A Velocity-Dissipation Lagrangian Stochastic Model for Turbulent Dispersion in Atmospheric Boundary-Layer and Canopy Flows

An extended Lagrangian stochastic dispersion model that includes time variations of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate is proposed. The instantaneous dissipation rate is described by a log-normal distribution to account for rare and intense bursts of dissipation occurring over short durations. This behaviour of the instantaneous dissipation rate is consistent with field measurements inside a pine forest and with published dissipation rate measurements in the atmospheric surface layer. The extended model is also shown to satisfy the well-mixed condition even for the highly inhomogeneous case of canopy flow. Application of this model to atmospheric boundary-layer and canopy flows reveals two types of motion that cannot be predicted by conventional dispersion models: a strong sweeping motion of particles towards the ground, and strong intermittent ejections of particles from the surface or canopy layer, which allows these particles to escape low-velocity regions to a high-velocity zone in the free air above. This ejective phenomenon increases the probability of marked fluid particles to reach far regions, creating a heavy tail in the mean concentration far from the scalar source. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Duke Scholars

Author Gabriel G. Katul Civil and Environmental Engineering