Numerical simulation of dispersion around an isolated cubic building: Comparison of various types of k-epsilon models

Prediction accuracy of flow and dispersion around a cubic building with a flush vent located on its roof was examined using various k-epsilon models, and numerical results were compared with wind-tunnel data. Four types of turbulence models, i.e., the standard k-epsilon model, the RNG k-epsilon model, the k-epsilon model with Launder and Kato modification and the Realizable k-epsilon model were compared in this study. The standard k-epsilon model provided inadequate results for the concentration field, because it could not reproduce the basic How structure, such as the reverse flow on the roof However, revised k-epsilon models provided concentrations in better agreement with the experimental data. The effect of an oblique wind angle and vent locations on the prediction accuracy was also investigated. It was confirmed that the prediction accuracy of the velocity field strongly affected. that of the concentration field. The RNG model showed general agreement with the experiment, and was the best of the turbulence models tested. However, it becomes clear that the results for all CFD models show poor prediction accuracy of concentration distribution at the side and leeward surfaces of the building since they all underestimate the concentration diffusion on these regions. The concentrations predicted by all CFD models were less diffusive than those of the experiment. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.