Turbulent flow over groups of urban-like obstacles

The present work is a collaboration between the Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, and the School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton. Highly resolved Large Eddy Simulations (LES) and Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) are performed to simulate turbulent flow around arrays of cubical, urban-like, obstacles. The arrays are arranged in different configurations and at different packing densities to investigate the effects of building proximity and layout on the flow. Initial aims are to compute time and spatial averages of flow quantities, from which parameterisations of drag and turbulence can be extracted. Another important aim is to identify organised structures in the flow and to understand their dynamics. Future work will model dispersion of tracers placed in the flow.