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Flow and Pollutant Transport in Urban Street Canyons of Different Aspect Ratios with Ground Heating: Large-Eddy Simulation

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Abstract

A validated large-eddy simulation model was employed to study the effect of the aspect ratio and ground heating on the flow and pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons. Three ground-heating intensities (neutral, weak and strong) were imposed in street canyons of aspect ratio 1, 2, and 0.5. The detailed patterns of flow, turbulence, temperature and pollutant transport were analyzed and compared. Significant changes of flow and scalar patterns were caused by ground heating in the street canyon of aspect ratio 2 and 0.5, while only the street canyon of aspect ratio 0.5 showed a change in flow regime (from wake interference flow to skimming flow). The street canyon of aspect ratio 1 does not show any significant change in the flow field. Ground heating generated strong mixing of heat and pollutant; the normalized temperature inside street canyons was approximately spatially uniform and somewhat insensitive to the aspect ratio and heating intensity. This study helps elucidate the combined effects of urban geometry and thermal stratification on the urban canyon flow and pollutant dispersion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CENSAM, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, S16-05-08, 3 Science Drive 2, Singapore, 117543, Singapore

    Xian-Xiang Li

  2. Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Rex E. Britter

  3. Department of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Leslie K. Norford

  4. School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637371, Singapore

    Tieh-Yong Koh

  5. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Dara Entekhabi

Authors
  1. Xian-Xiang Li
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  2. Rex E. Britter
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  3. Leslie K. Norford
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  4. Tieh-Yong Koh
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  5. Dara Entekhabi
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Correspondence to Xian-Xiang Li.

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Li, XX., Britter, R.E., Norford, L.K. et al. Flow and Pollutant Transport in Urban Street Canyons of Different Aspect Ratios with Ground Heating: Large-Eddy Simulation. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 142, 289–304 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-011-9670-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-011-9670-9

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