ON-ROAD AND NEAR-ROAD DISPERSION AND DEPOSITION OF EXHAUST AND NON-EXHAUST PARTICULATE MATTER (PM)
There is a growing concern regarding the harmful effects of traffic inducedair pollution (TRAP), which consists of exhaust and non-exhaust emissions (brake wear, tire wear and re-suspended road dust). While many laboratory studies helped identify the generation, composition and size of non-exhaust emissions, their dispersion in the on-road and near-road environments has not been explored. Non-exhaust pollutant dispersion is sensitive to factors such as test location, driving conditions, number of vehicles, atmospheric stability, etc. making it challenging to quantify its dispersion using field measurements. Simulations can help by analyzing the emissions in the near and far-field regions under controlled conditions. In this paper, we analyze the differences in dispersion between exhaust and non-exhaust emissions (brakes) using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Our results indicate the brake emissions undergo a higher dilution than exhaust emissions due to the well mixed regions in and around the wheel wells, leading to reduced on-road and near-road concentrations. Brake surface temperature has been shown to drive the brake particle generation and size distribution, but our study concluded that it did not affect its dispersion. However, the total concentrations of the brake emissions in the on-road and near-road environments was found to be dependent on it with significantly higher concentrations of ultrafine particles being dispersed at higher brake surface temperatures. Additionally, the effectiveness of a vegetation barrier, a TRAP mitigating method that has been designed to curb exhaust emissions was investigated for non-exhaust emissions. Our findings indicate that the vegetation barrier is just as effective for exhaust and non-exhaust emissions.