Prediction of high concentrations and concentration distribution of a continuous point source release in a semi-idealized urban canopy using CFD-RANS modeling

One of the key issues in recent research on dispersion in complex urban areas is the ability predicting high concentrations and concentration distribution of a pollutant released continuously from a point source. The present work addresses the question whether the CFD-RANS methodology can provide valid predictions of concentration peaks and distributions. A probabilistic and a deterministic approach are incorporated in the CFD-RANS code ADREA. Innovative algebraic equations for the calculation of the concentration time scales as a function of the hydrodynamic and pollutant travel times are used. The capabilities of the new methodology are validated against wind tunnel experimental data under well described boundary conditions and representative concentration measurements. The comparisons of model and wind tunnel gave fairly good results.