Recent Review Paper from Advances in Mechanics——Modelling gas and PM pollutant dispersion in urban environments

Journal Tittle: Advances in Mechanics

Tittle: Modelling gas and PM pollutant dispersion in urban environments

Author: Zheng-Tong XIE1,  Chun-Ho LIU2,  Xiaoming CAI3

Affiliation: 

1 Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, UK;
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hong Kong, HK, China;
3 School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK

Abstract:

Dispersion of gas and particulate matter (PM) pollutant in urban environments is a rising concern. Physical and numerical modelling is extremely challenging due to a number of parameters involved including the turbulence nature and complex physical and/or chemical processes. The paper attempts to review the latest advances on this topic. The major contents are: using generic geometry models to understand the mechanism, coupling meso-scale (weather scale) and micro-scale (street scale) lareg-eddy simulations, effects of thermal stratification, effects of tall buildings, modelling extreme pollutant concentration in extreme conditions and coupling chemistry with turbulence. This paper focuses more on the progress of the numerical model study in the UK and Europe.

Keywords: weather scale; thermal stratification; extreme weather; extreme pollutant concentration; street canyon model; chemical processes; coupling