Dynamic computer modeling of environmental systems for decision making, risk assessment and design

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the mathematical modeling and associated computer simulations of environmental problems related to flow and heat/mass transfer. Many key ‘issues’ in designing environmental protection systems and in performing environmental risk assessment and control are related to the behavior of fluids in turbulent flow, often involving more than one phase, with chemical reaction or heat transfer. Computational‐fluid‐dynamics (CFD) techniques have shown great potential for analyzing these processes and are very valuable to the environmental engineer and scientist, by reducing the need to resort to ‘cut and try’ approaches to the design of complex environmental protection systems and to any relevant decision‐making process. Multidimensional, multiphase dynamic models for the dispersion of air, water, and soil pollutants and for the prediction of environmental risks are presented. Up‐to‐date procedures and methods for solving the relevant equations are included, together with indications of the computational resources necessary to obtain realistic representations. Results using model simulations are presented for several cases of atmospheric and marine pollution, as well as for the environmental risks of fires and of petrol‐tank explosions. It is concluded that the results are physically plausible and can be used with confidence for environmental policy decisions and for the design of environmentally friendly processes and equipment. Air, water, and soil management systems can be improved by the application of these computational prediction techniques. Copyright © 2012 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.