96-05: Predictions of the Plume From a Cooling Tower

A visible plume from a cooling tower is sometimes considered to be a nuisance such as an icing and/or a barrier for visibility and sunshine. Prediction of the behaviors of a visible plume is expected to be accomplished. In this work, the plume has been predicted using computational fluid dynamics. Computational results are capable of reproducing the main feature of the plume. The length, width and volume of a plume in various conditions agree well with the measured ones. Although the present simulation could not represent the small behaviors of turbulent flow, this method is considered to become a useful tool to normalize the scale of plume.