Predicting circulation and dispersion near coastal power plants : applications using models TEA and ELA

Abstract

This report describes how a pair of two-dimensional numerical models (TEA and ELA) have been coupled to simulate thermal plume dispersion in the vicinity of coastal power plants. The work follows previous study by Kaufman and Adams (1981), but differs from most previous studies in that near field mixing is represented explicitly by specifying entrainment and mixed discharge fluxes as model boundary conditions. The models have been applied to two power plants-Brayton Point Generating Station and Millstone Nuclear Power Plant. Comparison against field data shows generally good agreement in both cases, and computational costs are reasonable. Several areas for additional research have been identified.