A estrutura do vento varia de acordo com as características do terreno e com a rugosidade da superfície terrestre, desacelerando proporcionalmente sua intensidade de acordo com a proximidade do solo, o que determina a constituição da camada limite atmosférica (C.L.A.). As características do escoamento sobre e no entorno de características topográficas obtusas tais como morros são de grande interesse em muitas aplicações, especialmente aquelas ligadas à engenharia de vento. Esta pesquisa foca a investigação da C.L.A. sobre terrenos complexos, analisando a estrutura do escoamento turbulento, a separação e a recomposição do mesmo. Para tanto, dois métodos são empregados e comparados na presente investigação para identificar a influência da orografia complexa sobre o escoamento do vento: padrões ou códigos de carga de vento e análises experimentais em túnel de vento. Nove modelos experimentais de morros isolados, sendo quatro simétricos bidimensionais, quatro simétricos tridimensionais e um assimétrico, todos com a consideração de dois tipos de terreno, categoria I – plano e categorias III-IV – medianamente rugosas são analisados. A partir de uma simulação experimental da camada limite em túnel de vento, é possível parametrizar os efeitos do vento sobre terrenos complexos (MILLER, 1995). A definição de variáveis, tais como: o perfil de velocidade do vento, a intensidade de turbulência, os efeitos topográficos na velocidade do vento constituem-se em elementos fundamentais para cálculos estruturais de edificações situadas no entorno. Foram desenvolvidas simulações experimentais no túnel de vento de camada limite Prof. Joaquim Blessmann, da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Na superfície do modelo assimétrico, na radial principal do mesmo, foram localizados nove perfis de medição, contendo cada um, vinte alturas de investigação. Os demais modelos tiveram como foco de análise o cume dos mesmos, também com perfis definidos nas mesmas alturas. As medições da velocidade do vento e da intensidade da turbulência foram procedidas por um sistema de anemometria de fio quente. Os dados obtidos em túnel de vento foram confrontados com expressões empíricas calculadas para os mesmos pontos segundo cinco códigos ou padrões de carga de vento, pontuando também as correlações entre os mesmos e entre estes com a norma brasileira NBR 6123 (1988). Os modelos, códigos ou padrões analisados foram: Jackson e Hunt (1975) e Davenport, Surry e Lemelin (1988), models e as normas a seguir nominadas:Norma Brasileira: cargas de vento em Edificações - NBR 6123 (1988); European Standard:Eurocode1: Basis of Design and Actions on Structures, CEN TC 250: 2002; Australian/New Zealand Standard: Minimum Design Loads on Structures, AS/NZS 1170.2: 2002; Architectural Institute of Japan AIJ: 2004; American Society of Civil Engineering Standard, ASCE 7-95 (ASCE 7-95), Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures;National Building Code of Canada, 2005, (NRCC 2005). Além do estudo comparativo acerca da resposta estimada pelos códigos nominados, esta pesquisa constitui-se em um banco de dados de medições em pontos localizados nos morros nominados, em túnel de vento. O comparativo entre os padrões mostra a inexistência de uma harmonização entre os mesmos para a consideração dos parâmetros a serem empregues para o cálculo de cargas de vento. Estas diferenças na definição dos parâmetros básicos para o carregamento de vento em estruturas determinam grandes dificuldades na unificação de formatos recomendados na previsão das cargas de vento. Comparativamente aos dados experimentais, os padrões, em geral, mostram-se conservadores para os dois tipos de morros analisados, simétrico e assimétrico, para os dois tipos de terreno, tanto considerando-se análises em 2D ou 3D. / The structure of the wind varies with the characteristics of the terrain and roughness land surface, slowing its intensity proportionally according to the surrounding terrain, which determines the onset of boundary layer (ABL). The characteristics of the flow over and around topographic features such as hills are of great interest in many applications, especially those related to wind engineering. From an experimental simulation of the boundary layer wind tunnel, it is possible to parameterize the effects of wind over complex terrain (MILLER, 1995). The definition of variables, such as the profile of wind speed, the turbulence intensity, the topographic effects on wind speed are key elements in structural calculations for buildings situated around the area. This research focuses on the investigation of the ABL complex terrain conditions, analyzing the structure of turbulent flow and characterization of separation and reattachment of the flow. Experimental simulations were developed in the wind tunnel of the atmospheric boundary layer Prof. Joaquim Blessmann, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in nine models of hills, four symmetrical two-dimensional, four- symmetrical threedimensional and one asymmetrical, all considering two types of terrain, category I - plan and Category III-IV- moderately rough. The surface of the asymmetric model was measured in nine profiles ploted on the main radial of the hill, with twenty heights each, and the other models were examined at top of the hill. The measurements were performed with a system of hot wire anemometry to measure the wind velocity and intensity of turbulence. The identification of the data obtained in the wind tunnel were confronted with empirical expressions for the same points, in order to establish the correlations between patterns and among these with NBR 6123 (1988). Two models and five codes of wind loads are analyzed: Jackson and Hunt (1975) and e Davenport, Surry e Lemelin (1988) Models and Brazilian Association of Technical Standards: Wind Load on Buildings, NBR 6123 (1988); European Standard: Eurocode1: Basis of Design and Actions on Structures, CEN TC 250: 2002; Australian/New Zealand Standard: Minimum Design Loads on Structures, AS/NZS 1170.2: 2002; Architectural Institute of Japan AIJ: 2004; American Society of Civil Engineering Standard, ASCE 7-95 (ASCE 7-95), Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures; National Building Code of Canada, 2005, (NRCC 2005) codes. This study focuses not only the comparison of the response estimated by international codes nominees, but also a data bank of wind tunnel data to validate this tool based on empirical expressions. The comparison of the patterns shows a lack of consideration for international harmonization of the parameters to be employed for the calculations of wind loads. These differences in defining the basic parameters for the wind loading on structures determines difficulties to unify the formats recommended in the prediction of wind loads. Compared to the experimental data, the patterns will generally show up conservative for both types of mounts analyzed, symmetrical and asymmetrical, for both types of terrain, both considering 2D or 3D.

A estrutura do vento varia de acordo com as características do terreno e com a rugosidade da superfície terrestre, desacelerando proporcionalmente sua intensidade de acordo com a proximidade do solo, o que determina a constituição da camada limite atmosférica (C.L.A.). As características do escoamento sobre e no entorno de características topográficas obtusas tais como morros são de grande interesse em muitas aplicações, especialmente aquelas ligadas à engenharia de vento. Esta pesquisa foca a investigação da C.L.A. sobre terrenos complexos, analisando a estrutura do escoamento turbulento, a separação e a recomposição do mesmo. Para tanto, dois métodos são empregados e comparados na presente investigação para identificar a influência da orografia complexa sobre o escoamento do vento: padrões ou códigos de carga de vento e análises experimentais em túnel de vento. Nove modelos experimentais de morros isolados, sendo quatro simétricos bidimensionais, quatro simétricos tridimensionais e um assimétrico, todos com a consideração de dois tipos de terreno, categoria I – plano e categorias III-IV – medianamente rugosas são analisados. A partir de uma simulação experimental da camada limite em túnel de vento, é possível parametrizar os efeitos do vento sobre terrenos complexos (MILLER, 1995). A definição de variáveis, tais como: o perfil de velocidade do vento, a intensidade de turbulência, os efeitos topográficos na velocidade do vento constituem-se em elementos fundamentais para cálculos estruturais de edificações situadas no entorno. Foram desenvolvidas simulações experimentais no túnel de vento de camada limite Prof. Joaquim Blessmann, da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Na superfície do modelo assimétrico, na radial principal do mesmo, foram localizados nove perfis de medição, contendo cada um, vinte alturas de investigação. Os demais modelos tiveram como foco de análise o cume dos mesmos, também com perfis definidos nas mesmas alturas. As medições da velocidade do vento e da intensidade da turbulência foram procedidas por um sistema de anemometria de fio quente. Os dados obtidos em túnel de vento foram confrontados com expressões empíricas calculadas para os mesmos pontos segundo cinco códigos ou padrões de carga de vento, pontuando também as correlações entre os mesmos e entre estes com a norma brasileira NBR 6123 (1988). Os modelos, códigos ou padrões analisados foram: Jackson e Hunt (1975) e Davenport, Surry e Lemelin (1988), models e as normas a seguir nominadas:Norma Brasileira: cargas de vento em Edificações - NBR 6123 (1988); European Standard:Eurocode1: Basis of Design and Actions on Structures, CEN TC 250: 2002; Australian/New Zealand Standard: Minimum Design Loads on Structures, AS/NZS 1170.2: 2002; Architectural Institute of Japan AIJ: 2004; American Society of Civil Engineering Standard, ASCE 7-95 (ASCE 7-95), Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures;National Building Code of Canada, 2005, (NRCC 2005). Além do estudo comparativo acerca da resposta estimada pelos códigos nominados, esta pesquisa constitui-se em um banco de dados de medições em pontos localizados nos morros nominados, em túnel de vento. O comparativo entre os padrões mostra a inexistência de uma harmonização entre os mesmos para a consideração dos parâmetros a serem empregues para o cálculo de cargas de vento. Estas diferenças na definição dos parâmetros básicos para o carregamento de vento em estruturas determinam grandes dificuldades na unificação de formatos recomendados na previsão das cargas de vento. Comparativamente aos dados experimentais, os padrões, em geral, mostram-se conservadores para os dois tipos de morros analisados, simétrico e assimétrico, para os dois tipos de terreno, tanto considerando-se análises em 2D ou 3D. / The structure of the wind varies with the characteristics of the terrain and roughness land surface, slowing its intensity proportionally according to the surrounding terrain, which determines the onset of boundary layer (ABL). The characteristics of the flow over and around topographic features such as hills are of great interest in many applications, especially those related to wind engineering. From an experimental simulation of the boundary layer wind tunnel, it is possible to parameterize the effects of wind over complex terrain (MILLER, 1995). The definition of variables, such as the profile of wind speed, the turbulence intensity, the topographic effects on wind speed are key elements in structural calculations for buildings situated around the area. This research focuses on the investigation of the ABL complex terrain conditions, analyzing the structure of turbulent flow and characterization of separation and reattachment of the flow. Experimental simulations were developed in the wind tunnel of the atmospheric boundary layer Prof. Joaquim Blessmann, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in nine models of hills, four symmetrical two-dimensional, four- symmetrical threedimensional and one asymmetrical, all considering two types of terrain, category I - plan and Category III-IV- moderately rough. The surface of the asymmetric model was measured in nine profiles ploted on the main radial of the hill, with twenty heights each, and the other models were examined at top of the hill. The measurements were performed with a system of hot wire anemometry to measure the wind velocity and intensity of turbulence. The identification of the data obtained in the wind tunnel were confronted with empirical expressions for the same points, in order to establish the correlations between patterns and among these with NBR 6123 (1988). Two models and five codes of wind loads are analyzed: Jackson and Hunt (1975) and e Davenport, Surry e Lemelin (1988) Models and Brazilian Association of Technical Standards: Wind Load on Buildings, NBR 6123 (1988); European Standard: Eurocode1: Basis of Design and Actions on Structures, CEN TC 250: 2002; Australian/New Zealand Standard: Minimum Design Loads on Structures, AS/NZS 1170.2: 2002; Architectural Institute of Japan AIJ: 2004; American Society of Civil Engineering Standard, ASCE 7-95 (ASCE 7-95), Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures; National Building Code of Canada, 2005, (NRCC 2005) codes. This study focuses not only the comparison of the response estimated by international codes nominees, but also a data bank of wind tunnel data to validate this tool based on empirical expressions. The comparison of the patterns shows a lack of consideration for international harmonization of the parameters to be employed for the calculations of wind loads. These differences in defining the basic parameters for the wind loading on structures determines difficulties to unify the formats recommended in the prediction of wind loads. Compared to the experimental data, the patterns will generally show up conservative for both types of mounts analyzed, symmetrical and asymmetrical, for both types of terrain, both considering 2D or 3D.

Le brouillard est un phénomène météorologique très difficile à prévoir, même à très courte échéance, en raison de sa grande variabilité spatiale et temporelle qui est due à des interactions complexes entre divers processus physiques. Dans cette thèse, les caractéristiques météorologiques locales et les processus synoptiques favorables aux brouillards sur la région du Grand Casablanca (Maroc) sont examinés à l'aide des observations horaires aux deux stations météorologiques permanentes de cette région côtière. Un algorithme de classification objectif est développé et utilisé pour classer les événements en des types de brouillard les plus rencontrés. Cette étude climatologique a mis en évidence que le brouillard a le plus souvent un caractère localisé et que le type d'advection-rayonnement est le plus fréquent sur la région, suivi des types d'affaissement de stratus et de rayonnement. Quand le brouillard intéresse simultanément les deux stations, la probabilité d'observer deux types différents est assez élevée. Les processus advectifs liés à la circulation de brise de mer au cours de l'après-midi, suivis de ceux radiatifs en début de nuit jouent un rôle important dans la formation du brouillard sur la région. Des simulations numériques à l'aide du modèle Méso-NH sont réalisées. Ces simulations ont confirmé que les processus physiques impliqués dans le cycle de vie du brouillard peuvent être différents selon la nature géographique de la surface. Elles ont aussi mis en évidence que la prévision numérique du brouillard en zone côtière est sensible à la température de la surface de la mer, à la topographie locale, et à l'occupation du sol. De plus, la prévision du brouillard côtier dépend fortement de la capacité du modèle à reproduire correctement la circulation de brise au cours de l'après-midi et les processus radiatifs en début de nuit. Les simulations systématiques des cas de brouillard de l'hiver 2013-2014 a montré la capacité du modèle Méso- NH à reproduire l'occurrence du brouillard avec néanmoins un taux relativement élevé de fausses alarmes, en particulier à la station côtière. / The prediction of fog remains a challenge due to its time and space variability and to the complex interaction between the numerous physical processes influencing its life cycle. During the first stage of this thesis, the local meteorological and synoptic characteristics of fog occurrence over the Grand Casablanca region (Morocco) are investigated. To achieve this, hourly surface meteorological observations, at two synoptic stations of this coastal region, are used. An objective fog-type classification has been developed in this work and used to discriminate the fog events into the well known types. This fog climatology points out that the fog is often localized and that it is predominantly of advection-radiation type, followed by fog resulting from cloud base lowering and radiation fog. Besides, two different fog types can occur when fog simultaneously concerns the two stations. The advective processes associated with sea breeze circulation during the daylight, followed by the radiative processes often leads to fog formation over this coastal region. Numerical simulations are performed later using the meso-scale non-hydrostatic model Meso-NH. These simulations confirm that the physical processes, governing the life cycle of fog, can be different according to the physiographic features of the area. Moreover, the numerical prediction of coastal fog over heterogeneous area is very sensitive to sea surface temperature, land local topography and land cover. It also depends on the model's ability to reproduce the sea breeze circulation during the daylight followed by the radiative processes early in the night. The systematic numerical simulations of the fog events that occurred during the winter 2013-2014 indicate the Meso-NH's ability to well capture the fog occurrence with a relatively high false alarm rate, particularly over the coastal station.

Cross wind analysis is one of the important safety measures for rail vehicle certification. The objective of this study is to identify which vehicle certification ground setup, true flat ground (TFG) or single track ballast and rail (STBR) represents a more realistic ground setup with atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) wind inlet and also to represent an embankment scenario. A streamlined high speed train ICE3 and a conventional Regional train are taken for the analysis to represent both categories. CFD is used as a tool for calculations. The best practice recommended by the AeroTRAIN project is used for the CFD approach. The analysis is done for various configurations including STBR, TFG, embankments, ground roughness, moving ground, non-moving ground, block profile inlet, ABL inlet, model scale and full scale setups. The Regional train shows higher roll moment coefficient about lee rail (Cmx,lee) compared to the ICE3 train, whereas the ICE3 train has a higher lift force coefficient than the Regional train. STBR setup shows a higher force and moment coefficient compared to TFG. The STBR setup represents the more realistic setup of moving rough ground with ABL wind inlet and also the realistic embankment scenario.

The interaction between a bluff body and the impinging fluid flow, can involve detached boundary layers, massive flow separations, free shear layers, development of recirculation zones and formation of a highly disturbed and complex region downstream of the bluff body, which can be categorized as wake. The present research aims to experimentally investigate such fluid-structure interaction and provide insight into the wake structure of two bluff bodies. To this end, the airwake over the helicopter platform of a Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) polar icebreaker was studied using high-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV). The experiments were conducted on a scaled model of the polar icebreaker situated on a costume-built and computer-controlled turntable, which provided the ability to accurately change the incidence angle of the impinging flow with a given rate of change for incidence angle. Quantitative flow field data were obtained in several vertical and horizontal planes. The obtained velocity field was then used to calculate the time-averaged flow structure and turbulence metrics over the helicopter platform of the vessel. The present work compared the effects of two types of inflow conditions: (i) a uniform flow and (ii) a simulated atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) on the flow structure over the helicopter platform of the ship. Moreover, for the bluff scaled model, the effects of the Reynolds number on the wake structure and the flow patterns were investigated. The incidence angle (α) between the oncoming flow and the orientation of the ship varied between 0° to 330° with the increment of 30°. It was observed that higher maximum values of the turbulence intensity were associated with the simulated ABL. Moreover, it was found that for both inflow conditions, the incidence angle of 300o corresponded to the highest turbulence levels over the helicopter platform. Building on the results obtained for a stationary vessel in the simulated ABL, this work aimed to quantify the effects of the unsteady change in the direction of the impinging wind, simulated by rotating the model at a certain rate, . It was observed that the increase of the rate of change of the inflow direction resulted in an increase of the turbulent intensity over the helicopter platform. However, an exception was observed for the case of α = 60°, where clockwise rotation of the ship model with respect to the inflow exposed the helicopter platform to increased turbulent velocity fluctuations, while counterclockwise rotation diminished the flow unsteadiness over the helicopter platform. Moreover, aiming to identify the origins of the unsteady forces applied on bluff elongated plates with high chord-to thickness ratio (c/t = 23) at zero incidence, direct force measurement as well as PIV were used to identify the effect of transverse perforations on the flow-induced loading on the flow structure in the near-wake of the plates. The experiments were conducted in a water channel, where the plates were located at the center of channel, parallel to the upstream flow direction. Plates with various characteristic diameter of the perforation as well as a reference case without perforations were considered. The spectra of the trailing-edge vortex shedding and flow-induced forces were compared and it was observed that the vortex shedding frequencies were in very good agreement with those of the measured flow-induced forces for all considered perforation patterns. Thus, it was determined that the trailing-edge vortex shedding was the main mechanism of generating the unsteady loading on the plates. The staggered patterns of the perforations created a three-dimensional flow structure at the vicinity of the trailing edge and in the near wake, which was investigated using PIV at several data acquisition planes. It was found that in the cross-sectional planes corresponding to the close proximity of the perforations to the downstream edge, the periodic trailing-edge vortex shedding were suppressed. Furthermore, it was observed that for small perforations, the velocity fluctuations in the near wake were enhanced. However, further increase of the perforation diameter led to suppression of the velocity fluctuations. / Graduate

Previous simulations have shown that wind farms have an impact on the near-surface atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) as turbulent wakes generated by the turbines enhance vertical mixing of momentum, heat and moisture. These changes alter downstream atmospheric properties. With the exception of a few observational data sets that focus on the impact to near-surface temperature within wind farms, little to no observational evidence exists with respect to vertical mixing. These few experimental studies also lack high spatial resolution due to their use of a limited number of meteorological sensors or remote sensing techniques. This study utilizes an instrumented small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) to gather high resolution in-situ field measurements from two state-of-the-art Midwest wind farms in order to differentially map downstream changes to relative humidity. These measurements are complemented by numerical experiments conducted using large eddy simulation (LES). Observations and numerical predictions are in good general agreement around a single wind turbine and show that downstream relative humidity is altered in the vertical, lateral, and downstream directions. A suite of LES is then performed to determine the effect of a turbine array on the relative humidity distribution in compounding wakes. In stable and neutral conditions, and in the presence of a positive relative humidity lapse rate, it is found that the humidity decreases below the turbine hub height and increases above the hub height. As the array is transitioned, the magnitude of change increases, differentially grows on the left-hand and right-hand side of the wake, and move slightly upward with downstream distance. In unstable conditions, the magnitude of near-surface decrease in relative humidity is a full order of magnitude smaller than that observed in a stable atmospheric regime.

The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is the lowest layer of the atmosphere where surface effects are felt on time scales of about an hour. While its properties are determined by the surface characteristics, season and synoptic conditions, they in turn determine convective cloud properties and are required for the representation of cloud processes in atmospheric models. Further, interaction of the ABL with the surface layer of the ocean is a key component of ocean-atmosphere coupling. ABL characteristics over ocean surrounding the sub-continent become very important for understanding the monsoon processes during the monsoon season because the roots of many monsoon systems, that give rain to India, are over there. In this thesis data used are from three major field experiments namely the Bay of Bengal Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX, 1999), Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment (ARMEX, in two phases, ARMEX-I during 2002 and ARMEX-II in 2003), and Continental Tropical Convergence Zone (CTCZ) experiment (Pilot in 2009) which were carried out under the Indian Climate Research Programme (ICRP). While there have been few studies on ABL characteristics for individual cruises, a comprehensive study considering all available radiosonde data from the above cruises has been missing. This study fills this gap and focuses on the vertical structure of ABL using more than 400 high resolution Vaisala GPS radiosonde data collected over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. The study attempts at first to look at the ABL characteristics of individual cruises and then compare and contrast them over the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. ABL height Hm, estimated by using virtual potential temperature (θv) profile, shows diurnal variation during weak phase of convection while maximum in early morning during active phase of convection. Different variables i.e. moist static energy (h), specific humidity (q), convective available potential energy (CAPE), virtual potential temperature (θv) and equivalent potential temperature (θe) also differ during weak and active convection periods. Conserved variables mixing line approach gives the height up to which ground thermals penetrate in the vertical. This height, denoted by MH that represents the actual ABL height, is 2-3 times larger than Hm when shallow convective clouds are present. In general both Hm and MH are 20-30% larger over Arabian Sea compares to that over Bay of Bengal. Comparison of surface convective available potential energy (CAPE) and equivalent potential temperature (θe) between normal and deficit monsoon years shows that convective instability was as large in deficit years. This means that dynamic and not thermodynamics, controlled the occurrence of convection.

Les régimes dynamiques dans les basses couches de l’atmosphère à l’île de la Réunion sont conditionnés par l’action du relief et du rayonnement sur l’écoulement synoptique. L’île est située en permanence dans le flux des alizés de sud-est et son relief élevé, culminant à 3000 m dans le centre de l’île et 2600 m au sud, constitue un obstacle important pour l’écoulement moyen. Le relief, le chauffage différentiel des pentes et le contraste thermique avec l’océan influent sur les échanges locaux entre la couche limite marine et la troposphère libre.L’analyse des phénomènes complexes de l’écoulement atmosphérique au niveau de l’île a pour but initial de caractériser les transferts de polluants émis localement. Cette étude a deux applications : • La première rentre dans le cadre préparatoire à la mise en place, à 2200 m d’altitude sur le Piton Maïdo, de l’observatoire atmosphérique de l’OPAR, à l’horizon 2011. L’objectif est de comprendre les circulations locales induites par le relief et les transports associés afin de discriminer d’éventuelles pollutions par les sources locales sur le signal qui sera mesuré in situ au sommet du Maïdo.• La seconde vise à étudier la diffusion des panaches volcaniques du Piton de la Fournaise. L’éruption majeure d’avril 2007 du volcan réunionnais a montré que des panaches pouvaient générer d’importantes pollutions dans diverses parties de l’île allant jusqu’à poser de réels problèmes environnementaux et de santé publique.Ces applications s’appuient sur une étude par modélisation numérique à haute résolution des écoulements atmosphériques dans les basses couches au niveau de l’île, au moyen du modèle météorologique de recherche MésoNH, permettant de conduire un ensemble de simulations sur cas idéalisés puis sur cas réels avec diffusion de traceurs passifs. / Reunion Island is an isolated mountainous island in Indian Ocean culminating in the center at 3000 m and in the southern part at 2600 m asl and is located in the influence of very regular south-easterly trade winds. The perturbation of the prevailing humid trade wind flow by the complex topography causes large spatial variations in local weather. The analysis of atmospheric circulations at local scale has been conducted with the aim of improving the understanding of small-scale transport and dispersion of pollutants emitted from local sources. This study has two applications:• It takes part in the perspective of the new atmospheric research station of Piton Maïdo, a summit at 2200 m above sea level on the west coast of the island, in the frame of the developing Atmospheric Physics Observatory of La Reunion (Observatoire de Physique de l’Atmosphère de la Réunion, OPAR as French acronym). The objective is to examine to what extent local orographic perturbations of the synoptic wind and local wind systems are responsible for vertical export of air pollutants originating from the island boundary layer, and could affect ground-based measurements at the future Piton Maïdo observatory devoted to the monitoring of background atmospheric composition (greenhouse gases and aerosols).• The second one aims to investigate the behavior of the volcanic plumes from the Piton de la Fournaise. During the April-May 2007 eruption, large amounts of volcanic gases, particles and ash were released into the atmosphere causing air-pollution at several inhabited locations. In this work, the three-dimensional, non-hydrostatic, limited-area numerical model, MESONH, was run in high resolution to simulate features of airflows over Reunion Island in idealized and real conditions. Various passive tracers have been released in the model in order to characterize dynamical processes in the lower atmospheric layers and the related transport of air-masses.

Des bâtiments de grande hauteur sont construits avec un poids et un amortissement structurel de plus en plus faibles en lien avec l'évolution des techniques de construction et des matériaux. La connaissance des charges de vent dynamiques est un enjeu important pour la conception des grands bâtiments afin de garantir leur sécurité structurelle. L'objectif de cette thèse est d’évaluer la capacité de la simulation numérique des grandes échelles (LES) à prédire les charges de vent sur les structures et d’étudier l'influence des conditions d’entrée d’une simulation LES sur ces charges. Des expériences ont été menées à échelle réduite dans la soufflerie atmosphérique NSA du CSTB afin de documenter l’écoulement atmosphérique modélisé, de caractériser son interaction avec un bâtiment et les charges de vent statiques et dynamiques résultantes. Le sillage du bâtiment a été caractérisé grâce à des mesures PIV. Les efforts globaux et les pressions locales ont été mesurés par une balance et des prises de pression à haute fréquence. Ces expériences en soufflerie ont permis de développer un générateur de conditions amont (GCA) pour la simulation LES, visant à reproduire les principales caractéristiques de la turbulence dans la couche limite. La base de données constituée a également permis de qualifier les résultats des simulations LES réalisées avec le code OpenFOAM dans la configuration de l’expérience. L’utilisation du nouveau GCA et d’un générateur dégradé qui ne respecte pas toutes les caractéristiques de l'écoulement a permis de montrer la nécessité de bien reproduire les caractéristiques du vent incident pour accéder aux charges dynamiques sur le bâtiment. / High-rise buildings are built with increasingly low weight and structural damping in relation to the evolution of construction techniques and materials. The understanding of dynamic wind loads is an important issue for the design of high-rise buildings in order to guarantee their structural safety. The objective of the present work is to assess the ability of large eddy simulation (LES) to predict wind loads on structures and to investigate the influence of the inflow boundary conditions of a LES simulation on these loads. Experiments were carried out at a small scale in the NSA atmospheric wind tunnel of CSTB to document the modeled atmospheric boundary layer, to characterize its interaction with a building and the resulting static and dynamic wind loads. The wake flow around the building has been characterized by PIV measurements. Global and local wind loads were measured by a high frequency force balance and high frequency pressure taps. These wind tunnel experiments allowed for the development of an inflow turbulence generator for the LES simulation,which was aimed at reproducing the main characteristics of turbulence in the boundary layer. The database also made it possible to assess the quality of the results of the LES simulations carried out with the OpenFOAM code in the same configuration as the experiment. The use of both the new turbulence generator and a degraded one that does not account for all the characteristics of the flow has made it possible to show the necessity to reproduce the characteristics of the upstream wind flow in order to access the dynamic wind loads on the building.

En hiver, par condition anticyclonique hivernale, les régions montagneuses urbanisées font l'objet de conditions atmosphériques stables et découplées, qui conduisent à des épisodes de forte pollution particulaire. Ce travail de thèse traite de la caractérisation des facteurs de pollution de l'air aux particules par condition stable en vallée alpine encaissée, du point de vue de la dynamique atmosphérique. Ce travail repose sur des simulations numériques idéalisées et en conditions réelles à l'aide du modèle Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), les particules étant modélisées par un champ de traceur passif.Dans une première partie, des simulations numériques à haute résolution ont été réalisées, en utilisant deux configurations différentes de vallées tridimensionnelles idéalisées ouvrant sur une plaine. La première configuration correspond à une vallée de largeur constante dans la direction de l'axe de la vallée ouvrant sur une plaine. Dans la seconde configuration, la vallée est composée de deux sections, la section aval, qui ouvre sur la plaine, étant plus étroite que la section amont. Cette configuration est appelée "pooling". Quelle que soit la configuration, la variation du profil vertical de température le long de l'axe de la vallée conduit à d'un gradient de pression horizontal générant un vent de vallée. Les configurations de type "pooling" sont associées à des concentrations de polluants plus élevées que dans le cas où la largeur de la vallée ne varie pas, car le vent de vallée est plus faible dans la configuration "pooling". L'impact de la largeur de la section aval sur la concentration de polluants dans la section amont est remarquable: la ventilation de la section amont peut être complètement bloquée pendant la majeure partie de la simulation (six heures) lorsque le rapport de largeur de la section amont à la section aval est égal à 10.La deuxième partie concerne une situation réelle en vallée alpine, durant un épisode fortement pollué de février 2015. La dynamique atmosphérique et la concentration de particules fines (PM) ont été modélisées dans une section de la vallée de l'Arve autour de la ville de Passy par le modèle WRF-Chem durant cet épisode. Pour cela, le cadastre d'émission préparé par l'agence de qualité de l'air de la région Auvergne Rhône-Alpes a été implémenté dans le modèle. La dynamique de la couche limite a été comparée à des profils verticaux de vent et température mesurés lors d'une campagne de terrain durant l'épisode pollué, et la concentration de PM comparée aux données de stations de qualité de l'air. La contribution des vallées tributaires à la pollution atmosphérique dans cette section de la vallée de l'Arve a d'abord été étudiée. Les résultats montrent que cette contribution est très faible par rapport à celle des sources locales; ceci implique que les émissions $in-situ$ sont principalement responsables de la forte concentration de particules polluantes enregistrée dans la vallée car le fond de vallée est découplé de l'atmosphère au-dessus de la vallée. Les processus de ventilation et leur influence sur la concentration de particules (PM) ont ensuite été étudiés. L'analyse montre qu'en raison de la ventilation limitée autour de la ville de Passy, la variabilité horaire de la concentration de PM dans la ville est contrôlée par les émissions. / During wintertime anticyclonic regimes, urbanized mountain areas often experience stable and decoupled atmospheric conditions, resulting in severe episodes of particulate air pollution. This study deals with the characterization of drivers of particulate air pollution in deep alpine valleys under such stable conditions from the point of view of atmospheric dynamics. The work has been carried out through the implementation of both idealized and real case numerical simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Particulate air pollution has been modelled by implementing passive tracers in the simulations.In a first part, high-resolution numerical simulations have been performed using two different configurations of three-dimensional idealized valleys opening onto a plain. The first configuration corresponds to a valley of constant width in the along-valley direction, directly opening onto a plain. The second one consists in a valley of varying width in that direction, with an upstream section of larger width than the downstream section, which opens onto the plain. The latter configuration is referred to as a pooling case. The change in the vertical temperature profile along the valley axis in all configurations results in a horizontal pressure gradient that leads to the development of an along-valley flow. Configurations in which the upstream section of the valley opens onto a narrower one have shown to be prone to higher pollutant concentrations than in the case of a valley opening directly onto a plain, due to the weaker down-valley flow developing in the variable width configurations. The impact of the downstream valley section on the concentration of pollutants in the upstream valley section is remarkable: the ventilation of the upstream valley section can be completely blocked for most of the simulation (six hours) when the ratio of the upstream to downstream valley section width is equal to 10.The second part deals with a real case situation, focusing on a section of the alpine Arve River valley around the city of Passy. The numerical modelling of the atmospheric dynamics and particulate matter (PM) concentration in that section has been performed during a strongly polluted wintertime episode of February 2015. For this purpose the emission inventory prepared by the air quality agency of the région Auvergne Rhône-Alpes has been implemented in the WRF-Chem model. The boundary layer dynamics has been compared to wind and temperature profiles collected during a field campaign conducted during the episode, and PM concentration has been compared to data recorded by air quality stations. The contribution of the valley tributaries to air pollution within the section considered has been first studied. Results show that this contribution is very small compared to that from local sources; this implies that $in-situ$ emissions are primarily responsible for the high PM concentration recorded in the valley since the valley bottom is decoupled from the atmosphere above the valley. The ventilation characteristics of the valley and their influence on the particulate matter (PM) concentration have next been investigated. The analysis indicates that due to the limited ventilation around the city of Passy, the hourly variability of PM concentration therein is driven by that of the emissions.