Abstract The localization of a source emitting gas to the outdoor atmosphere has many applications for air quality monitoring and chemical hazard mitigation. Chemical Plume Tracing (CPT) refers to the utilization of autonomous robotic platforms equipped with chemical and anemometry sensors to preform this task. Numerical simulations are an important tool in the development of CPT algorithms. Here, for the first time, high fidelity environmental simulations of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) are utilized for the study of CPT algorithm. Large Eddy Simulation (LES) modeling using the PALM model is applied for producing high-resolution three-dimensional flow and dispersion simulations of the outdoor ABL. A CPT bio-inspired algorithm is simulated on top of the modeled environment. Multiple tests are conducted, following statistical analysis of the overall performance. The advantage of the suggested modeling framework over former used methods is exemplified through the study of two issues. First, a theoretical optimal velocity of the robotic platform is quantitatively estimated. Secondly, based on the three-dimensional nature of LES modeling, an extension of the CPT algorithm, aimed for the localization of elevated sources, is presented and tested. The comparison of CPT performance for elevated versus ground sources reveals the considerable difficulty involved in tracing an elevated plume.

中文翻译：

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行星边界层中化学羽流追踪的高保真模拟

摘要 将气体排放到室外大气的源定位在空气质量监测和化学危害缓解方面有许多应用。化学羽流追踪 (CPT) 是指利用配备化学和风速传感器的自主机器人平台来执行此任务。数值模拟是开发 CPT 算法的重要工具。在此，首次利用大气边界层 (ABL) 的高保真环境模拟来研究 CPT 算法。使用 PALM 模型的大涡模拟 (LES) 建模用于生成室外 ABL 的高分辨率三维流动和扩散模拟。在建模环境之上模拟了 CPT 仿生算法。进行了多次测试，下面对整体性能进行统计分析。通过对两个问题的研究，举例说明了建议的建模框架相对于以前使用的方法的优势。首先，定量估计机器人平台的理论最佳速度。其次，基于 LES 建模的三维特性，提出并测试了旨在定位高架源的 CPT 算法的扩展。高架源与地面源的 CPT 性能的比较揭示了追踪高架羽流所涉及的相当大的困难。基于 LES 建模的三维特性，提出并测试了旨在定位高架源的 CPT 算法的扩展。高架源与地面源的 CPT 性能的比较揭示了追踪高架羽流所涉及的相当大的困难。基于 LES 建模的三维特性，提出并测试了旨在定位高架源的 CPT 算法的扩展。高架源与地面源的 CPT 性能的比较揭示了追踪高架羽流所涉及的相当大的困难。