"Dispersion of Air Pollutants in Traffic under the Conditions of Temperature Inversion" Project

"Dispersion of Air Pollutants in Traffic under the Conditions of Temperature Inversion" Project

 

Following the public call for co-financing of scientific research / artistic research and development projects and programs from the Sarajevo Canton budget for 2021, organized by the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton, the International University of Sarajevo received financial support for three important projects.

The initiator of the project "Dispersion of Air Pollutants in Traffic under the Conditions of Temperature Inversion" is Associate Professor Dr. Muhamed Hadžiabdić. This project will be implemented during this year in collaboration with Associate Professor. Dr. Adnan Mašić, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sarajevo; Dr. Bojan Ničen, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland; PhD candidate Mahir Hafizović, ENOVA d.o.o.; Assistant Ammar Hodža, IUS and MSc. Samra Arnaut, ENOVA d.o.o.

In recent years, Sarajevo, as well as some other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has regularly appeared on the list of urban units with the most polluted air in the world. The reasons for poor air quality in BiH cities are multiple: strong emissions of air pollutants from industrial plants, individual furnaces using coal, heavy traffic, and reduced natural ventilation due to the valley configuration of the terrain, with frequent occurrence of temperature inversion during high concentrations of harmful particles (PM) in the air in winter when the height of the mixing layer of air along the ground is very small.

In order to adopt purposeful, efficient and economically justified measures to improve air quality in Sarajevo and other BiH cities, the phenomenon of airborne emissions and dispersion in urban areas must be scientifically investigated. Computer simulations can help to better understand the phenomenon of high concentrations of air pollutants, as well as fast, efficient and relatively inexpensive testing, optimization and design of measures to improve air quality. For accurate and reliable results of computer simulations, it is necessary to perform extensive testing of numerical methods and models of physics (primarily turbulence), which form the basis of computational fluid dynamics on which computer simulations are based. The project plans to investigate the dispersion of air pollutants emitted from traffic in space and time under the conditions of temperature inversion, taking into account the dynamics of air pollutant emissions (increased number of vehicles in the morning and afternoon as well as different traffic regimes in terms of vehicle flow).

Knowledge of the dynamics of air pollution from traffic, correlations between airborne concentrations and traffic regimes as well as height of buildings along the roads will help urban planners and city authorities to make crucial decisions. These decisions will secure rational urban planning and design that will create better living conditions for people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Better planning and management of the city based on scientific facts will help the citizens of the Sarajevo Canton to live in a healthier environment resulting in more social and economic benefits. International University of Sarajevo will continue to support scientific research that significantly helps in finding solutions to existing air quality problems and developing a healthier living environment. Many thanks to the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton for supporting the implementation of this project.

 

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