Volume I: Data Analyses And Model Development And Volume II: Wind Tunnel Test Program

Federal Highway Administration2002PDFBriefHayden, R. E.Yamartino, RobertSucci, GeorgeSigma Research Corp.Technology Integration and Development Group, Inc.United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation AdministrationUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Turner-Fairbank Highway Research CenterU.S. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration, Research, Development, and Technology. Turner-Fairbank Highway Research CenterUnited StatesAir pollutionDepressed highwaysDispersions (Chemistry)IntersectionsMathematical modelsMeasurementSimulationSpeedStructuresTurbulenceVorticesWind tunnelsField studiesStreet CanyonsHighway CutUrban Dispersion ModelsFHWA-RD-02-036/037The original format of this document was an active HTML page(s). The Federal Highway Administration converted the HTML page(s) into an Adobe Acrobat PDF file to preserve and support reuse of the information it contained. The intellectual content of this PDF is an authentic capture of the original HTML file. Hyperlinks and other functions of the HTML webpage may have been lost, and this version of the content may not fully work with screen reading software.This TechBrief announces the two volumes in this series documenting the study entitled "Modifications of Highway Air Pollution Models for Complex Site Geometries": Modifications of Highway Air Pollution Models for Complex Site Geometries, Volume I: Data Analyses and Model Development and Volume II: Wind Tunnel Test Program (Publication Nos. FHWA-RD-02-036 and -037). This study's purpose was the evaluation of the limitations of flat, open terrain highway air pollution dispersion models for complex site geometries such as found within semi-confined spaces, such as highway cut-sections and street canyons. This included the development of modifications or the refinement of existing models or new models applicable to these situations and more appropriate than open terrain, straight-line highway air pollutant models, typically represented by Gaussian plume formulations. A major component of this study involved an extensive wind tunnel measurement program of the flows, turbulent velocity variances, and concentration fields within a wide range of street canyon and highway cut-section geometries. This wind tunnel study was undertaken at Boston University's fluid modeling facility and was designed to clarify the basic phenomena that control atmospheric dispersion in these complex flow environments, such as street canyons, and to provide the data needed for the development of an applicable pollutant dispersion model. Model refinements were carried out by a subcontractor with a well-established model for such semi-confined environments.113