CFD simulations of turbulent flow and dispersion in built environment: A perspective review

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a powerful analysis tool in wind engineering, has been applied to a wide variety of problems over the past few decades. The application of CFD to environmental wind problems in the built environment is much more common than its application to structural wind problems, in both practice and research. This paper briefly reviews the history of urban wind problems and the development of wind engineering. Then, the progress in the applications of CFD to environmental problems is outlined, particularly in terms of the evolution of the studies presented over time at the International Conferences on Wind Engineering. The major achievements of CFD in environmental wind engineering in the last 30 years are discussed in terms of Large Eddy Simulation versus the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes model, appropriate boundary conditions, verification and validation, and best practice guidelines. Furthermore, notable topics in recent applications of CFD to the built environment, including complicated particle (e.g., snow, rain, sand, sea salt) dispersion, are reviewed. Finally, the future direction of the applications of CFD to environmental problems as an advanced design and research tool is discussed. •CFD widley used in environmental wind engineering (buildings).•Focus on urban wind problems & historical development.•Progress in applying CFD to environmental problems reviewed.•Key achievements in CFD for wind: LES vs. RANS models, boundary conditions, validation methods.•Recent applications include complex particle dispersion (snow, rain, etc.)