Modeling of moist plumes in turbulent, stratified atmospheres

• Published in: Atmospheric environment 1986, Vol.20 (1), p.9-19
• Main Authors: Hamza, Redouane, Golay, Michael W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Atmospheric pollution; cooling towers; Exact sciences and technology; Pollutants physicochemistry study: properties, effects, reactions, transport and distribution; Pollution; turbulent atmospheres; Wet plumes
• ISSN: 0004-6981; 1352-2310
• DOI: 10.1016/0004-6981(86)90202-7

A widely applicable computational model of buoyant moist plumes in turbulent atmospheres has been constructed and its approach is illustrated. A one-dimensional Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) model has been developed to account for atmospheric turbulence while the two-dimensional time dependent fluid mechanics equations which govern plume behavior are numerically integrated. An equilibrium thermodynamics moisture model has been used to account for the water content of the plume. The overall dynamics of the plume are general. The buoyancy source in the plume include both the sensible heat and the latent heat absorbed or released in the plume. The turbulence of the plume accounts for buoyancy generated or destroyed turbulence and a universal K- ε model has been incorporated along with a K- σ model. The plume model is validated against complex field cases to demonstrate its ability to reproduce solutions to problems that are known. Comparisons to visible plume data show that both the dynamics of the plume are calculated successfully. Comparisons with ‘conventional’ entrainment models indicate that the model can simulate some plume cases better since it explicitly takes into account more physical phenomena than do such models. This is especially true in cases with complex atmospheric structure, where different entrainment models will disagree greatly with one another and with data.