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In this paper non-neutral approaching flows were employed in a meteorological wind tunnel on a regular urban-like array of rectangular buildings. As far as stable stratification is concerned, results on the flow above and inside the canopy show a clear reduction of the Reynolds stresses and an increment of the Monin-Obukhov length up to 80%. The roughness length and displacement height were also affected, with a reduction up to 35% for the former and an increment up to 12% for the latter. A clear reduction of the turbulence within the canopy was observed. In the convective stratification cases, the friction velocity appears increased by both the effect of roughness and unstable stratification. The increased roughness causes a reduction in the surface stratification, reflected in an increase of the Monin-Obukhov length, which is double over the array compared to the approaching flow. The effect on the aerodynamic roughness length and displacement height are specular to the SBL case, an increase up to 50% of the former and a reduction of the same amount for the latter.

Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to study the impact of atmospheric stratification on flow and dispersion within and over a regular array of rectangular buildings. Three stable and two convective incoming boundary layers were tested with a Richardson number ranging from −1.5 to 0.29. Dispersion measurements were carried using a fast response flame ionisation detector. The results show that the stratification effect on the plume width is significantly lower than the effect on the vertical profiles. Stable stratification did not affect the plume central axis inside the canopy, but in the unstable case the axis appeared to deviate from the neutral case direction. Above the canopy both stratification types caused an increase in the plume deflection angle compared to the neutral case. Measured mean concentrations in stable stratification were up to two times larger in the canopy compared to the neutral case, while in convective conditions they were to three times smaller. The proportionality between the vertical turbulent fluxes and the vertical mean concentration gradient was also confirmed in the stratified cases. The high-quality experimental data produced during this work may help developing new mathematical models and parametrisation for non-neutral stratified conditions, as well as validating existing and future numerical simulations.

The effects of a stably-stratified boundary layer on flow and dispersion in a bi-dimensional street canyon with unity aspect ratio have been investigated experimentally in a wind tunnel in combination with differential wall heating. Laser-Doppler anemometry together with a fast flame ionisation detector and cold-wire anemometry were employed to sample velocities, concentration, temperatures and fluxes.A single-vortex pattern was observed in the isothermal case, preserved also when leeward wall was heated, but with a considerable increment of the vortex speed. Heating the windward wall, instead, was found to generate a counter-rotating vortex, resulting in the reduction of velocity within the canopy. The stable stratification also contributes reducing the speed, but only in the lower half of the canyon. The largest values of turbulent kinetic energy were observed above the canopy, while inside they were concentrated close to the windward wall, even when the leeward one was heated. An incoming stable stratification produced a significant and generalised turbulence reduction in all the cases. Windward heating was found to produce larger temperature increments within the canopy, while in the leeward case heat was immediately vacated above the canopy. A stable approaching flow reduced both the temperature and the heat fluxes.A passive tracer was released from a point source located at ground level at the centre of the street canyon. The resulting plume cross-section pattern was mostly affected by the windward wall heating, which produced an increment of the pollutant concentration on the windward side by breaking the main vortex circulation. The application of an incoming stable stratification created a generalised increment of pollutant within the canopy, with concentrations twice as large. Turbulent pollutant fluxes were found significant only at roof level and close to the source. On the other hand, in the windward wall-heated case the reduction of the mean flux renders the turbulent component relevant in other locations as well.The present work highlights the importance of boundary layer stratification and local heating, both capable of creating significant modifications in the flow and pollutant fields at microscale range.

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