RADIATION PROTECTION ›› 2014, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (5): 288-296.

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Wind Tunnel and Numerical Simulation of the Effects of Cooling Tower Plume on Pollutants Flow and Dispersion

Fan Dan, Yao Rentai, Guo Dongpeng, Guo Zhanjie   

  1. China Institute for Radiation Protection, Taiyuan 030006
  • Received:2013-12-31 Online:2014-09-20 Published:2025-01-06

Abstract: Wind tunnel experiment and numerical simulation method was used to study the effects on regional flow field and plume diffusion in the case of a NPP cooling tower with or without thermal plume emission. The mean flow field and turbulent structure around the site area influenced by a cooling tower was introduced. Effects of thermal plume on plume concentration distribution, ground axis concentration and diffusion parameters were also investigated. Results show, by the impact of the cooling tower and thermal plume, wind speed on wind direction axis decreases significantly with double-speed loss area appears; the thermal plume is found enhancing pollutants dispersion, increasing spreading range, decreasing the maximum concentration and significantly enlarging the vertical diffusion; and the influence of the surrounding air flow and pollutant dispersion from a cooling tower closely relates to the relative position of the chimney and cooling tower. When the line connecting cooling tower and chimney parallels the wind direction, the influence is significant. Meanwhile, the impact of the thermal plume on pollutant dispersion is also related to the relative position of the releasing source and cooling tower.

Key words: cooling tower, wind tunnel experiment, numerical simulation, flow, dispersion

CLC Number: 

  • X169