological settings. In downstream, paved covers and construct of sewerage system in urbanized areas affect direct discharges and it enhances higher and faster flood peak arrival. Also tidal effect from river mouth strongly affects water levels in rivers, which must be taken into account. We develop an integrated river flood model in lower reach of urbanized areas to be able to address above described complex feature, by integrating model components: LSM coupled distributed hydrological model that models anthropogenic influence on river discharges to downstream; urban hydrological model that simulates run off response in urbanized areas; Saint Venant's equation approximated river model that integrates upstream and urban hydrological models with considering tidal effect from downstream. These features are integrated in a common modeling framework so that model interaction can be directly performed. The model is applied to the Tsurumi river basin, urbanized low-lying river basin in Yokohama and model results show that it can simulate water levels in rivers with acceptable model errors. Furthermore the model is able to install miscellaneous water planning constructs, such as runoff reduction pond in urbanized area, flood control field along the river channel, levee, etc. This can be a useful tool to investigate cost performance of hypothetical water management plan against impact of climate change in

Modelling atmospheric deposition flux of Cadmium and Lead in urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherin, Nicolas

2017-01-01

According to WHO, air pollution is responsible for more than 3.7 million premature deaths each year (OMS, 2014). Moreover, among these deaths, more than 70 within urban areas. Consequently, the health and environmental impacts of pollutants within these urban areas are of great concern in air quality studies. The deposition fluxes of air pollutants, which can be significant near sources of pollution, have rarely been modeled within urban areas. Historically, atmospheric deposition studies have focused mostly on remote areas to assess the potential impacts on ecosystems of acid deposition and nitrogen loading. Therefore, current atmospheric deposition models may not be suitable to simulate deposition fluxes in urban areas, which include complex surface geometries and diverse land use types. Atmospheric dry deposition is typically modeled using an average roughness length, which depends on land use. This classical roughness-length approach cannot account for the spatial variability of dry deposition in complex settings such as urban areas. Urban canopy models have been developed to parameterize momentum and heat transfer. We extend this approach here to mass transfer, and a new dry deposition model based on the urban canyon concept is presented. It uses a local mixing-length parameterization of turbulence within the canopy, and a description of the urban canopy via key parameters to provide spatially distributed dry deposition fluxes. This approach provides spatially distributed dry deposition fluxes depending on surfaces (streets, walls, roofs) and flow regimes (recirculation and ventilation) within the urban area. (author) [fr

Modeling atmospheric dispersion for reactor accident consequence evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alpert, D.J.; Gudiksen, P.H.; Woodard, K.

1982-01-01

Atmospheric dispersion models are a central part of computer codes for the evaluation of potential reactor accident consequences. A variety of ways of treating to varying degrees the many physical processes that can have an impact on the predicted consequences exists. The currently available models are reviewed and their capabilities and limitations, as applied to reactor accident consequence analyses, are discussed

Effect of real-time boundary wind conditions on the air flow and pollutant dispersion in an urban street canyon—Large eddy simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yun-Wei; Gu, Zhao-Lin; Cheng, Yan; Lee, Shun-Cheng

2011-07-01

Air flow and pollutant dispersion characteristics in an urban street canyon are studied under the real-time boundary conditions. A new scheme for realizing real-time boundary conditions in simulations is proposed, to keep the upper boundary wind conditions consistent with the measured time series of wind data. The air flow structure and its evolution under real-time boundary wind conditions are simulated by using this new scheme. The induced effect of time series of ambient wind conditions on the flow structures inside and above the street canyon is investigated. The flow shows an obvious intermittent feature in the street canyon and the flapping of the shear layer forms near the roof layer under real-time wind conditions, resulting in the expansion or compression of the air mass in the canyon. The simulations of pollutant dispersion show that the pollutants inside and above the street canyon are transported by different dispersion mechanisms, relying on the time series of air flow structures. Large scale air movements in the processes of the air mass expansion or compression in the canyon exhibit obvious effects on pollutant dispersion. The simulations of pollutant dispersion also show that the transport of pollutants from the canyon to the upper air flow is dominated by the shear layer turbulence near the roof level and the expansion or compression of the air mass in street canyon under real-time boundary wind conditions. Especially, the expansion of the air mass, which features the large scale air movement of the air mass, makes more contribution to the pollutant dispersion in this study. Comparisons of simulated results under different boundary wind conditions indicate that real-time boundary wind conditions produces better condition for pollutant dispersion than the artificially-designed steady boundary wind conditions.

A Novel Approach in Quantifying the Effect of Urban Design Features on Local-Scale Air Pollution in Central Urban Areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Miskell, Georgia; Salmond, Jennifer; Longley, Ian; Dirks, Kim N

2015-08-04

Differences in urban design features may affect emission and dispersion patterns of air pollution at local-scales within cities. However, the complexity of urban forms, interdependence of variables, and temporal and spatial variability of processes make it difficult to quantify determinants of local-scale air pollution. This paper uses a combination of dense measurements and a novel approach to land-use regression (LUR) modeling to identify key controls on concentrations of ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at a local-scale within a central business district (CBD). Sixty-two locations were measured over 44 days in Auckland, New Zealand at high density (study area 0.15 km(2)). A local-scale LUR model was developed, with seven variables identified as determinants based on standard model criteria. A novel method for improving standard LUR design was developed using two independent data sets (at local and "city" scales) to generate improved accuracy in predictions and greater confidence in results. This revised multiscale LUR model identified three urban design variables (intersection, proximity to a bus stop, and street width) as having the more significant determination on local-scale air quality, and had improved adaptability between data sets.

Wastewater effluent dispersal in Southern California Bays

KAUST Repository

Uchiyama, Yusuke; Idica, Eileen Y.; McWilliams, James C.; Stolzenbach, Keith D.

2014-01-01

The dispersal and dilution of urban wastewater effluents from offshore, subsurface outfalls is simulated with a comprehensive circulation model with downscaling in nested grid configurations for San Pedro and Santa Monica Bays in Southern California during Fall of 2006. The circulation is comprised of mean persistent currents, mesoscale and submesoscale eddies, and tides. Effluent volume inflow rates at Huntington Beach and Hyperion are specified, and both their present outfall locations and alternative nearshore diversion sites are assessed. The effluent tracer concentration fields are highly intermittent mainly due to eddy currents, and their probability distribution functions have long tails of high concentration. The dilution rate is controlled by submesoscale stirring and straining in tracer filaments. The dominant dispersal pattern is alongshore in both directions, approximately along isobaths, over distances of more than 10. km before dilution takes over. The current outfall locations mostly keep the effluent below the surface and away from the shore, as intended, but the nearshore diversions do not. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Wastewater effluent dispersal in Southern California Bays

KAUST Repository

Uchiyama, Yusuke

2014-03-01

The dispersal and dilution of urban wastewater effluents from offshore, subsurface outfalls is simulated with a comprehensive circulation model with downscaling in nested grid configurations for San Pedro and Santa Monica Bays in Southern California during Fall of 2006. The circulation is comprised of mean persistent currents, mesoscale and submesoscale eddies, and tides. Effluent volume inflow rates at Huntington Beach and Hyperion are specified, and both their present outfall locations and alternative nearshore diversion sites are assessed. The effluent tracer concentration fields are highly intermittent mainly due to eddy currents, and their probability distribution functions have long tails of high concentration. The dilution rate is controlled by submesoscale stirring and straining in tracer filaments. The dominant dispersal pattern is alongshore in both directions, approximately along isobaths, over distances of more than 10. km before dilution takes over. The current outfall locations mostly keep the effluent below the surface and away from the shore, as intended, but the nearshore diversions do not. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Fuel Performance Modeling of U-Mo Dispersion Fuel: The thermal conductivity of the interaction layers of the irradiated U-Mo dispersion fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mistarhi, Qusai M.; Ryu, Ho Jin [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel performed well at a low burn-up. However, higher burn-up and higher fission rate irradiation testing showed enhanced fuel meat swelling which was caused by high interaction layer growth and pore formation. The performance of the dispersion type fuel in the irradiation and un-irradiation environment is very important. During the fabrication of the dispersion type fuel an Interaction Layer (IL) is formed due to the inter-diffusion between the U-Mo fuel particles and the Al matrix which is an intermetallic compound (U,Mo)Alx. During irradiation, the IL becomes amorphous causing a further decrease in the thermal conductivity and an increase in the centerline temperature of the fuel meat. Several analytical models and numerical methods were developed to study the performance of the unirradiated U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel. Two analytical models were developed to study the performance of the irradiated U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel. In these models, the thermal conductivity of the IL was assumed to be constant. The properties of the irradiated U-Mo dispersion fuel have been investigated recently by Huber et al. The objective of this study is to develop a correlation for IL thermal conductivity during irradiation as a function of the temperature and fission density from the experimentally measured thermal conductivity of the irradiated U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel. The thermal conductivity of IL during irradiation was calculated from the experimentally measured data and a correlation was developed from the thermal conductivity of IL as a function of T and fission density.

Statistical modeling of urban air temperature distributions under different synoptic conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Christoph; Breitner, Susanne; Cyrys, Josef; Hald, Cornelius; Hartz, Uwe; Jacobeit, Jucundus; Richter, Katja; Schneider, Alexandra; Wolf, Kathrin

2015-04-01

Within urban areas air temperature may vary distinctly between different locations. These intra-urban air temperature variations partly reach magnitudes that are relevant with respect to human thermal comfort. Therefore and furthermore taking into account potential interrelations with other health related environmental factors (e.g. air quality) it is important to estimate spatial patterns of intra-urban air temperature distributions that may be incorporated into urban planning processes. In this contribution we present an approach to estimate spatial temperature distributions in the urban area of Augsburg (Germany) by means of statistical modeling. At 36 locations in the urban area of Augsburg air temperatures are measured with high temporal resolution (4 min.) since December 2012. These 36 locations represent different typical urban land use characteristics in terms of varying percentage coverages of different land cover categories (e.g. impervious, built-up, vegetated). Percentage coverages of these land cover categories have been extracted from different sources (Open Street Map, European Urban Atlas, Urban Morphological Zones) for regular grids of varying size (50, 100, 200 meter horizonal resolution) for the urban area of Augsburg. It is well known from numerous studies that land use characteristics have a distinct influence on air temperature and as well other climatic variables at a certain location. Therefore air temperatures at the 36 locations are modeled utilizing land use characteristics (percentage coverages of land cover categories) as predictor variables in Stepwise Multiple Regression models and in Random Forest based model approaches. After model evaluation via cross-validation appropriate statistical models are applied to gridded land use data to derive spatial urban air temperature distributions. Varying models are tested and applied for different seasons and times of the day and also for different synoptic conditions (e.g. clear and calm

The use of deconvolution techniques to identify the fundamental mixing characteristics of urban drainage structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Stovin, V R; Guymer, I; Chappell, M J; Hattersley, J G

2010-01-01

Mixing and dispersion processes affect the timing and concentration of contaminants transported within urban drainage systems. Hence, methods of characterising the mixing effects of specific hydraulic structures are of interest to drainage network modellers. Previous research, focusing on surcharged manholes, utilised the first-order Advection-Dispersion Equation (ADE) and Aggregated Dead Zone (ADZ) models to characterise dispersion. However, although systematic variations in travel time as a function of discharge and surcharge depth have been identified, the first order ADE and ADZ models do not provide particularly good fits to observed manhole data, which means that the derived parameter values are not independent of the upstream temporal concentration profile. An alternative, more robust, approach utilises the system's Cumulative Residence Time Distribution (CRTD), and the solute transport characteristics of a surcharged manhole have been shown to be characterised by just two dimensionless CRTDs, one for pre- and the other for post-threshold surcharge depths. Although CRTDs corresponding to instantaneous upstream injections can easily be generated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models, the identification of CRTD characteristics from non-instantaneous and noisy laboratory data sets has been hampered by practical difficulties. This paper shows how a deconvolution approach derived from systems theory may be applied to identify the CRTDs associated with urban drainage structures.

Urbanization impacts on mammals across urban-forest edges and a predictive model of edge effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Villaseñor, Nélida R; Driscoll, Don A; Escobar, Martín A H; Gibbons, Philip; Lindenmayer, David B

2014-01-01

With accelerating rates of urbanization worldwide, a better understanding of ecological processes at the wildland-urban interface is critical to conserve biodiversity. We explored the effects of high and low-density housing developments on forest-dwelling mammals. Based on habitat characteristics, we expected a gradual decline in species abundance across forest-urban edges and an increased decline rate in higher contrast edges. We surveyed arboreal mammals in sites of high and low housing density along 600 m transects that spanned urban areas and areas turn on adjacent native forest. We also surveyed forest controls to test whether edge effects extended beyond our edge transects. We fitted models describing richness, total abundance and individual species abundance. Low-density housing developments provided suitable habitat for most arboreal mammals. In contrast, high-density housing developments had lower species richness, total abundance and individual species abundance, but supported the highest abundances of an urban adapter (Trichosurus vulpecula). We did not find the predicted gradual decline in species abundance. Of four species analysed, three exhibited no response to the proximity of urban boundaries, but spilled over into adjacent urban habitat to differing extents. One species (Petaurus australis) had an extended negative response to urban boundaries, suggesting that urban development has impacts beyond 300 m into adjacent forest. Our empirical work demonstrates that high-density housing developments have negative effects on both community and species level responses, except for one urban adapter. We developed a new predictive model of edge effects based on our results and the literature. To predict animal responses across edges, our framework integrates for first time: (1) habitat quality/preference, (2) species response with the proximity to the adjacent habitat, and (3) spillover extent/sensitivity to adjacent habitat boundaries. This framework will

Aquatic dispersion modelling of a tritium plume in Lake Ontario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klukas, M.H.; Moltyaner, G.L.

1996-05-01

Approximately 2900 kg of tritiated water, containing 2.3E+15 Bq of tritium, were released to Lake Ontario via the cooling water discharge when a leak developed in a moderator heat exchanger in Unit 1 at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station (PNGS) on 1992 August 2. The release provided the opportunity to study the dispersion of a tritium plume in the coastal zone of Lake Ontario. Current direction over the two-week period following the release was predominantly parallel to the shore, and elevated tritium concentrations were observed up to 20 km east and 85 km west of the PNGS. Predictions of the tritium plume movement were made using current velocity measurements taken at 8-m depth, 2.5 km offshore from Darlington and using a empirical relationship where alongshore current speed is assumed to be proportional to the alongshore component of the wind speed. The tritium migration was best described using current velocity measurements. The tritium plume dispersion is modelled using the one-dimensional advection-dispersion equation. Transport parameters are the alongshore current speed and longitudinal dispersion coefficient. Longitudinal dispersion coefficients, estimated by fitting the solution of the advection-dispersion equation to measured concentration distance profiles ranged from 3.75 to 10.57 m 2 s -1 . Simulations using the fitted values of the dispersion coefficient were able to describe maximum tritium concentrations measured at water supply plants located within 25 km of Pickering to within a factor of 3. The dispersion coefficient is a function of spatial and temporal variability in current velocity and the fitted dispersion coefficients estimated here may not be suitable for predicting tritium plume dispersion under different current conditions. The sensitivity of the dispersion coefficient to variability in current conditions should be evaluated in further field experiments. (author). 13 refs., 7 tabs., 12 figs

A model for dispersion of contaminants in the subway environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coke, L. R.; Sanchez, J. G.; Policastro, A. J.

2000-05-03

Although subway ventilation has been studied extensively, very little has been published on dispersion of contaminants in the subway environment. This paper presents a model that predicts dispersion of contaminants in a complex subway system. It accounts for the combined transient effects of train motion, station airflows, train car air exchange rates, and source release properties. Results are presented for a range of typical subway scenarios. The effects of train piston action and train car air exchange are discussed. The model could also be applied to analyze the environmental impact of hazardous materials releases such as chemical and biological agents.

Meteorological Uncertainty of atmospheric Dispersion model results (MUD)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Havskov Sørensen, Jens; Amstrup, Bjarne; Feddersen, Henrik

The MUD project addresses assessment of uncertainties of atmospheric dispersion model predictions, as well as possibilities for optimum presentation to decision makers. Previously, it has not been possible to estimate such uncertainties quantitatively, but merely to calculate the ‘most likely’ di...

Variational Boussinesq model for strongly nonlinear dispersive waves

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lawrence, C.; Adytia, D.; van Groesen, E.

2018-01-01

For wave tank, coastal and oceanic applications, a fully nonlinear Variational Boussinesq model with optimized dispersion is derived and a simple Finite Element implementation is described. Improving a previous weakly nonlinear version, high waves over flat and varying bottom are shown to be

Effects of urban sprawl on arthropod communities in peri-urban farmed landscape in Shenbei New District, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Bian, Zhen-Xing; Wang, Shuai; Wang, Qiu-Bing; Yu, Miao; Qian, Feng-Kui

2018-01-08

Peri-urban farmland provides a diversity of ecological services. However, it is experiencing increasing pressures from urban sprawl. While the effects of land use associated with farming on arthropod assemblages has received increasing attention, most of this research has been conducted by comparing conventional and organic cropping systems. The present study identifies the effects of urban sprawl and the role of non-cropped habitat in defining arthropod diversity in peri-urban farmed landscapes. Multi-scale arthropod data from 30 sampling plots were used with linear-mixed models to elucidate the effects of distance from urban areas (0-13 km; 13-25 km and >25 km, zones I, II, and III, respectively) on arthropods. Results showed that urban sprawl, disturbed farm landscapes, and disturbance in non-cropped habitats had negative effects on arthropods, the latter requiring arthropods to re-establish annually from surrounding landscapes via dispersal. While arthropod species richness showed no obvious changes, arthropod abundance was lowest in zone II. Generally, patch density (PD), Shannon diversity index (SHDI), and aggregate index (AI) of non-cropped habitat were major drivers of changes in arthropod populations. This study contributes to identifying the effects of urban sprawl on arthropod diversity and documenting the multiple functions of farm landscapes in peri-urban regions.

2-D model for pollutant dispersion at the coastal outfall off Paradip

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Suryanarayana, A.; Babu, M.T.; Vethamony, P.; Gouveia, A.D.

Simulation of dispersion of the effluent discharge has been carried out using 2-D Model to verify the advection and diffusion of the pollutant patch of the proposed effluent disposal off Paradip, Orissa, India. The simulation of dispersion...

Procedural modeling of urban layout: population, land use, and road network

OpenAIRE

Lyu, X.; Han, Q.; de Vries, B.

2017-01-01

This paper introduces an urban simulation system generating urban layouts with population, road network and land use layers. The desired urban spatial structure is obtained by generating a population map based on population density models. The road network is generated at two spatial levels corresponding to the road hierarchy. The land use allocation is based on the What If? allocation model. The expected results are urban layouts suitable for academic scenario analysis.

Eco-Anthropic Compatibility - a Multidisciplinary Model in Urban Ecology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIANO L. BIANCA

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper I propose a multidisciplinary model of urban development which goes beyond the notion of ecological sustainability, by building on the concept of eco-anthropic compatibility. First of all I will sketch the historical development of human aggregations and I will underline the difference between ancient and modern aggregations. On the basis of this analysis, I will take into consideration the notion of sustainability and its possible application to present conurbations. I will underline several limits of the notion of sustainable development and I will propose a multidisciplinary model grounded on a broader and new notion: the eco-anthropic compatibility. Using this notion, which includes the idea of sustainability, it is possible to handle, within the model, the human factors and human living conditions inside an urban aggregation. Finally, I will state that the actual urban model is decaying and therefore, sooner or later, we will have to face the end of urban civilization; for this reason we can start imagining new future ways for human aggregations on the planet based on the notion of eco-anthropic compatibility.

Mass balance-based regression modeling of PAHs accumulation in urban soils, role of urban development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng, Chi; Wang, Meie; Chen, Weiping; Chang, Andrew C.

2015-01-01

We investigated the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contents in 68 soils samples collected at housing developments that represent different length of development periods across Beijing. Based on the data, we derived a mass balanced mathematical model to simulate the dynamics of PAH accumulations in urban soils as affected by the urban developments. The key parameters were estimated by fitting the modified mass balance model to the data of PAH concentrations vs. building age of the sampling green area. The total PAH concentrations would increase from the baseline of 267 ng g −1 to 3631 ng g −1 during the period of 1978–2048. It showed that the dynamic changes in the rates of accumulations of light and heavy PAH species were related to the shifting of sources of fuels, combustion efficiencies, and amounts of energy consumed during the course of development. - Highlights: • Introduced a mass balance model for soil PAHs accumulation with urbanization. • Reconstructed the historical data of PAH accumulation in soil of Beijing, China. • The soil PAH concentrations would be doubled in the following 40 years. • The composition of PAH emissions were shifting to light PAH species. - Introduced a regression modeling approach to predict the changes of PAH concentrations in urban soil

Mechanistic model for dispersion coefficients in bubble column

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Skosana, PJ

2015-05-01

Full Text Available predicts axial and radial dispersion coefficients that are of the same order of magnitude as the reported data. Whereas the model is based on a description of the underlying physical phenomena, its validity and extrapolation is expected to be more reliable...

Evaluating procedural modelling for 3D models of informal settlements in urban design activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoria Rautenbach

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Three-dimensional (3D modelling and visualisation is one of the fastest growing application fields in geographic information science. 3D city models are being researched extensively for a variety of purposes and in various domains, including urban design, disaster management, education and computer gaming. These models typically depict urban business districts (downtown or suburban residential areas. Despite informal settlements being a prevailing feature of many cities in developing countries, 3D models of informal settlements are virtually non-existent. 3D models of informal settlements could be useful in various ways, e.g. to gather information about the current environment in the informal settlements, to design upgrades, to communicate these and to educate inhabitants about environmental challenges. In this article, we described the development of a 3D model of the Slovo Park informal settlement in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. Instead of using time-consuming traditional manual methods, we followed the procedural modelling technique. Visualisation characteristics of 3D models of informal settlements were described and the importance of each characteristic in urban design activities for informal settlement upgrades was assessed. Next, the visualisation characteristics of the Slovo Park model were evaluated. The results of the evaluation showed that the 3D model produced by the procedural modelling technique is suitable for urban design activities in informal settlements. The visualisation characteristics and their assessment are also useful as guidelines for developing 3D models of informal settlements. In future, we plan to empirically test the use of such 3D models in urban design projects in informal settlements.

The backbone of a City Information Model (CIM) : Implementing a spatial data model for urban design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gil, J.A.; Almeida, J.; Duarte, J.P.

2011-01-01

We have been witnessing an increased interest in a more holistic approach to urban design practice and education. In this paper we present a spatial data model for urban design that proposes the combination of urban environment feature classes with design process feature classes. This data model is

Spatial and temporal variability in urban fine particulate matter concentrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levy, Jonathan I.; Hanna, Steven R.

2011-01-01

Identification of hot spots for urban fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentrations is complicated by the significant contributions from regional atmospheric transport and the dependence of spatial and temporal variability on averaging time. We focus on PM 2.5 patterns in New York City, which includes significant local sources, street canyons, and upwind contributions to concentrations. A literature synthesis demonstrates that long-term (e.g., one-year) average PM 2.5 concentrations at a small number of widely-distributed monitoring sites would not show substantial variability, whereas short-term (e.g., 1-h) average measurements with high spatial density would show significant variability. Statistical analyses of ambient monitoring data as a function of wind speed and direction reinforce the significance of regional transport but show evidence of local contributions. We conclude that current monitor siting may not adequately capture PM 2.5 variability in an urban area, especially in a mega-city, reinforcing the necessity of dispersion modeling and methods for analyzing high-resolution monitoring observations. - Highlights: →Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) hot spots are hard to identify in urban areas. → Literature conclusions about PM 2.5 hot spots depend on study design and methods. → Hot spots are more likely for short-term concentrations at high spatial density. → Statistical methods illustrate local source impacts beyond regional transport. → Dispersion models and high-resolution monitors are both needed to find hot spots. - Fine particulate matter can vary spatially within large urban areas, in spite of the significant contribution from regional atmospheric transport.

Implementation of meso-scale radioactive dispersion model for GPU