Simulating Microscale Urban Airflow and Pollutant Distributions Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics Model: A Review

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Meteorology
• Urban Planning

Background:

• Urban surfaces significantly impact local wind, turbulence, and air pollutant dispersion.
• Understanding these microscale meteorological phenomena is crucial for urban planning, design, construction, and air quality management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based microscale meteorological simulations in urban environments.
• To discuss the applications, influential factors, and challenges associated with CFD in urban meteorology.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on CFD applications for urban microscale meteorology.
• Analysis of key variables affecting physical processes and pollutant dispersion, including street canyon aspect ratio, building geometry, wind direction, atmospheric stability, and vegetation.

Main Results:

• CFD is a mature tool for investigating urban microscale meteorology.
• Key factors influencing urban air pollutant dispersion have been identified.
• Integration of CFD with mesoscale models and machine learning enhances simulation accuracy.

Conclusions:

• CFD simulations provide a scientific basis for sustainable urban development, air pollution mitigation, and emergency response.
• Challenges remain in grid optimization, mesoscale model integration, data limitations, and simulating diverse weather conditions.