Urban dispersion modeling: Comparison with single-building measurements

Two models have been developed to predict airflow and dispersion in urban environments. The first model, the Realistic Urban Spread and Transport of Intrusive Contaminants (RUSTIC) model, is a fast-running urban airflow code that rapidly converges to a numerical solution of a modified set of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. RUSTIC uses the k-ω turbulence model with a buoyancy production term to handle atmospheric stability effects. The second model, "MESO," is a Lagrangian particle transport and dispersion code that predicts concentrations of a released chemical or biological agent in urban or rural areas. As a preliminary validation of the models, concentrations simulated by MESO are compared with experimental data from wind-tunnel testing of dispersion around both a multistory rectangular building and a single-story L-shaped building. For the rectangular building, trace gas is forced out at the base of the downwind side, whereas for the L-shaped building, trace gas is forced out of a side door in the inner corner of the "L." The MESO-RUSTIC combination is set up with the initial conditions of the wind-tunnel experiment, and the steady-state concentrations simulated by the models are compared with the wind-tunnel data. For the multistory building, a dense set of detector locations was available downwind at ground level. For the L-shaped building, concentration data were available at three heights in a lateral plane at a distance of one building height downwind of the lee side. A favorable comparison between model simulations and test data is shown for both buildings.