Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of Air Pollutant Dispersion in Street Canyons

The PHOENICS Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software package has been used with a standard k- turbulence model to simulate the three-dimensional dispersion of air pollutants in an urban street canyon. In all cases, a vortex was formed within the street canyon, characterized by updrafts near the upwind buildings and down-drafts near the downwind buildings. Contours of pollutant concentrations over a transverse vertical plane at mid-canyon show pollutants circulating within the vortex, with higher concentrations at the leeward face than at the windward faces, and higher concentrations above downwind buildings than above upwind buildings. Longitudinal distributions of pollutant concentrations at leeward and windward faces are characterized by higher concentrations at mid-block and lower concentrations at the ends. These results agree qualitatively with previous wind tunnel findings such as those of Hoydysh and Dabberdt (1988) and Wedding et al. (1977). The results also suggest that the k- turbulence model is satisfactory for simulating the effect of turbulence on dispersion of pollutants in street canyons     

Thermal Effects on the Airflow in a Street Canyon – Nantes'99 Experimental Results and Model Simulations

The thermal effects on the airflow within a street canyon, which are produced by the variation of direct solar heating of the street sides and ground, are examined in this article. The investigation is based on the experimental results of the Nantes'99 campaign and numerical simulations performed with the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code CHENSI using the standard k- model. The Nantes'99 experimental campaign was performed in a North-to-South oriented central street canyon of Nantes, France. It was observed that a thin thermal layer develops locally within a few centimetres from the heated wall. It is anticipated that, the convective flow close to the windward wall, which was visualised during the experiment, carries air masses from the street level upwards, where normally cleaner air is transported. Consequently, thermal effects may be important for the air quality in the street.Based on the temperature and wind flow measurements, the flow and temperature fields were simulated first in two dimensions with the CFD code CHENSI. It was found that CHENSI overestimates the thermal effects on the canyon airflow showing the main re-circulation simulated in the isothermal case to change into two counter-rotating vortices after the inclusion of the heating of the windward wall. A reason for this overestimation is possibly the temperature wall function implemented for such thin thermal boundary layers in conjunction with the limitations in grid resolution.     

Influence of Geometry on the Mean Flow within Urban Street Canyons – A Comparison of Wind Tunnel Experiments and Numerical Simulations

A comparison between numerical simulations and wind tunnel modelling has been performed to examine the variation with streamwise aspect ratio (width/height, W/H) of the mean flow patterns in a street canyon. For this purpose a two-dimensional (2-D) cavity was subjected to a thick turbulent boundary layer flow perpendicular to its principal axis. Five different test cases, W/H = 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0 and 2.0, have been studied experimentally with flow measurements taken using pulsed-wire anemometry. The results show that the skimming flow regime, with a large vortex in the canyon, occurred for all the cases investigated. For the cavities with W/H 0.7 a weaker secondary circulation developed beneath the main vortex. The narrower the canyon, the smaller the wind speed close to the cavity ground, giving increasingly poor ventilation qualities. The corresponding numerical results were obtained with the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code CHENSI that uses the standard k- model. The intercomparison showed good agreement in terms of the gross features of the mean flow for all the geometries examined, although some detailed differences were observed.     

Measurements of Traffic-Induced Turbulence within a Street Canyon during the Nantes'99 Experiment

A full scale experiment has been performed in a streetcanyon, the Rue de Strasbourg in Nantes (France). Thiscampaign, the Nantes'99 experiment, provided a detaileddata base documenting, amongst others, the production ofturbulent kinetic energy (TKE) by vehicles within thestreet. Airflow and CO concentration measurements have beenanalysed during days with low wind perpendicular to thestreet axis, i.e. for conditions expected to greatly favourthe enhancement of the turbulence produced by traffic onflow and dispersion within the street canyon. It is shownthat traffic is associated with an increase in turbulentkinetic energy at the lowest levels of the street,especially at the leeward side of the street. It issuggested that turbulent kinetic energy increases with thenumber of vehicles up to a threshold value and thendecreases when vehicles form a `block' shape that limitsthe additional production of turbulence. Moreover, it issuggested that traffic-produced turbulence affectspollutant dispersion reducing CO concentration at the lowerlevels of the leeward side of the street from a thresholdvalue of TKE equal to about 0.15 m² s^-2. On the other hand, high traffic density generates less turbulencewhich in turn leads to a lower pollutant dispersion.     

Numerical Prediction of Dispersion Characteristics in an Urban Area Based on Grid Refinement and Various Turbulence Models

A detailed simulation of the Goettinger Strasse pollutantdispersion problem is performed using the CFD code CFX-TASCflow for different wind directions. Two turbulencemodels, the k- and the RSM are adopted on three gridrefinement levels. Besides the typical reference gridimplemented by the TRAPOS group, two different gridresolutions are introduced. The first refinement is in thewhole street canyon region on the x-y level, while thesecond one is local in all three directions. Validation ofall involved computational schemes is performed based onrelative available experimental data. The computed velocityfields and concentration contours imply that the typicalreference grid is a suitable choice for the velocityfields, while local grid refinement in all three directionsin a small region containing the receptor is required toupgrade the pollutant concentration results with modestadditional computational effort. Finally the RSM modelresulted in smaller concentration levels. The k-model compared to the RSM seems a more appropriate choiceto solve this particular problem.     

Modelling of Flow and Pollution Dispersion in a Two Dimensional Urban Street Canyon

The wind-driven flow patterns and the dispersion of vehicle exhaust pollutants released at street level has been simulated with the three-dimensional (3-D) dispersion model ADREA-HF (Andronopoulos et al., 1993), for idealised two-dimensional urban fetches occupied by buildings with slanted roofs. The simulation used oncoming atmospheric boundary layer characteristics corresponding to realistic above-town wind characteristics, as measured in reference wind tunnel experiments (Rafailidis, 1997). At that stage, analysis was limited to neutral stability conditions only. Firstly, the quality assurance of the numerical model was investigated in terms of the sensitivity to different grid allocations. The modelling results were corroborated by comparison with wind tunnel measurements in a similar two-dimensional domain (Pavageau et al., 1997). The numerical modelling replicated well the high degree of non-uniformity in the dispersion field in the test street, and the results agreed satisfactorily with the experimental measurements. The reasons for the differences observed have been investigated. With the model thus validated, three different exhaust release scenarios have been tested, keeping the same overall emission rate but different spatial patterns of street-release. The effect of the different street-release scenarios was found to be only marginal, with the dispersion patterns on the sidewalls affected only locally, close to the street level.     

Analysis of the St. Petersburg Traffic Data using the OSPM Model

Since October 1998 two DOAS instruments were installed at the level of the first floor and at the top of a building located in St. Petersburg at Pestelya Street. The collected datacovers the time period of December 1998–March 2001, and include concentrations of benzene, toluene, NO and NO₂, ozone and SO₂. There is also an additional information about the traffic intensity and meteorological conditions. The results of the analysis of this data set, using the OSPM model, are presented here with the goal to understand the features of the air pollution dispersion in this street canyon and to analyse the information about the emission factors of the vehicles. In particular, the model results are used for the solution of the inverse problem of reconstructing the emission factors from measured concentrations. The results obtained indicate that most of the concentrations are well inside the Russian standards with the only exception of NO₂ (mean and 98-th percentile are equal to 57.8 and 119.2 g m^-3 for the street level). The same values for benzene are 18.5 and 62.6, respectively. Emission estimates show that there is a possibility that the NO_x and benzene basic emission factors recommended by the Russian national guidelines could result in overestimating the traffic emissions. These considerations are supplemented with the model sensitivity tests carried out in connection with the problem of predictability of NO₂ concentrations in the street canyon. Tests indicate that NO₂ concentrations are not very sensitive to NO_x emissions because of the usually low urban background ozone levels.     

Application of Dispersion Modelling for Analysis of Particle Pollution Sources in a Street Canyon

The dominating source of particles in urban air is road traffic. In terms of number concentration, its main contribution is within the range of ultrafine particles (Dp < 100 nm). The dispersion conditions, i.e. transport and dilution, of the submicrometer particles are expected to be like for gases and therefore the particle concentrations in a street canyon can be calculated using gaseous pollutants dispersion models. Such processes, like coagulation or condensation, are less important due to the short residence time within the street canyon environment.Two extensive measuring campaigns were conducted in the street Jagtvej in Copenhagen, Denmark. The particle size distributions were measured by a Differential Mobility Analyser (DMA) coupled to a particle counter, providing high time resolution data (1/2 hourly) on a continuous basis. Measurements of NO_x, CO and meteorological parameters were also available. The measured particle number concentrations, especially below 100 nm, reveal very similar dependence on the meteorological conditions as the NO_x concentrations. This underpins the conclusion that dilution properties are similar for particles and NO_x. For particle sizes over 100 nm, somewhat different behaviour is observed. This points toward existence of additional particle sources, not related to traffic emissions within the street canyon. A significant contribution is believed here to be attributed to long-range transport. The total particle emission from traffic, including daily variation and size distribution, has been calculated using the OSPM dispersion model. Results are in accordance with a previous analysis based on statistical modelling.     

Studies on Pollutant Dispersion from Moving Vehicles

Remote sensing instruments may be used to make measurements of emission levels from individual vehicles under realdriving conditions. In designing such an instrument, that will identify the gross polluters, the CFD modelling approach has been used to study the effects of the parameters involved on the characteristics of the exhaust gas plume. The analysis was performed using the ADREA-HF code in open space, street canyon and tunnel environments, with sensitivity parameters the car speed and meteorological conditions. The calculations have been performed in a moving coordinate system, with the car and site geometry being fully resolved. A discussion is given on the effects of the various parameters affecting the design of the instrument.     

Spatial Variability and Source-Receptor Relations at a Street Intersection

A wind tunnel study of dispersion at a simple urban intersection comprising two perpendicular streets is described. Concentration and flow field measurement were undertaken to determine the importance of the exchange of pollutants between the streets and to investigate source-receptor relationships at the intersection. The results showed that only in a symmetrical situation were exchanges negligible and that small departures from symmetry, brought about in the experiments through an off-set in the street alignment or a change of orientation relative to the wind, were sufficient to establish significant exchanges. The results also showed that significant structure appeared in the concentration fields in the streets as a result. Examples are shown where concentrations on one side of a street are entirely due to emissions from the perpendicular street, whereas on the opposite side concentrations depend on emission upwind in the same street as the receptor. The results imply that exchanges between street systems are likely to be the norm in practice and that the consequences of such exchanges are not confined to the immediate vicinity of the intersection.     

CFD Prediction of Air Quality in the Area between Two City Vehicular Tunnels Considering Moving Cars

Concentration fields of different pollutants that spread outside two roadtunnels predicted with a CFD code will be presented. The solution domain represents the city area located between two tunnel outlets – tunnel Strahov and tunnel Mrazovka in Prague. The vicinity of both tunnels is a heavily built up area with tall buildings forming typical street canyons. The CFD modelling predicts the situation after the tunnel Mrazovka will be finished and traffic will increase considerably between both tunnels. Namely, an interest was given to the prediction of dispersion of emissions leaving both tunnel and the area touched by the traffic. For the CFD predictions, a method previously developed for moving vehicles was used. The method uses combination of Eulerian and Lagrangian approaches to moving objects and is capable of modeling different speeds and traffic rates of cars as well as traffic-induced turbulence. Influence of several meteorological parameters was studied, namely wind speed and direction and traffic parameters, like traffic rates and speed of cars. The method separates contributions from different sources to the total concentration field, namely from background, tunnel outlet and roadway. Results are presented in the form of horizontal and vertical concentration fields of NO_x.     

An Automated Wet Deposition System to Compare the Effects of Reduced and Oxidised N on Ombrotrophic Bog Species: Practical Considerations

Critical N loads for ombrotrophic bogs, which often contain rare and N-sensitive plants (especially those in lower plant groups: lichens, mosses and liverworts), are based on very few experimental data from measured, low background N deposition areas. Additionally the relative effects of reduced versus oxidised N are largely unknown. This paper describes an automated field exposure system (30 km S. of Edinburgh, Scotland) for treating ombrotrophic bog vegetation with fine droplets of oxidised N (NaNO₃) and reduced N (NH₄Cl). Whim Moss exists in an area of low ambient N deposition (ca. 8 kg N ha^–1 y^–1), the sources and quantification of which are described. The wet N treatment system is run continuously, and is controlled/activated by wind speed and rainfall to provide a unique simulation of real world treatment patterns (no rain=no treatment). Simulated precipitation is supplied at ionic concentrations below4mMin rainwater collected on site. Treatments provide a replicated dose response to 16, 32 and 64 kg N ha^–1 y^–1 adjusted for ambient deposition (8 kg N ha^–1 y^–1). The 16 and 64 kg N ha^–1 y^–1 are duplicated with a P+K supplement. Baseline soil chemistry and foliar nutrient status was established for all 44 plots for Calluna vulgaris, Sphagnum capillifolium, Hypnum jutlandicum and Cladonia portentosa.     

Quantifying dry NH3 deposition to an ombrotrophic bog from an automated NH3 field release system

Providing an accurate estimate of the dry component of N deposition to low N background, semi-natural habitats, such as bogs and upland moors dominated by Calluna vulgaris is difficult, but essential to relate nitrogen deposition to effects in these communities. To quantify the effects of NH₃ inputs to moorland vegetation growing on a bog at a field scale, a field release NH₃ fumigation system was established at Whim Moss (Scottish Borders) in 2002. Gaseous NH₃ from a line source was released along of a 60 m transect, when meteorological conditions (wind speed >2.5 m s^–1 and wind direction in the sector 180–215°) were met, thereby providing a profile of decreasing NH₃ concentration with distance from the source. In a complementary study, using a NH₃ flux chamber system, the relationships between NH₃ concentrations and cuticular resistances were quantified for a range of NH₃ concentrations and micrometeorological conditions for moorland vegetation. Cuticular resistances increased with NH₃ concentration from 11 s m^–1 at 3.0 g m^–3 to 30 s m^–1 at 30 g m^–3. The NH₃ concentration data and the concentration-dependent canopy resistance are used to calculate NH₃ deposition taking into account leaf surface wetness. The implications of using an NH₃ concentration-dependent cuticular resistance and the importance for refining critical loads are discussed.     

Application of the rescue number to the evaluation of remediation technologies for contaminated ground

An improved rescue number, RN_SOIL, which is an indicator for evaluating remediation technologies for contaminated ground that is based on both the risk and the remediation cost, is proposed as a tool of risk communication. The risk posed by contaminated ground is indicated by the figure of treatment priority at time t, FTP(t), which represents the human health risk as the number of people affected by the contaminated ground at time t during the remediation process. The calculation of the value of FTP(t) is based on exposure to contaminants that have migrated through environmental media from the contaminated ground, and is estimated by using a CalTOX model and the Monte Carlo method. The integration of FTP(t) with time, which represents the cumulative number of people affected by the contaminated ground, is used to estimate the performance of individual remediation technologies in risk reduction. The figure of unprocessibility for waste (FUW), which represents difficulties in remediation, is expressed as the remediation cost. FUW is estimated by using actual costs per unit volume of remediated soil. As an overall performance value, the rescue number for each remediation technology for contaminated ground (RN_SOIL) is calculated by multiplication of the integral FTP(t) by FUW. Smaller values of RN_SOIL are judged to indicate a better technology. The rescue index (RI), calculated as the ratio of the reduction of the integral FTP(t) to FUW, indicates the cost-effectiveness of the remediation technologies. Successful estimation of the indices (FTP(t), integral FTP(t), FUW, RN_SOIL and RI) demonstrate the usefulness of these indices in risk communication.Part of this paper was presented at 13th meeting of Japan Society of Waste Management Experts (2002)     

Longitudinal Dispersion Characteristics of Rivers and Natural Streams in Greece

An optimized parameterization of the non-dimensional longitudinal dispersion coefficients in Greek rivers, $K_{x_a } $ , is described in terms of parameters derived from cross-section river geometry and longitudinal velocity data. Optimization is accomplished, using various combinations of the selected parameters, either for subsets of $K_{x_a } $ values, according to the cross-section aspect ratio range, or for the entire $K_{x_a } $ population. The use of shape factors associated with the river cross-section transverse profiles of depth-mean longitudinal velocities and the normalized intensities of longitudinal velocity variations from the overall mean cross-sectional velocity improves the parameterization. The statistical behavior of $K_{x_a } $ in terms of skewness, flatness and other shape coefficients is also examined. $K_{x_a } $ histograms show that these coefficients have a log-normal distribution. An empirical expression for $K_{x_a } $ is also proposed that takes into account both contributions from the transverse velocity profile and from the vertical profile of longitudinal velocities, at each cross-section, in shaping the value of dispersion coefficients when the aspect ratio of the cross-section is of O(1) and/or when $K_{x_a } $ is of O(1).     

Modelling of Air Quality with CAMx: A Case Study in Switzerland

The three-dimensional Eulerian model CAMx (Comprehensive Air QualityModel with Extensions) was applied for the first time to simulate bothgaseous and particulate photochemical air pollution in Switzerland during July 28–30, 1993. The meteorological input data were prepared using the Systems Applications International Mesoscale Model (SAIMM). The CAMx model results were compared with the measurements carried out at ground level andfrom airborne measuring platforms within the frame of the Swiss POLLUMET research programme. In general, the CAMx performance for gaseous species wasfound to be better than that of the previously used Urban Airshed Model (UAM)and the Variable Grid Urban Airshed Model (UAM-V). The most significant improvement for the gaseous species is in the prediction of HNO₃ concentrations, due to the inclusion of aerosol chemistry. Aerosol species such as NO₃ ^-, NH₄ ⁺, SO₄ ^2-, and secondary organic aerosols were calculated in one particle size range (0.04–2.5 m) and compared with a few measurements available. Although July 29 was reasonably well simulated, overestimated wind speeds by SAIMM for July 30 caused a too fast transport of pollutants. Similarly to measurements, significant spatial correlation of the secondarily formed aerosols with ozone and formaldehyde is found in the afternoon.     

Solid State Reactions of Potato Starch with Urea and Biuret

Reaction of granular potato starch with urea and biuret resulted in the formation of products, which were soluble neither in cold nor boiling water. The net reaction was a monosubstitution of the hydrogen atom in one hydroxyl group in each D-glucose unit of starch with the either CO–NH₂ or CO–NH–CO–NH₂ moiety, respectively. Properties of the products, particularly these with urea, depended on the mode of reaction. Reactions were carried out in the microwave oven as well as with convection heating. The products retained the granular form of starch but a vast majority of granules were damaged. -Amylolysis of those materials revealed that their susceptibility to the enzyme increasing in the order: starch-amylolysis with simultaneous insolubility in water make these products suitable as ruminant fodder and, eventually, biodegradable material.     

Crystallization behavior of predominantly syndiotactic poly(β-hydroxybutyrate)

Predominantly syndiotactic poly(-hydroxybutyrate), syn-PHB, of variable syndioregularity (syndyad fractions 0.59, 0.62, 0.64, and 0.71) and molecular weight was prepared by the dibutyltin dimethoxide catalyzed ring opening of racemic-butyrolactone (BL). The crystallization behavior of the syn-PHB polymers was investigated by DSC and X-ray diffraction analyses. DSC of films after melting and annealing showed at least one, and often two distinct melting transitions occuring over a broad (often 40°C) temperature range. These results indicate that syn-PHB chain segments of variable syndioregularity form crystalline regions with very different thermodynamic stabilities. Maximum degrees of crystallinity for melt annealed 0.64- and 0.71-syn-PHB was observed at an annealing temperature (T _c ) of 30°C. AtT _c values at 45°C and higher, crystallization of relatively lower syndioregular chain segments was apparently excluded to variable degrees dependent onT _c and sample syndiotactic dyad content. After crystallization of syn-PHB samples at elevated temperatures, ambient temperature annealing resulted in an observed lower temperature melting transition at 50°C. This result showed little to no dependence on syn-PHB syndio-regularity andT _c . Both solution precipitated 0.62-syn-PHB and 0.71-syn-PHB have WAXS patterns with poorly resolved crystalline reflections superimposed on amorphous haloes indicating low levels of crystallinity (17% and 25%, respectively) and poorly formed crystals. Isothermal crystallization monitored by DSC showed that the syn- and natural origin PHB showed fastest crystallization rates at temperatures between 50°C and 70°C and 60°C and 90°C, respectively. From the dependence of the higher melting transition onT _c it was determined that the equilibrium melting temperatures for 0.62-syn-PHB (M _n =83,700 g/mol) and a 0.64-syn-PHB (M _n =11,900 g/mol) were 157 and 154°C, respectively. An Avrami analysis of syn-PHB yielded results similar to that found for natural origin PHB indicating that crystal growth occurs by a two-dimensional mechanism.Guest Editor: Dr. Graham Swift, Rohm & Haas.     

Assessment of Bacterial Degradation of Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Environment by Analysis of Stable Carbon Isotope Fractionation

¹³C/¹²C stable carbon isotope fractionation was used to assess biodegradation in contaminated aquifers with toluene as a model compound. Different strains of anaerobic bacteria (Thauera aromatica, Geobacter metallireducens, and the sulfate-reducing strain TRM1) showed consistent ¹³C/¹²C carbon isotope fractionation with fractionation factors between C = 1.0017 and 1.0018. In contrast, three cultures of aerobic organisms, using different mono- and dioxygenase enzyme systems to initiate toluene degradation, showed variable isotope fractionation factors of C = 1.0027 (Pseudomonasputida strain mt-2), C = 1.0011 (Ralstonia picketii), andC = 1.0004 (Pseudomonas putida strain F1). The great variability of isotope fractionation between different aerobic bacterial strains suggests that interpretation of isotope data in oxic habitats can only be qualitative. A soil column was run as a model system for contaminated aquifers with toluene as the carbon source and sulfate as the electron acceptor and samples were taken at different ports along the column. Microbial toluene degradation was calculated based on the ¹³C/¹²C isotope fractionation factors of the batch culture experiments together with the observed ¹³C/¹²C isotope shifts of the residual toluene fractions. The calculated percentage of biodegradation, B, correlated well with the decreasing toluene concentrations at the sampling ports and indicated the increasing extent of biodegradation along the column. The theoretical toluene concentrations as calculated based on the isotope values matched the measured concentrations at the different sampling ports indicating that the Rayleigh equation can be used to calculate biodegradation in quasi closed systems based on measured isotope shifts. A similar attempt was performed to assess toluene degradation in a contaminated, anoxic aquifer. A transect of groundwater wells was monitored along the main direction of the groundwater flow and revealed decreasing concentrations accompanied with an increase in the ¹³C/¹²C stable carbon isotope ratio of the residual toluene. Calculation of the extent of biodegradation based on the isotope values and laboratory derived isotope fractionation factors showed that the residual toluene was degraded to more than 99% by microbial activity. Calculation of the theoretical residual toluene concentrations based on the measured isotope values described the strongly decreasing concentrations along the plume. Other aromatic hydrocarbons like benzene and naphthalene which were analysed in the same course also showed decreasing concentrations along the groundwater flow path accompanied by increasing ¹³C values indicating biodegradation.