Abstract
With continuous global warming, growing urban population density, and increasing compactness of urban buildings, VD (void deck) street design has become increasingly popular in city planning, especially in tropical countries. However, understanding on traffic pollutant dispersion inside the street canyons with VDs is still at early stage. This paper evaluates quantitatively the effects of VD location and wind direction on the ventilation and traffic pollutant exposure inside the street canyon with VDs. The results show that under seven wind directions (0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°), the VD provides higher ACH than that of the regular canyon, especially at high α (angle between the approaching wind and the canyon axis). Also, mean K (dimensionless pollutant concentration) values of the canyon wall and pedestrian respiration plane on one side where VD is located are significantly reduced compared to the regular canyon. Therefore, when VDs are at both buildings, both pedestrian respiration planes and walls have the lowest K values, thus providing the best living environment for pedestrians and near-road residents. In addition, as α increases, the K values on both respiration planes significantly decrease except for the leeward respiration plane of the canyon with the windward VD. These findings can help to design urban street canyons for mitigating traffic pollution risk and improving ventilation in tropical cities with frequently changing wind directions.
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Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
Computations have been performed on the HP Blade System managed by Faculty of Physics, Kim Il Sung University.
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This work was supported by the Basic Research Project (No. 2022–12) of the State Commission of Science and Technology, DPR Korea.
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Chung Hyok Sin is the corresponding author and has contributed to establishing and calculating the numerical models and drafted this paper. Kwang Song Jon has mainly contributed to guiding the establishment of numerical models and the drawing of the figures. Gyong Ho Un has contributed to the processing of the numerical results and the drawing of the figures and tables. Yong Il Thae has contributed to the editing the spelling, grammar of this paper. Hun Kim has contributed to the processing of the numerical results. Jun Tokgo has contributed to the drawing of the figures and tables. Hyon Mu Ri has contributed to the processing of the numerical results. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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Sin, C.H., Jon, K.S., Un, G.H. et al. Evaluation of the ventilation and pollutant exposure risk level inside 3D street canyon with void deck under different wind directions. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 61808–61828 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26287-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26287-9