Power plant intakes performance in low flow water bodies

This research aims to study the hot water recirculation at the power plants intakes due to the discharge from the plant cooling system into a low flow receiving water body. To achieve this objective, a 3Dnumerical model was employed to study the effect of the main parameters in this phenomena such as the plant intake length (L), the distance between the plant intake and outfall (S), the water depth under the intake skimmer wall (h) and the water depth just upstream the intake (D) on the recirculation of hot water to the plant intake. Eight scenarios were tested and two mathematical formulas accounting for the effect of these parameters on the hot water concentration at the plant intake were deduced. Physical model tests were carried out to verify the accuracy of the two deduced formulas. The study results indicated that the measured thermal concentrations in the physical model tests coincide with those calculated by the two above-mentioned mathematical formulas.