Resolving urban canopy flows: Scales, turbulence and boundary conditions in obstacle-resolving numerical models

<p>Large-eddy simulations are increasingly used for studying the atmospheric boundary layer. With increasing computational resources even obstacle-resolving Large-eddy simulations became possible and will be used in urban climate studies more frequently. In these applications, grid sizes are in the order of a few meters. Whereas major urban structures can be resolved in general, details like aerodynamically rough surface structures can not be resolved explicitly. Based on the original fields of application, boundary conditions in Large-eddy simulations were initially formulated for surfaces of homogeneous roughness and for wall-distances much larger than the roughness sublayer height (Hultmark et al., 2013). The height of the roughness sublayer depends on the size of small-scale obstacles present on the surface exposed to the flow (Raupach et al., 1991). Typically, boundary conditions are evaluated between the surface and the first grid level. Thus, grid resolution in obstacle-resolved Large-Eddy simulations should also be a question of scales and therefore has to be chosen carefully (Basu and Lacser, 2017; Maronga et al., 2020). <br />In several wind tunnel experiments presented here, we measured the near-wall influence of differently scaled and shaped objects on a flow and its turbulence characteristics. Experimental setups were replicated numerically using the PALM model (Maronga et al. 2019). In a first, more generic experiment, the flow over horizontally homogeneous surfaces of different roughness was investigated. In a second experiment, the spatial separation of the turbulence scales was investigated in a more complex flow case. These experiments lead to considerations on model grid sizes in urban type Large-eddy simulations. The limitations of interpreting simulation results within the urban canopy layer are highlighted. There is an urgent need to reconsider how near-wall results of urban large-eddy simulations are generated and interpreted in the context of practical applications like flow and transport modelling in urban canopies. <br /><br /><em><strong>References</strong></em><br /><em>Basu, S. and Lacser, A. (2017). A Cautionary Note on the Use of Monin–Obukhov Similarity Theory in Very High-Resolution Large-Eddy Simulations. Boundary-Layer Meteorol, 163(2):351–355.</em></p> <p><em>Hultmark, M., Calaf, M., and Parlange, M. B. (2013). A new wall shearstress model for atmospheric boundary layer simulations. J Atmos Sci,70(11):3460–3470.</em></p> <p><em>Maronga, B., et al. (2020). Overview of the PALM model system 6.0. Geosci Model Dev Discussions, 06(June):1–63.</em></p> <p><em>Maronga, B., Knigge, C., and Raasch, S. (2020). An Improved Surface Boundary Condition for Large-Eddy Simulations Based on Monin–Obukhov Similarity Theory: Evaluation and Consequences forGrid Convergence in Neutral and Stable Conditions. Boundary-Layer Meteorol, 174(2):297–325.</em></p> <p><em>Raupach, M. R., Antonia, R. A., and Rajagopalan, S. (1991). Rough-wall turbulent boundary layers. Appl Mech Rev, 44(1):1–25</em></p>

Urban Boundary Layers Over Dense and Tall Canopies

Wind-tunnel experiments were carried out on four urban morphologies: two tall canopies with uniform height and two super-tall canopies with a large variation in element heights (where the maximum element height is more than double the average canopy height, $$h_{max}=2.5h_{avg}$$ h max = 2.5 h avg ). The average canopy height and packing density are fixed across the surfaces to $$h_{avg} = 80~\hbox {mm}$$ h avg = 80 mm , and $$\lambda _{p} = 0.44$$ λ p = 0.44 , respectively. A combination of laser Doppler anemometry and direct-drag measurements are used to calculate and scale the mean velocity profiles with the boundary-layer depth $$\delta $$ δ . In the uniform-height experiment, the high packing density results in a ‘skimming flow’ regime with very little flow penetration into the canopy. This leads to a surprisingly shallow roughness sublayer (depth $$\approx 1.15h_{avg}$$ ≈ 1.15 h avg ), and a well-defined inertial sublayer above it. In the heterogeneous-height canopies, despite the same packing density and average height, the flow features are significantly different. The height heterogeneity enhances mixing, thus encouraging deep flow penetration into the canopy. A deeper roughness sublayer is found to exist extending up to just above the tallest element height (corresponding to $$z/h_{avg} = 2.85$$ z / h avg = 2.85 ), which is found to be the dominant length scale controlling the flow behaviour. Results point toward the existence of a constant-stress layer for all surfaces considered herein despite the severity of the surface roughness ($$\delta /h_{avg} = 3 - 6.25$$ δ / h avg = 3 - 6.25 ). This contrasts with the previous literature.

Direct Numerical Simulation of turbulent canopy flow

<p>Turbulent flows within and above urban and vegetative canopies in the atmospheric boundary layer have profound implications for a variety of important problems in  agricultural  and urban meteorology, such as the spreading of pollens and pollutants. We study such turbulence via Direct Numerical Simulations (DNSs), by using the code developed in (2019 Mortikov),  in which there is a closed channel between two parallel walls and a canopy of constant areal density profile on the lower wall. We impose periodic boundary conditions in the horizontal directions and a no-slip impenetrable boundary condition in the wall-normal direction. For the canopy, we use different formulations of the Forchheimer drag. We assess the role of the canopy on the turbulent flow. In particular, we show the influence of added drag on the mean profiles, balance equations of the second-order moments, and the local anisotropy of the flow.</p><p>We observe that the turbulence transport profile undergoes an abrupt transition at the canopy top and transfer of energy from the roughness sublayer above the canopy to inside the canopy.  <br>The pressure-strain correlation removes energy from the wall-normal fluctuations, which has the least share of the turbulent kinetic energy and distributes it among the other components in the bulk of the canopy. In the inertial range, within and above the canopy, the energy spectra for the streamwise component is steeper than the spanwise and the wall-normal components and is closer to the Kolmogorov -5/3 spectrum as observed in the eddy covariance measurements in the roughness sublayer (2020 Bhattacharjee).</p><p>We thank the DST, CSIR (India), SERC (IISc) for computational resources, the AtMath Collaboration at the University of Helsinki, and ICOS by University of Helsinki for their support. This study was also partially funded by RFBR project number 20-05-00776.</p><p>Reference</p><p>2019, Mortikov, E. V., Glazunov, A. V., & Lykosov, V. N. Numerical study of plane Couette flow: turbulence statistics and the structure of pressure–strain correlations, Russian Journal of Numerical Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, 34(2), 119-132. doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/rnam-2019-0010.</p><p>2020, Bhattacharjee S., Pandit R., Vesala T., Mammarella I., Katul G., and Sahoo G. Anisotropy and multifractal analysis of turbulent velocity and temperature in the roughness sublayer of a forested canopy, arXiv:2010.04194.</p>

Influence of Atmospheric Stability on the flow dynamics within and above a dense Amazonian forest

<p>This study provides a detailed analysis of the influence of atmospheric stratification on the flow dynamics above and within a dense forest for a 19-days campaign at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) site. Observations taken at seven levels within and above the forest along an 81-meter and a 325-meter towers allow a unique investigation of the vertical evolution of the turbulent field in the roughness sublayer and in the surface layer above it.</p><p>Five different stability classes were defined on the basis of the behavior of turbulent heat, momentum and CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes and variance ratio as a function of h/L stability parameter (where h is the canopy height and L is the Obukhov length). The novelty is the identification of a ‘super-stable’ (SS) regime (h/L>3) characterized by extremely low wind speeds, the almost completely suppression of turbulence and a clear dominance of submeso motions both above and within the forest.</p><p>The obtained data classification was used to study the influence of atmospheric stratification on the vertical profiles of turbulent statistics. The spectral characteristics of coherent structures and of submeso motions (that may influence the energy and mass exchange above the Amazon forest) have been analyzed by wavelet analyses. The role of the main structures in momentum, heat and CO<sub>2 </sub>transport at the different levels inside and above the forest and in different diabatic conditions was thoroughly investigated through multiresolution and quadrant analyses.</p><p>In unstable and neutral stability, the flow above the canopy appears modulated by ejections, whereas downward and intermittent sweeps dominate the transport inside the canopy. In the roughness sublayer (z £ 2h) the coherent structures dominating the transport within and above the canopy have a characteristic temporal scale of about 100 sec, whereas above this layer the transport is mainly driven by larger scale convection (temporal scale of about 15 min).</p><p>In stable conditions the height of roughness sublayer progressively decreases with increasing stability reaching the minimum value (z<1.35h) in the SS regime. Above the canopy the flow is clearly dominated by ejections but characterized by a higher intermittency mainly in SS conditions. On the other hand, the rapid shear stress absorption in the highest part of the vegetation produces a less clear dominance of sweeps and a less defined role of odd and even quadrants inside the canopy in the transport of momentum, heat and CO<sub>2</sub>. In the weakly stable regime (0.15<h/L<1) transport is dominated in the roughness sublayer by canopy coherent structures with a characteristic temporal scale of about 60 sec. As stability increases the influence of low-frequency (submeso) processes, with a temporal scale of 20-30 min, on flow dynamics progressively increases and becomes dominant in the SS regime where the buoyancy strongly dampens or completely inhibits turbulent structures whereas the large-scale oscillations propagate in the interior of the canopy modulating the heat and CO<sub>2 </sub>transport.</p><p> </p>

Observational Practices for Urban Microclimates Using Meteorologically Instrumented Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The urban boundary layer (UBL) is one of the most important and least understood atmospheric domains and, consequently, warrants deep understanding and rigorous analysis via sophisticated experimental and numerical tools. When field experiments have been undertaken, they have primarily been accomplished with either a coarse network of in-situ sensors or slow response sensors based on timing or Doppler shifts, resulting in low resolution and decreasing performance with height. Small unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) offer an opportunity to improve on traditional UBL observational strategies that may require substantive infrastructure or prove impractical in a vibrant city, prohibitively expensive, or coarse in resolution. Multirotor UASs are compact, have the ability to take-off and land vertically, hover for long periods of time, and maneuver easily in all three spatial dimensions, making them advantageous for probing an obstacle-laden environment. Fixed-wing UASs offer an opportunity to cover vast horizontal and vertical distances, at low altitudes, in a continuous manner with high spatial resolution. Hence, fixed-wing UASs are advantageous for observing the roughness sublayer above the highest building height where traditional manned aircraft cannot safely fly. This work presents a methodology for UBL investigations using meteorologically instrumented UASs and discusses lessons learned and best practices garnered from a proof of concept field campaign that focused on the urban canopy layer and roughness sublayer of a large modern city with a high-rise urban canopy.