Smoke Plume Trajectory from In situ Burning of Crude Oil in Alaska: FieldExperiments and Modeling of Complex Terrain

摘要

The model, ALOFT (A Large Outdoor Fire plume Trajectory), is based on thefundamental conservation equations that govern the introduction of hot gases and particulate matter from a large fire into the atmosphere. Two forms of the Navier-Stokes equations are solved numerically--one to describe the plume rise in the first kilometer, the other to describe the plume transport over tens of kilometers of complex terrain. Each form of the governing equations resolves the flow field at different length scales. Particulate matter, or any non-reacting combustion product, is represented by Lagrangian particles that are advected by the fire-induced flow field. Background atmospheric motion is described in terms of the angular fluctuation of the prevailing wind, and represented by random perturbations to the mean particle paths. Results of the model are compared with three sets of fields experiments. Estimates are made of distances from the fire where ground level concentrations of the combustion products fall below regulatory threshold levels.