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CFD Modeling of Near-Roadway Air Pollution

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Abstract

Currently, there is an increasing interest in modeling the dispersion of atmospheric pollutants using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), to characterize the influence of the traffic-generated emissions on the temporal and spatial variability in air pollutant concentrations in the near-roadway environment. To advance in this task, we modeled the dispersion of total suspended particles (TSP), over a flat terrain, within a neutrally stratified and fully developed atmospheric boundary layer. We included the effect of turbulence and deposition on particle size distribution downstream. We found that TSP concentration downwind exhibits a single profile when expressed in terms of three dimensionless numbers: normalized concentration, normalized distance, and emission speed ratio. Using this generic character of the results, we determined the average short- and long-term TSP concentration, modeling successive short-term intervals in which it could be assumed a pseudo-steady-state behavior. Results exhibited correlation levels of R2 > 0.85 for daily and R2 > 0.94 for monthly averages when compared with measured TSP concentrations downwind two unpaved roadways. Results also showed that the implemented CFD model resolved the two main issues with Gaussian models (currently the most used air quality model): over-prediction of pollutant concentrations near the roadway and problems dealing with wind speeds < 1 ms−1.

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Abbreviations

ABL:

Atmospheric boundary layer

SL :

Surface layer

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics

DW:

Downwind

NR-CFD:

Near-roadway CFD model

PSD:

Particle size distribution

DRW:

Discrete random walk model

TSP:

Total suspended particles (particles with aerodynamic diameter d < ~ 30 μm)

UW:

Upwind

C :

TSP concentration μg m−3

C e :

Emitted TSP concentration kg m−3

C d :

Drag coefficient

C i(x) :

TSP concentration for i hour and distances x from the roadway kg m−3

\( \overline{C_x} \) :

Average TSP concentration at a distance x from the roadway kg m−3

C* :

Normalized concentration

d, \( \overline{d} \) :

Particle diameter and average particle diameter μm

E :

Emission rate g s−1 m−2

E fj :

Emission factor of TSP for vehicles of size j. Mass of TSP emitted per vehicle kilometer traveled kg vkt−1

F D :

Drag force per mass unit in the particle

g z :

Gravity m s2

k :

Turbulent kinetic energy m2 s2

K :

Von Karman universal constant

M j :

Average weight of the vehicles of size j traveling on the roadway tons

n :

Spread parameter of the Rosin-Rammler particle size distribution function

N j :

Number of vehicles of size j

R 2 :

Coefficient of determination

R e :

Reynolds number

s :

Roadway surface silt content %

T :

Characteristic lifetime of the eddies s

u :

Local wind speed at height z m s−1

u′ :

Instantaneous fluctuating random speed of the continuous phase m s−1

u p :

Local particle speed in the x direction m s−1

u* :

Friction speed m s−1

U :

Mean wind speed in the x direction m s−1

U* :

Normalized wind speed in the x direction

w p :

TSP emission speed from the roadway in the vertical direction m s−1

W :

Roadway width m

x :

Distance to the edge of the roadway (downwind) m

x* :

Normalized distance to the roadway edge

x e :

Equivalent distance to the roadway edge m

y+ :

Dimensionless wall distance

Y d :

Cumulative, mass fraction, particle size distribution

z :

Height m

z o :

Surface roughness m

β :

Wind direction

ε :

Eddy viscosity m2 s−3

ζ :

Normally distributed random number

γ :

Angle between the geographical coordinate and the roadway local coordinate system

ρ, ρ p :

Fluid and particle density kg m−3

μ :

Fluid molecular viscosity kg m−1s−1

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Funding

This study was partially financed by the Colombian oil association (Asociación Colombiana de Petróleos-ACP), the Mexican Council for Science and Technology (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología-CONACYT), and CAIA Engineering.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Energy and climate change research group, School of Engineering and Science, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, 64849, Monterrey, Mexico

    José Ignacio Huertas & Daniel Fernando Prato

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  1. José Ignacio Huertas
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  2. Daniel Fernando Prato
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Correspondence to José Ignacio Huertas.

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Huertas, J.I., Prato, D.F. CFD Modeling of Near-Roadway Air Pollution. Environ Model Assess 25, 129–145 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-019-09666-w

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