Fractal-based variable drag model for porous-media tree representations

Abstract

Accurate representation of trees is essential for predictive urban micrometeorological simulations, but explicitly resolving detailed tree geometry is computationally prohibitive. Trees are therefore commonly represented as porous media, often with a constant drag coefficient even when spatially heterogeneous area-density distributions are introduced. This limits transferability across inflow conditions and can increase sensitivity to grid resolution, particularly in the grayscale regime where a tree is represented by only a few computational cells. We propose a fractal-based variable-drag model for porous-media tree representations, in which the drag coefficient is prescribed cell-wise as $C_D=C_D(n_{\mathrm{eff}},R{e}_{\mathrm{eff}})$. Here, $n_{\mathrm{eff}}$ is the cell-effective branching order representing unresolved local morphological complexity, and $R{e}_{\mathrm{eff}}$ is the cell-effective Reynolds number representing the local flow regime. The model is assessed using steady Reynolds-averaged Navier--Stokes simulations of a porous fractal tree over systematic sweeps of grid resolution and inflow velocity. Model performance is evaluated primarily using aerodynamic porosity, which measures the bulk momentum attenuation induced by the tree. The proposed model produces a plausible aerodynamic response and improves robustness to grid resolution compared with constant-$C_D$ models. It also captures the variation of bulk drag across inflow conditions without empirical retuning. Notably, this whole-tree response is recovered through local cell-wise quantities, $n_{\mathrm{eff}}$ and $R{e}_{\mathrm{eff}}$. These results demonstrate that morphology- and flow-dependent drag provides a practical route to improving porous-media tree modeling.