Use of wind tunnel measurements for mathematical model comparison and validation

In this paper hourly average concentrations obtained by means of several dispersion mathematical models (DIMULA, ISC3, SAFE_AIR and ADMS2) considering, their various options for the calculation of dispersion parameters are compared against measurements performed in the wind tunnel of C.R.I.A.C.I.V. (Centro di Ricerca Interuniversitario di Aerodinamica delle Costruzioni ed Ingegneria del Vento) at Prato, Italy. Measurements are referred to diffusion experiments in neutral conditions using a 1:270 small scale model above flat terrain. Different experimental conditions were considered in dependence of height and number of emitting stacks (coupled or single) and wind direction. Wind tunnel simulated emissions were referred to a buoyancy condition using a mixture based on the presence of ethylene (20% vol) and helium (80% vol) in order to have a suitable tracer. The experimental results include ground level concentration (GLC) maps and vertical profiles, covering a distance range of about 1,3 kin from the stacks at full scale. A statistical validation procedure was applied using wind tunnel experimental results as data set in order to evaluate model performances.