CFD Analysis of Urban Canopy Flows Employing the V2F Model: Impact of Different Aspect Ratios and Relative Heights

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is currently used in the environmental field to simulate flow and dispersion of pollutants around buildings. However, the closure assumptions of the turbulence usually employed in CFD codes are not always physically based and adequate for all the flow regimes relat...

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Main Authors: Fabio Nardecchia, Annalisa Di Bernardino, Francesca Pagliaro, Paolo Monti, Giovanni Leuzzi, Luca Gugliermetti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-01-01
Series:Advances in Meteorology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/2189234
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author Fabio Nardecchia
Annalisa Di Bernardino
Francesca Pagliaro
Paolo Monti
Giovanni Leuzzi
Luca Gugliermetti
author_facet Fabio Nardecchia
Annalisa Di Bernardino
Francesca Pagliaro
Paolo Monti
Giovanni Leuzzi
Luca Gugliermetti
author_sort Fabio Nardecchia
collection DOAJ
description Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is currently used in the environmental field to simulate flow and dispersion of pollutants around buildings. However, the closure assumptions of the turbulence usually employed in CFD codes are not always physically based and adequate for all the flow regimes relating to practical applications. The starting point of this work is the performance assessment of the V2F (i.e., v2¯ − f) model implemented in Ansys Fluent for simulating the flow field in an idealized array of two-dimensional canyons. The V2F model has been used in the past to predict low-speed and wall-bounded flows, but it has never been used to simulate airflows in urban street canyons. The numerical results are validated against experimental data collected in the water channel and compared with other turbulence models incorporated in Ansys Fluent (i.e., variations of both k-ε and k-ω models and the Reynolds stress model). The results show that the V2F model provides the best prediction of the flow field for two flow regimes commonly found in urban canopies. The V2F model is also employed to quantify the air-exchange rate (ACH) for a series of two-dimensional building arrangements, such as step-up and step-down configurations, having different aspect ratios and relative heights of the buildings. The results show a clear dependence of the ACH on the latter two parameters and highlight the role played by the turbulence in the exchange of air mass, particularly important for the step-down configurations, when the ventilation associated with the mean flow is generally poor.
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spelling doaj-art-3bd5b116a6e3476fae9e6bf52bfba4cf2025-08-20T03:55:41ZengWileyAdvances in Meteorology1687-93091687-93172018-01-01201810.1155/2018/21892342189234CFD Analysis of Urban Canopy Flows Employing the V2F Model: Impact of Different Aspect Ratios and Relative HeightsFabio Nardecchia0Annalisa Di Bernardino1Francesca Pagliaro2Paolo Monti3Giovanni Leuzzi4Luca Gugliermetti5Sapienza University of Rome, DAEEE, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome 00184, ItalySapienza University of Rome, DICEA, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome 00184, ItalySapienza University of Rome, DAEEE, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome 00184, ItalySapienza University of Rome, DICEA, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome 00184, ItalySapienza University of Rome, DICEA, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome 00184, ItalySapienza University of Rome, DAEEE, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome 00184, ItalyComputational fluid dynamics (CFD) is currently used in the environmental field to simulate flow and dispersion of pollutants around buildings. However, the closure assumptions of the turbulence usually employed in CFD codes are not always physically based and adequate for all the flow regimes relating to practical applications. The starting point of this work is the performance assessment of the V2F (i.e., v2¯ − f) model implemented in Ansys Fluent for simulating the flow field in an idealized array of two-dimensional canyons. The V2F model has been used in the past to predict low-speed and wall-bounded flows, but it has never been used to simulate airflows in urban street canyons. The numerical results are validated against experimental data collected in the water channel and compared with other turbulence models incorporated in Ansys Fluent (i.e., variations of both k-ε and k-ω models and the Reynolds stress model). The results show that the V2F model provides the best prediction of the flow field for two flow regimes commonly found in urban canopies. The V2F model is also employed to quantify the air-exchange rate (ACH) for a series of two-dimensional building arrangements, such as step-up and step-down configurations, having different aspect ratios and relative heights of the buildings. The results show a clear dependence of the ACH on the latter two parameters and highlight the role played by the turbulence in the exchange of air mass, particularly important for the step-down configurations, when the ventilation associated with the mean flow is generally poor.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/2189234
spellingShingle Fabio Nardecchia
Annalisa Di Bernardino
Francesca Pagliaro
Paolo Monti
Giovanni Leuzzi
Luca Gugliermetti
CFD Analysis of Urban Canopy Flows Employing the V2F Model: Impact of Different Aspect Ratios and Relative Heights
Advances in Meteorology
title CFD Analysis of Urban Canopy Flows Employing the V2F Model: Impact of Different Aspect Ratios and Relative Heights
title_full CFD Analysis of Urban Canopy Flows Employing the V2F Model: Impact of Different Aspect Ratios and Relative Heights
title_fullStr CFD Analysis of Urban Canopy Flows Employing the V2F Model: Impact of Different Aspect Ratios and Relative Heights
title_full_unstemmed CFD Analysis of Urban Canopy Flows Employing the V2F Model: Impact of Different Aspect Ratios and Relative Heights
title_short CFD Analysis of Urban Canopy Flows Employing the V2F Model: Impact of Different Aspect Ratios and Relative Heights
title_sort cfd analysis of urban canopy flows employing the v2f model impact of different aspect ratios and relative heights
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/2189234
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