Characterization of pollutant dispersion near elongated buildings based on wind tunnel simulations

This paper presents a wind tunnel study of the effects of elongated rectangular buildings on the dispersion of pollutants from nearby stacks. The study examines the influence of source location, building aspect ratio, and wind direction on pollutant dispersion with the goal of developing improved algorithms within dispersion models. The paper also examines the current AERMOD/PRIME modeling capabilities compared to wind tunnel observations. Differences in the amount of plume material entrained in the wake region downwind of a building for various source locations and source heights are illustrated with vertical and lateral concentration profiles. These profiles were parameterized using the Gaussian equation and show the influence of building/source configurations on those parameters. When the building is oriented at 45° to the approach flow, for example, the effective plume height descends more rapidly than it does for a perpendicular building, enhancing the resulting surface concentrations in the wake region. Buildings at angles to the wind cause a cross-wind shift in the location of the plume resulting from a lateral mean flow established in the building wake. These and other effects that are not well represented in many dispersion models are important considerations when developing improved algorithms to estimate the location and magnitude of concentrations downwind of elongated buildings. •Wind tunnel studies of stacks near building wakes is basis for model development.•Stack location and height are significant factors for building downwash.•Oblique wind angles relative to building side result in asymmetric wakes.•Asymmetric wakes enhance plume descent and result in skew lateral distributions.•AERMOD dispersion model does not simulate the effects of asymmetric wakes.