Large-eddy simulation coupled to mesoscale meteorological model for gas dispersion in an urban district

A microscale large-eddy simulation (LES) model coupled to a mesoscale LES model is implemented to estimate a ground concentration considering the meteorological influence in an actual urban district. The microscale LES model is based on a finite volume method with an unstructured grid system to resolve the flow structure in a complex geometry. The Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) is used for mesoscale meteorological simulation. To evaluate the performance of the LES model, 1-h averaged concentrations are compared with those obtained by field measurements, which were conducted for tracer gas dispersion from a point source on the roof of a tall building in Tokyo. The concentrations obtained by the LES model without combing the mesoscale LES model are in quite good agreement with the wind-tunnel experimental data, but overestimates the 1-h averaged ground concentration in the field measurements. On the other hand, the ground concentrations using the microscale LES model coupled to the mesoscale LES are widely distributed owing to large-scale turbulent motions generated by the mesoscale LES, and the concentrations are nearly equal to the concentrations from the field measurements. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.