Upstream Turbulence Effect on Pollution Dispersion

Experiments have been carried out to investigate turbulence at and above roof-level in an urban environment, and to predict the behaviour of street pollution from experiments using dye dispersion, for different roughness conditions and bed geometries. The flow in the boundary layer above an idealised urban environment has been simulated in a laboratory water flume. Comparisons have been made for the same model street canyon with and without the presence of upstream roughness. In the tests reported here, model street canyons were aligned perpendicular to the flow direction, and velocity measurements made within and above the model street canyons using a laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV). Flow visualisation techniques have also been used to confirm the gross flow features from streak images. Turbulence generated from the upstream roughness has a significant effect on the turbulence production and dispersion behaviour of the dye simulating pollution in street canyons.