DOI: 10.1615/ICHMT.2009.TurbulHeatMassTransf
ISBN Print: 978-1-56700-262-1
ISSN: 2377-2816
CFD modelling of turbulent airflow through plant systems using 3D canopy architecture
SINOPSIS
This work presents an integrated CFD model to simulate airflow through plant canopies using 3D architecture. The effect of the solid parts of the trees on airflow was resolved by introducing the actual architecture of the tree into the model. The effect of the leaves was modelled by adding source-sink terms in the momentum and turbulence equations in a sub-domain created around the branches that contain leaves. Based on wind tunnel experiments an accuracy of more than 92 % was obtained in all regions behind the tree for a model with leafless trees and with leafed and half leafed trees the model accuracy was more than 70 % for RMS velocity, U. The model in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) compared with previous works gave fairly good accuracy. The prediction capability of the model for turbulent kinetic energy, K both in the wind tunnel and in the ABL, though not as accurate as velocity and with some discrepancies, was good with physically meaningful vertical profiles.