Computational turbulence modeling of thermal pollution from two-dimensional surface discharge of heated water

Abstract

Computational turbulence models have been studied to analyses a thermal pollution problem which is caused by a discharge of heated water into ocean, river, lake or estuary. To predit the velocity and temperature profiles in the portion of the effluent in which the flow is dominated by the momentum and buoyancy of the discharge, two-dimensional computational models have been developed. Using algebraic equations for the turbulent shear stresses and heat fluxes, the mixing-length model and one-equation model have been developed. The experimentally observed entrainment reduction due to buoyancy was reproduced by the models. The predictions show that buoyancy effects damp turbulence and reduce vertical mixing between heated effluents and the underlying water.