Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Turbulent diffusion behind vehicles: evaluation of roadway models

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6130495

This paper presents a statistical evaluation of three highway air-pollution models (CALINE 3, HIWAY-2, and ROADWAY) using the tracer data from the General Motors Sulfate Dispersion Experiment. The bootstrap resampling procedure is used to quantify the variability in the observed concentrations due to the stochastic nature of the atmosphere. The results suggest that the variability in the observations due to the random nature of the atmosphere is about 30%. Therefore, if the predicted values are within 30% of the measured concentrations, the differences between model predictions and observations should not be considered to be significant. Comparisons of the model predictions paired and unpaired in time with measurements suggest that HIWAY-2 and ROADWAY perform best, but the performance of CALINE 3 is acceptable. Application of the extreme value theory and the bootstrap resampling procedure to the modeled and measured data (unpaired) shows that all three models are capable of predicting the extreme concentrations within the model performance criteria set forth above.

Research Organization:
New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Albany (USA)
OSTI ID:
6130495
Report Number(s):
PB-87-208682/XAB
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Modeling carbon monoxide dispersion from roadways
Journal Article · Mon Oct 31 23:00:00 EST 1977 · Environ. Sci. Technol.; (United States) · OSTI ID:5067250

Wind tunnel modeling of roadways: Comparison with mathematical models
Journal Article · Thu Oct 31 23:00:00 EST 1991 · Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association; (United States) · OSTI ID:5867758

Comparison of roadway pollutant dispersion models using the Texas data
Journal Article · Tue Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1982 · J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States) · OSTI ID:5624693