Large Eddy Simulation and Study of the Urban Boundary Layer

Based on a pseudo-spectral large eddy simulation (LES) model, an LES model with an anisotropy turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) closure model and an explicit multi-stage third-order Runge-Kutta scheme is established. The modeling and analysis show that the LES model can simulate the planetary boundary layer (PBL) with a uniform underlying surface under various stratifications very well. Then, similar to the description of a forest canopy, the drag term on momentum and the production term of TKE by subgrid city buildings are introduced into the LES equations to account for the area-averaged effect of the subgrid urban canopy elements and to simulate the meteorological fields of the urban boundary layer (UBL). Numerical experiments and comparison analysis show that: (1) the result from the LES of the UBL with a proposed formula for the drag coefficient is consistent and comparable with that from wind tunnel experiments and an urban subdomain scale model; (2) due to the effect of urban buildings, the wind velocity near the canopy is decreased, turbulence is intensified, TKE, variance, and momentum flux are increased, the momentum and heat flux at the top of the PBL are increased, and the development of the PBL is quickened; (3) the height of the roughness sublayer (RS) of the actual city buildings is the maximum building height (1.5-3 times the mean building height), and a constant flux layer (CFL) exists in the lower part of the UBL.

Surface potential uniformity and sensitivity of large-area PTFE electret discs of different thicknesses produced by a modified corona poling rotating system for dosimetry applications

In this study,large-area(6-cm diameter)Teflon polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE)discs of different thicknesses(0.2-,0.5-and 1-mm)were negatively and positively charged by using the“modified single point-to-plane corona poling rotating system”.The effects of some crucial parameters of the PTFE disc as well as the modified corona poling rotating system on the PTFE surface potential uniformity such as.(a)PTFE disc thickness,(b)PTFE disc polarity and(c)needle-to-PTFE disc distance were successfully reported.Accordingly,closer needle-to-PTFE disc distance,positive charging mode and thinner PTFE disc provided a better PTFE surface potential uniformity.However,the effects of PTFE charge polarity and needle distance on the electrostatic charge potential uniformity were much more remarkable in comparison with the effects of PTFE thickness.Additionally,the surface potential distribution profiles of charged PTFE discs were totally flat and independent of the PTFE thickness at 5-and 13-mm needle distances for the negative and positive charging modes,respectively.At the optimized charging conditions,large-area PTFE electret disc(0.5-mm-thick)with positive uniform surface charge potential especially at the edges up to
1.8 kV with stability up to 77 days studied was produced by applying a new multiple heat treatment protocol to the PTFE disc for radon dosimetry.As also observed in this study,the sensitivity of PTFE electret dosimeters to a defined radon gas concentration increases as the PTFE thickness increases.Meanwhile,0.5-mm-thick PTFE electret disc produced was selected to be used as a high quality electret dosimeter with acceptable and superior parameters for different applications in particular medium-term radiation dosimetry in both low and high dose rate ionizing radiation fields.