Recently, Associate Professor Cai Xianyun from the Department of Smart Building, Architecture and Urban Planning School, as the first author, published a research paper titled “The impact of particulate pollutants on lighting environment in urban road tunnels” in the prestigious journal Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment (SCI/SSCI indexed, CAS Q1 TOP, IF=7.7). Associate Professor Zheng Zhanji from the Traffic and Transportation School served as the corresponding author.

The study focuses on the influence of particulate pollutants on the lighting environment and driving safety in tunnels. By combining highway tunnel lighting simulation experiments with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling, the research thoroughly investigates the correlation between pollutant concentration and the photometric environment. The paper proposes optimized tunnel ventilation strategies tailored to different traffic flow, aiming to improve the quality of the tunnel lighting environment by effectively diluting particulate pollutant concentrations, thereby enhancing driving safety.

This research was supported by the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52108071). The findings represent a convergence of expertise from researchers across multiple disciplines, including architecture, HVAC, transportation, and civil engineering. It stands as another active attempt and significant achievement by the Architecture and Urban Planning School in promoting interdisciplinary integration and breaking down traditional academic barriers.