Journal of Radiation Research and Radiation Processing, Volume. 42, Issue 4, 040701(2024)

Computational fluid dynamics numerical simulation of the effect of cooling towers on the diffusion of airborne radionuclides

Dan ZHAO1...2,*, Junfang ZHANG1,2, Minghua LYU1,2, Yu LI1,2, and Duoxin ZHAO12 |Show fewer author(s)
Author Affiliations
  • 1China Institute for Radiation Protection, Taiyuan 030006, China
  • 2China National Nuclear Corp Key Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Evaluation Technology, Taiyuan 030006, China
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    During the normal operation of cooling towers in nuclear power plants, water vapor with a certain temperature is discharged through the outlet of the cooling tower, which mixes with the surrounding air. A portion of this vapor condenses and forms visible plumes. This paper uses Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation software to simulate six nuclear power units and their supporting cooling towers at a nuclear power plant site, and studies the impact of plumes emitted from the six cooling towers under different wind directions on the radioactive diffusion of the nuclear power plant discharge. The research results indicate that when the arrangement direction of the cooling towers is consistent with the wind direction,the influence of the cooling towers on the environmental flow field extends to a distance of approximately 1 500 m in the downwind direction. When the cooling towers are located in the downwind direction of the reactor unit, the emission from the cooling towers increases the pollution diffusion factor within a 1 000 m range of the chimney. As the environmental wind speed increases, the impact of the cooling tower emissions on the diffusion of pollutants from the chimney decreases.

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    Dan ZHAO, Junfang ZHANG, Minghua LYU, Yu LI, Duoxin ZHAO. Computational fluid dynamics numerical simulation of the effect of cooling towers on the diffusion of airborne radionuclides[J]. Journal of Radiation Research and Radiation Processing, 2024, 42(4): 040701

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    Paper Information

    Category: RADIATION INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

    Received: Aug. 22, 2023

    Accepted: Dec. 7, 2023

    Published Online: Sep. 14, 2024

    The Author Email: ZHAO Dan (danzhao1221@foxmail.com)

    DOI:10.11889/j.1000-3436.2023-0069

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