Drift-modeling and monitoring comparisons. [Drift from power plant cooling towers]

摘要

Congress is looking into the conglomeration of nuclear reactors into energy centers of limited area. Drift from cooling towers can corrode and damage structures in the immediate vicinity of the towers, cause a public nuisance if located near parking lots or high-density traffic areas, and endanger local vegetation. The estimation of salt deposition has relied primarily on predictions from a variety of models, with very few direct measurements. One of the major efforts in our program is to evaluate the assumptions, limitations, and applicabilities of various analytical models for drift deposition prediction. Several drift deposition models are compared using a set of standard input conditions. The predicted maximum drift deposition differs by two orders of magnitude, and the downwind locations of the maximum differ by one order of magnitude. The discrepancies are attributed mainly to different assumptions in the models regarding the initial effective height of the droplets. Current programs in which drift characteristics at the tower mouth and drift deposition downwind of the tower are being measured are summarized. At the present time, drift deposition measurements, sufficiently comprehensive for model verifications, are unavailable. Hopefully, the Chalk Point Program will satisfy this need.