Intercomparison of two modeling approaches for traffic air pollution in street canyons

Abstract : We present an intercomparison of two models applied to a major boulevard in a Paris suburb accounting for building effects: (1) a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model providing a detailed three-dimensional representation of the atmospheric flow and pollutant dispersion (Code_Saturne) and (2) a street-network model with well-mixed steady-state concentrations within street segments coupled with a regional chemical-transport model (SinG). Simulations were performed for five cases representing different meteorological conditions (wind direction and speed) and two sensitivity cases with different emissions. We compare model results to measurements of NOx at two monitoring stations on either side of the street. Results exhibit (a) a complex behavior highlighting effects of the street-network configuration and emission patterns on the cross-street concentration gradient and (b) a satisfactory performance with assumption of well-mixed concentrations within street-canyons for mean NOx (MNE of 39% and 22%; and NMB of −29% and − 7% for Code_Saturne and SinG, respectively).