Assessment of the effectiveness of the use of a jet-directing dam with different lengths on the formation of thermal pollution zones in a flowing aquatic environment from a coastal power plant: A numerical study

Abstract

In this paper, it was considered numerical modeling of the distribution of temperature fields formed as a result of the water discharge used to cool turbogenerators of nuclear power plants (NPPs). The purpose of the work was to evaluate the thermal impact on a natural flowing reservoir. A section of the Irtysh River, near the city of Kurchatov in the East Kazakhstan region, where a nuclear power plant is supposed to be built, was taken as an object of modeling. One of the main problems of the work is to evaluate the efficiency of using jet-directing dams of various lengths for natural cooling reservoirs. According to the obtained results, the use of such dams will reduce the heat load on coastal areas. For comparison, dams of different lengths will be considered: 300 m and 450 m. The model developed in this article will make it possible to predict the spread of thermal plumes and its impact on the water area of the river. Based on the results, an assessment was made of the optimal length of the barrier, which reduces the level of thermal pollution of the coastline.