Air pollution dispersion in Hail city: Climate and urban topography impact
Walid Hassen,
Nidhal Hnaien,
Lotfi Ben Said,
Faris Mohammed Albati,
Badreddine Ayadi,
Wajdi Rajhi,
Lioua Kolsi
Affiliations
Walid Hassen
Laboratory of Metrology and Energy Systems, Department of Energy Engineering, University of Monastir, Monastir, 5000, Tunisia
Nidhal Hnaien
Department of Energy Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Monastir, Monastir, 5000, Tunisia
Lotfi Ben Said
Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Ha'il, Ha'il City, Saudi Arabia; Laboratory of Electrochemistry and Environment (LEE), National Engineering School of Sfax, (ENIS), University of Sfax, Sfax, 3038, Tunisia
Faris Mohammed Albati
College of Sharia and Law, University of Ha'il, Ha'il City, Saudi Arabia
Badreddine Ayadi
Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Ha'il, Ha'il City, Saudi Arabia; Laboratory of Applied Fluid Mechanics, Environment and Process Engineering “LR11ES57”, National School of Engineers of Sfax (ENIS), University of Sfax, Soukra Road Km 3.5, Sfax, 3038, Tunisia
Wajdi Rajhi
Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Ha'il, Ha'il City, Saudi Arabia; Laboratoire de Mécanique, Matériaux et Procédés LR99ES05, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Tunis, Université de Tunis, 5 Avenue Taha Hussein, Montfleury, 1008, Tunis, Tunisia
Lioua Kolsi
Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Ha'il, Ha'il City, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author.
Due to the rapid urbanization of many cities around the world, industrial manufacturing plants have been expanded quickly, leading to the discharge of large amounts of pollutants into the environment. Consequently, a significant deterioration in local air quality is recorded, representing a high health risk for the city's residents. In this context, the main objective of this work is to understand the dispersion of gas pollution in high-density urban environments, specifically the Hail region of Saudi Arabia. The simulations carried out with Ansys Fluent 19.0 were based on actual climatic conditions, with particular attention paid to accurately reproducing the exact topography of the study area. The main results concern the characterization of flow behavior and the dispersion of gas pollutants emitted by power plants. Several factors, including building geometry and wind speed, are examined. The study reveals that for a reference wind speed of more than 7 m/s, gaseous pollution exhibits a significant tendency to accumulate within buildings, resulting in significant concentrations.
