Thermo-hydraulic Simulation of discharges

Discharges of hot water in river (lakes, sea)

Problem encountered
Hot water discharges from a cooling plant into a water course have to be defined both from a thermal point of view and from a dynamic point of view in order to minimize the impact of :

The water flow on the nearby barges,
Plume of warm water on the environment.

Objective

To establish the impact zone of discharge and,
To propose solutions for improvement.

Solutions

Static 3D simulation of the warm water plume taking account of : the water course, the water intake and the flow rate of the discharged hot water ,
Simulation confined to the discharge work, so as to assess the changes that would minimize the thermal footprint through an optimisation of hot and cool water mixing,
Validation of the optimal solution through simulation of the overall process.

Streamline of the hot water discharge colored by the temperature, after discharge work optimization and considering the barges impact (green blocks).

Temperatures in horizontal views taken in different depths

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