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An investigation of active and passive controls for reducing pedestrian exposure to air pollutants in an urban environment

• Project Team:
  • Principal investigator: Dr. Aonghus McNabola
  • Research student : John Gallagher
• Description:
  • The project aims to investigate and implement active and passive controls to reduce pedestrian exposure of air pollutants created from vehicle emissions. This will involve the monitoring and modelling of street canyons to assess the daily exposure levels of these air pollutants. The focus of the research will aim to reduce Particulate Matter (PM) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx¬) in polluted air in an urban environment. Active removal processes will be used to remove NOx by means of the application of a photocatalyst, in this case Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) to road and building surfaces. The passive reduction of exposure to PM by pedestrians will also be investigated by the implementation of a low boundary wall system.
    
    Both the active and passive controls will be developed by means of numerical and computational modelling using CFD analysis, laboratory and on-site experimentation and air pollution monitoring. A small scale pilot scheme of a passive control barrier will be implemented in a street canyon to justify the accuracy of the dynamic modelling. The results from the dynamic models will then be used to develop an active and passive control implementation strategy for cities which aims to include viable methods of reducing pedestrian exposure to air pollutants.