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A Plume Rise Model Compared with Observations


a
Gary A. Briggs
a
NASA Trainee , The Pennsylvania State University , University Park , Pennsylvania ,
USA
Published online: 16 Mar 2012.

To cite this article: Gary A. Briggs (1965) A Plume Rise Model Compared with Observations, Journal of the Air Pollution
Control Association, 15:9, 433-438, DOI: 10.1080/00022470.1965.10468404

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00022470.1965.10468404

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A Plume Rise Model
Compared with Observations
GARY A. BRIGGS, NASA Trainee, Dimensional arguments are used to predict plume rise for buoyant plumes in both stable
The Pennsylvania State University, and neutral air, for both calm and windy conditions. Dominant terms are assumed to be
University Park, Pennsylvania windpseed u, "buoyancy flux" F {proportional to heat efflux), and a stability parameter s
{proportional to potential temperature gradient). Observations presented support the
dimensional analysis predictions, except that for final rise in a neutral atmosphere they
are adeauate only for a conservative estimate of rise. The method is extended to predict
maximum ground concentration of effluent gases in the worst situations {windy neutral
and fumigation) for open country, valleys, and "canyons." These predictions are com-
pared ivith limited observations.
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lluine rise is closed related to weight, and weight of suspended parti- where g, Cp, and Qa are gravitational
air pollution, since the concentration of cles of the plume. The rise is critically acceleration, specific heat at constant
an effluent at the ground is reduced when affected by entrainment of air, due at pressure, and heat efflux at the chimney,
the effective source height is increased. first to the plume's own relative motion; respectively. When the stack gases
There are many empirical and theo- as this dies out, atmospheric turbulence have an average molecular weight and
retical plume rise formulas in the litera- is chiefly responsible for mixing. In heat capacity similar to air; F is approxi-
ture, but none of them are supported by stratified air the buoyancy of the plume mated by
a quantity of good observations. In and entrained air is altered by the AT
recent years a number of observations change in relative density of the am- F » g — wr1
have been made, most of which will be bient air with height. In stable air this
used here. Still lacking is a thorough acts as a restoring force on the plume, where AT is the temperature elevation
field study in which all chimney param- while in unstable air the plume may be of the stack gases, Ts — T. Note that F
eters are known, and temperature pro- accelerated to unlimited heights, some- has the units [IH~Z].
file, wind profile, and plume trajectory as times even initiating cumulus clouds. When the plume becomes bent over in
far downwind as the point of maximum the wind, these quantities are diluted in
ground concentration are measured over Essential Stack Parameters the axial direction in proportion to the
the same period. The most important step in dimen- average windspeed at stack level, u. In
Dimensional analysis is a relatively sional analysis is to choose the ] param- this case the essential stack parameters
straightforward, but often overlooked, eters which are most significant. Much become Fm/u and F/u.
theoretical approach to physical prob- simplification is achieved by approxi- For most hot sources, momentum rise
lems such as plume rise. Dimensional mating the chimney as a point source, is negligible compared to the stack
arguments were first applied to plume specified entirely by its "momentum height in a high wind, and will not be
behavior by Batchelor1 in 1954 and later flux" and "buoyancy flux." considered here.
by Scorer,2, 3, 4 whose work will be ex- Momentum flux is just the efflux Transitional Rise
tended here to include the effect of velocity w times the mass efflux at the
stability. chimney, but for our purposes we can When the plume first leaves the chim-
In certain simplified cases it is possible divide it by n and the air density p, ney it is not strongly affected by stabil-
to extend the dimensional analysis to since this is the only way to eliminate ity, so for a bent-over plume, rise de-
calculating maximum ground concentra- the "mass" unit. We can then define a pends chiefly on F/u and t. Dimen-
tions directly from stack and meteoro- term proportional to momentum flux by sional anal} sis then gives the height of
logical parameters. This will be done rise b}"
M T
here for the windy neutral case and the r * 2 2 Mi ex (F/uy/*i*/>
case of fumigation with no wind, gen- Using the relationship x = u t, where x is
erally the two worst possible situations. where M, T, and r are average molecular the distance downwind of the stack, and
There is a greater lack of data here, but weight, absolute temperature, and stack estimating the coefficient of propor-
comparison with some observations will radius, respectively. Subscript "s" de- tionality from Fig. 1, the above equation
be made. signates the stack gases, as opposed to becomes
the ambient air.
Plume Rise Similarly a term proportional to Ah = 2.0 Fx/*u~lx 2/l

buoyancyfluxcan be defined by dividing In Fig. 1 plume rises from seven


Description
the rate at which buoyant force is added widely different sources are plotted
A smoke plume takes on the hori- to the plume (after mixing with a large against downwind distance. Both Ah
zontal wind speed quickly after leaving volume of ambient air) by IT and p. and x are made non-dimensional in terms
the chimney, but continues to rise with This is given by of L, defined b}'
its original vertical momentum plus
momentum added by buoyancy, deter- F = =4.4x10- Qll
mined by the heat, average molecular T CpPT cal-sec2

September 1 965 / Volume 1 5, No. 9 433


The stack plume trajectories plotted are The constant has been estimated from In the surface, layer of a neutral
from Bosanquet, et al.,r> Csanady,6 and Fig. 2, where heights from two sources atmosphere, the statistics of the turbu-
Stewart, et al.7 at Harwell. Also plot- and corresponding stability parameters lence are adequately specified by u* and
ted is rise data from lard-pail type oil were made non-dimensional and plotted. the height, except perhaps very close to
burners of Ball8 and of exhaust clouds The potential temperature gradients the ground. Then the plume rise at the
from horizontally fired rocket motors of were averaged through the layer of point of maximum ground concentration
Van Vleck and Boone.9 Because the wind plume rise. The data from the Colbert should be a function just of F/u, u*, and
was measured much lower than plume plant of TV A (Gartrell, Thomas, and stack height hs. Dimensional analysis
level for the Harwell and rocket exhaust Carpenter)12 fit the above power law yields
data, wind speeds were adjusted by esti- well, especially at higher wind speeds.
mating roughness and assuming the The most stable runs from the Moses F u u*2h
M *- * I vv i<v its

logarithmic wind profile generally found and Strom data13 show more scatter;
in neutral conditions. All the data fit here the source was three orders of mag- where / is a function of the nondimen-
the above formula reasonably well, nitude weaker. Leveling is very evi- sionalized chimney height. The inten-
especially considering that the source dent in the Colbert data, with the plume sity of the small turbulent eddies respon-
sizes vary by three orders of magnitude. maintaining nearly a constant height sible for mixing the plume does not
Source data are shown in Table I. from half a mile to as far as nine miles change rapidly with height, so/ is a weak
downwind. function. Since we usually are most
Rise in Stable Air
Rise in Neutral Air interested in rise when it is somewhat
The measure of hydrostatic stability comparable to stack height, in this
of the atmosphere is the lapse rate. The In a neutral atmosphere the rise is limited range we can approximate / by a
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most logical temperature to use is the probably never definitely terminated, constant and say
potential temperature 9, defined as the but it is impeded by mixing due to
temperature air would have if it were atmospheric turbulence. The rise that F
slowly brought adiabatically to a stand- Ah
has the most meaning is usually that at
ard pressure of 1000 mb. Thus poten- the point of maximum ground concen-
tial temperature allows for the cooling of tration. Unfortunately plume rise observers in
rising air due to expansion (since pres- In a high wind, plumes of small and the past have measured wind at only one
sure falls with height). Air displaced moderate sized plants are confined to the height, so it is not possible to determine
vertically by the distance dz then be- surface layer of the atmosphere, char- z0 and u*. However u is not strongly
comes cooler than the surrounding air by acterized by constant stress with height. dependent on height and roughness, and
the amount (bO/bz)dz. The restoring The stress between "slices" or "layers" is proportional to u*, so a crude approxi-
acceleration per unit displacement then of the moving air is not due to wind, but mation of our original function becomes
becomes rather to the combination of turbulent
F
eddies which transport momentum and Ah cc —s
_ g_ be wind shear. If we assume stress r a u
S
~ Tbz function only of air density, wind shear If we assume the time t max it takes
bu/bz, and height z, by dimensional the plume to reach the point of maxi-
In the atmosphere be/bz is relate 1 to the analysis we must have
temperature gradient bT/bz bjr mum ground concentration to be a func-
bu tion of the total height h and u*, then
be bT p \Z bz~
+ 5.4°F/1000 ft X max h
dz t max oc
u u~*
Note that s has the units [t~2]; physi- define-4/— = u*
cally it is the square of the angular p u h
X max - h oc In
frequency of the oscillation of a balloon
or air parcel about its mean altitude in U — KZ — h
stable air. If we use s as a stability bz bmz where u is the average wind at plume
parameter for predicting plume rise, it level and x max is the distance down-
where the constant of proportionality k wind at which maximum ground concen-
turns out that the time required for the is called the von Karman constant,
plume to level off is proportional to s~1//2. tration occurs, observed to be in the
found empirically to be about 0.4, and order of 10 h. Because plume observa-
In calm air, the dimensional analysis where u* is called the friction velocity. tions are seldom carried out as far as x
solution for final height is readily found Since in the surface layer both r and p max and no ground concentrations are
to be vary little with height, u* can be con- measured concurrently, there are no
sidered constant and the wind profile can data from which to properly determine
Ah be found by integrating the above equa- the constants of proportionality in the
Experiments in an ice rink by Crawford tion : above equations. It can be said that
and Leonard10 indicate a coefficient of u* the rise is of the order of 10Wu~s, and by
proportionality of about 5.25, while the u = —- In z + constant inspection of Fig. 1 a conservative value
experiments of Morton, Taj'lor, and of plume rise might be
Turner11 give a constant of 4.25. There u = — In -
are no observations of vertical rise in the k ZQ 'F
Ah >400
atmosphere available. As a compro-
mise, we may take The constant of integration is defined in
terms of z0, called the roughness length. Strictly speaking the above reasoning-
Ah = 4.7/< 7 l /4 S - 3 /s It can be found empirically by measuring applies only to low plumes, since the
the average wind at two heights, and is surface layer is generally only 10 to 100
In windy, stable air the dimensional usually of the order of Vio the height of m high. However in a high wind
prediction is surface features such as trees and build- plumes even from large plants do not
ings. The above logarithmic profile is rise so high as to be in a greatly different
Ah = 2.6 I — well supported by observations in neu- type of turbulent regime. Stress and
tral conditions. consequently u* fall gradually off above

434 Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association


-t—I 1—I—I I I 1 I -i—I—I I I I 11

3
I0 --

Ah +
L
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10' i—I I I I I I
10

Tig. 1. Observed plume rises vs Ah = 2.OF xJzv x


x 2 ^ 3 (dashed line).

the surface layer, so the above equations bulence near the ground, the air becomes and h. Both dimensionally and by
should still be valid as approximations. well mixed and nearly neutral, and the physical reasoning it can be shown that
plume is efficiently diffused toward the at this point
Maximum Ground Concentration ground.
At some point downwind of the stack Q
Neutral, Windy Day maximum ground concentration is ulr
At a plant with a low stack the highest reached. Assuming that at this point
ground concentrations usually occur on the cross section of effluent concentra- At a low wind the plume rise is high so
a windy day, since the plume is brought tion always has the same shape, the ground concentration is negligible. At
down to a low height. Since the wind ground concentration x should be a func- a very high wind the total plume height
causes much mechanically induced tur- tion of the mass efflux of pollutant Q, u, h approaches the stack height A», but the

I M i l l H 1—I I I I I I -i H H—h
H 1 1 1 1 I I I I|
++
O GARTRELL, THOMAS AND CARPENTER
A MOSES AND STROM

Ah --

IO 1 Mill
10 -z

Fig. 2. Observed plume rises (stable with wind) vs Ah = 2.6 (F/J) 1 ^ s " 1 / 3 (solid line).

September 1965 / Volume 15, No. 9 435


pollutant is diluted in proportion to the Table I—Dafa for Sources Shown in Fig. 1
wind. It is at some intermediate wind
speed u max at which maximum ground Trace
Source
,(io. = 0 F (ft-,)
concentration is observed. If we as- No.
\ sec/ \sec 3 /
sume the rise to be given by 1 Bosanquet No. 1 153 6,900 14
2 33
h = hs + 400 - 3 26
4 19
5 Bosanquet No. 2 7 326 10
u max is found by straightforward aD 1 O
lo
differentiation to occur at Bosanquet No. 3 158 7,130
87 Harwell 110 4,830 20
21
6 9 32
u max =
U) 10
11
12
Van Vleck 720 31,600
46
7-9
16-19
The maximum ground concentration 13 Csanady 273 12,000 15-23
at this critical wind speed then becomes ° Ball 1 42 3-13
given by

Table II—Maximum Ground Concentrations of A 1


The constant of proportionality is esti- X max Fl/s
mated from data in Tables II and III to
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be about 0.007 when ground concentra- Plant Type of Average Wind, Height u max Q
tion is averaged over a half hour or more. Oak Ridge peak 15-min 19 ft/sec at 154 33 ft/sec 0.019
For a 15 minute average, peak concen- ft
tration may be several times this "average" 15-min 19 ft/sec at 154 0.012
ft
amount, as large thermal eddies some- Harwell "peak" 12 m/sec at 35 in 11 m/sec 0.012
times persist this long, causing varia- peak 40-min 5 m/sec at 1 m 0.006
tions in plume rise. In unstable air,
while the average gfound concentration
is less than that for neutral air, momen-
tarily very high concentrations may be layer. Note that s in the above equa- canyon with a narrow entrance, the
recorded as thermal eddies occasionally tions should be determined from the spread of the smoke may be inhibited by
carry the plume to the ground near the average potential temperature gradient the topography, causing higher ground
chimney. through the layer of plume rise during concentrations. If we assume the
the inversion, not at the time of fumiga- smoke to spread evenly and the maxi-
Fumigation with No Wind tion. mum velocity at which the smoke can
For most plants maximum ground The above formulas are valid only for spread or "escape" to be a function of F
concentrations of effluent are likely to open country, since no topographical and s, then the maximum ground con-
occur at fumigation after a c m night interference has been taken into account. centration possible is proportional to
with a steep ground inversion. By Unfortunately there are no data readily
"calm" we mean that the plume rises available for other situations, but for
essentially vertically, although it may future reference we can write dimen-
bend over at stratification level. Such a sional analysis formulas for fumigation where IF is the effective width of the
plume reaches a limiting height as given in idealized valleys and "canyons." In valley or can}ron entrance at the smoke
by the formula for calm, stable air, and any case the maximum ground concen- level.
then spreads out more or less evenly in a tration at fumigation is inversely pro- For a completely closed in canyon, the
thin layer. The rate of spreading portional to the total plume rise in the problem becomes quite simple if we as-
should also be a function of F and s. inversion. sume completely uniform mixing up to
Fumigation occurs after sunrise when In a valley with very steep sides or a the top of the stratified smoke at fumi-
convection due to ground heating builds
up to the level of the stratified smoke,
mixing it evenly down to the ground. Table III—Maximum Ground Concentration of SO. at TVA Plants
The concentration should then be in- Plant Data: r, ft 7 8.2 12.5
versely proportional to the height of w, ft/sec 48 47 44
plume rise through the nighttime inver- 7',, °F 290 290 290
sion. Applying dimensional analysis we F, ft4/sec3 23,000 31,000 67,000
hlt ft 250 300 500
find period of data 3/56-10/56 3/55-4/58 12/58-1/61
Q Neutral: # days u > 15 mph 13 11 3
X max ii at xmax, mph 18-26 19 27
u max, mph 39 41 44
The constant of proportionality is NQ, tons/day 558 469 787
conservatively estimated to be of the N 8 4 2
/(A) 5.0 3.3 1.9
order 0.05 from very limited data given X max, ppm 1.0 0.8 0.4
belowr; this equation should be tested x maxf/s/i//! 0.006 0.007 0.005
with more complete data before being /(A')Q
relied upon. The area of spread corre- Fumigation: # days u < 5 mph 1 9 12
sponding to the above constant would be $, tons/day 84 135 333
/i = fe. + 4.7FV4S-V* 1250 1400 1800
X max, ppm 0.4 0.6 0.6
where At is the time during which the x max F1/is~hl^i 0.05 0.06 0.04
smoke accumulates in the stratified Q

436 Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association


gation. Such a "box" model gives same level the situation is more complex, In the fumigation case it was assumed
since in spreading each plume could that the concentration is inversely pro-
Q At "push" the other aside, making the area portional to the total plume rise during
X max = A (h of spread proportional to N but leaving the inversion and is a function also of Q,
s
the concentration unaffected. For the F, and s, yielding
where At is the duration time of the in- purpose of estimating the constant of
version and A is the average area of the proportionality in the fumigation form- X max ~ 0.05
canyon. ula, the conservative assumption to Q
Concentrations may be less in a valley make is that the concentration does not
if there is always a minimum drainage depend on N; the truth undoubtedly lies
wind u diluting the plume downvalley. somewhere between no dependence and where the temperature gradient is
For a narrow valley we can use a simple linear dependence. averaged through the layer of plume rise
"trough" model using the height of rise before the inversion breaks'down. The
given by the formula for the stable case Summary coefficient of proportionality was deter-
with wind, giving The rise of most hot plumes is caused mined from very limited data, and more
almost entirely by buoyancy due to observations are needed to prove the
Q heat; the most important stack param- validity of this model.
Y innv =
X
'' u W (hs + 2.6(/'7M) 1 /'S- 1 /») eter for such plumes is the "buoyancy
flux" F, which is proportional to the heat Acknowledgments
Comparison with Observations flux. When the plume is bent over in This work was done with the support
Unfortunately maximum ground con- the wind, it is diluted along its axis in of the Pennsylvania Department of
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centration data complete with stack and proportion to the average wind speed u Health, the Atmospheric Turbulence
meteorological parameters are not abun- at plume level, so the buoyancy param- and Diffusion Laboratory of the United
dant, but enough exist that limited eter becomes F/u. In stratified air the States Weather Bureau (Oak Ridge,
comparisons can be made here. plume's buoyancy is dissipated due to Tennessee), and a National Aeronautics
Table II shows the constant of propor- the stability, which can be characterized and Space Administration Traineeship.
tionality in the neutral, windy ground by a stability parameter s proportional I would like to thank Dr. Frank Gifford
concentration formula for several differ- to the potential temperature gradient. (Oak Ridge), Dr. Frank Pasquill (Me-
ent types of averages observed at reac- When the atmosphere is neutral the teorological Office, Bracknell, England)
tors in Harwell, England7 and in Oak plume is diffused by atmospheric turbul- and Dr. Hans Panofsky (Pennsylvania
Ridge, Tennessee.15 ence, whose intensity is a function of State U.) for their encouragement and
Table III shows the constants of ground roughness, height, and most enlightening discussion, as well as the
proportionality corresponding to maxi- importantly, wind speed. Tennessee Valley Authority for permis-
mum ground concentrations observed at Retaining only the dominant terms sion to use their SO2 data.
three TVA plants, for both the neutral, above for each situation, and applying
windy and the fumigation cases. High- dimensional analysis with constants
est concentrations tended to occur dur- determined from data, the following Appendix: the Dimensional
ing either low or high winds; u > 15 plume rise formulas were found: Analysis Method
mph was taken to indicate neutral, Given a physical situation in which a
windy conditions while u < 5 mph was transitional Ah = 2.0F1^u~1 x2//a
set of dimensional quantities are related
assumed to be a case of fumigation. All
observations represent 30 minute aver- stable, calm Ah — 4.7.F1/4s~3/'8 only to each other, it is possible to infer
immediately something about the form
ages, and only days during which the of the equation describing this relation-
concentration surpassed 0.1 ppm are stable, wind Ah = 2.6 1 — )
ship, just on the argument that the equa-
included. No lapse rate data are given tion must be dimensionally correct.
up to plume level, so AT/Az is assumed For a simple example, suppose the
to be 2.7°F/1000ft. giving« = 5x lO"*- neutral Ah > 400 -,
ir speed of sound c in a gas is a function
sec~2. Fortunately it is not very criti- only of state, i.e., of pressure p, density
cal, e.g., a temperature gradient of The transitional rise formula applies to
all-bent over plumes before they ap- p, and temperature T. We first write
10°F/1000 ft would give about a 30% the dimensions of these quantities:
lower value for the constant of propor- proach their final height. In the stable
tionality for the fumigation case. formulas, the temperature gradient is [c] = It'1
The number of stacks N at these averaged through the layer of plume
plants is more than one, so that in the rise, i.e., from height hs to (hs -f Ah).
neutral case the plumes combine to assist In the neutral case, no data are available
[p] = ml-*
each other in over-all rise; as a result the which go downwind far enough that
ground concentration will be less than a definite leveling is evident, so only a [T] = 6
linear function of N, and will be assumed minimum rise can be estimated from
observations. Inspecting these units we see that for
to be multiplied by f(N) as given in Fig. dimension correctness we can only have
7 of "Stacks—How High?"16. In stable Utilizing the above plume rise form-
air the plumes do not co-operate so much ulas, it is possible in special cases
in increasing each other's rise, since the
final rise is most critically affected by
mixing just above the chimney, before
to extend the dimensional analysis to
maximum ground concentrations, in
particular to the two worst cases (neu-
V
Temperature drops out in this formula-
the plumes have combined. If the tral windy, and calm with fumigation). tion since the units of c do not include
plumes rise to different levels, they will In the neutral case the highest concen- temperature. Of course it can be
not interfere with each other's spreading tration was found to be introduced through the equation of
and the concentration at fumigation state, which incorporates a dimensional
could be expected to be a superposition X max = 0.007 jr/3})j/3 constant (the universal gas constant) to
of the concentration due to each stack balance the units. Note that while di-
separately, mixed evenly up to the level which occurs as the wind speed at plume mensional analysis can predict a power
of highest rise. If the plumes rise to the level approaches 12.6 law in such a case as this, it can-

September 1 965 / Volume 1 5, No. 9 437


not predict the dimensionless constant eds., pp. 399-411, Academic Press,
of proportionality; this must be found 5.
New York (1959).
C. H. Bosanquet, W. F. Carey, and
CLASSIFIED
either empirically or through a more E. M. Halton, "Dust Deposition from
sophisticated theoretical model. Chimney Stacks," Proc Inst, Mech.
When there are more variables the Engrs., 162, 355-365 (1950).
problem becomes more complex, but still 6. G. T. Csanady, "Some Observations AIR POLLUTION ENGINEER—Sal-
on Smoke Plumes," Intern. J. Air ary range $7920-110,104, may start
oome simplification is possible. The pi Water Poll, 4: 47-51 (1961).
theorem of dimensional analysis states 7. N. G. Stewart, H. J. Gale, and R. N. at $8724, depending upon qualifica-
that if we have n variables which are Crooks, "The Atmospheric Diffusion tions. Headquarters Denver. Re-
functions only of each other, who share of Gases Discharged from the Chimney quires engineering degree and 3 years
of the Harwell Pile," Intern. J. Air experience. Contact Dalton Roberts,
among themselves (/ independent dimen- Poll, 1:87-102(1958).
sions, there are only (?i — d) independ- S. F. K. Ball, "Some Observations of Administrative Officer, Colorado State
ent nondimensioiial ratios. By inde- Bent Plumes," Quart J. Roy. Meteorol. Department of Public Health, 4210
pendent, we mean (hat one cannot be Soc, 84:61-65(1958). East 11th Avenue, Denver, Colorado
9. L. D. YSLTL Aleck and F. W. Boone, 80220.
derived from the others. "Rocket Exhaust Cloud Rise and Size
Consider for instance the drag force D Studies Hot Yolume Sources," pre-
on a sphere of radius .11 in a fluid of sented at the 225th National Meeting
density p. viscosity //, and mean flow of the American Meteorology Soc,
Jan. 29-31, 1964, Los Angeles, Cali- JACKSON & MORELAND
velocity V. The interdependence of fornia. DIVISION OF UNITED
these quantiries i> expressed by 10. T. V. Crawford and A. S. Leonard, ENGINEERS &. CONSTRUCTORS INC.
"Observations of Buoyant Plumes in
Downloaded by [Oregon Health Sciences University] at 07:19 05 October 2014

D = function (p, V, R, n) Calm Stably Stratified Air," / . Appl. Air Pollution Evaluation and Control
Meteorol, 1: 251-256 (1962). Services for Utilities and Industrials
Since there are rive quantities and three 11. B. R. Morton, G. I. Taylor, and J. S.
basic dimensions, there are only two Turner, "Turbulent Gravitational
Convection from Maintained and In- DESIGN, SPECIFICATION, AND EVALU-
independent nondimensional ratios. stantaneous Sources," Proc. Roy. Soc. ATION OF SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT
We might arbitrarily choose them to be London, A, 234, 1-23 (1956).
12. F. E. Gartrell, F. W. Thomas, and S. SUPERVISION OF CONSTRUCTION
/) P VR B. Carpenter, "Full Scale Dispersion of AND OPERATION
and Stack Gases: a Summary Report,"
P \'-H- fi Tennessee Valley Authority, Chat- AIR SAMPLING SURVEYS
tannoga, Tennessee (1964).
so the first equation can be rewritten as 13. H. Moses and G. H. Storm, "A Com-
unknown function of only one variable parison of Observed Plume Rises with Boston Washington
instead of four: Values Obtained from Well-Known
Formulas," / . Air Poll. Control. Assoc,
11:455-466(1961).
D = P V*R* function (^- 15. U. S. Weather Bureau, "A Meteoro-
logical Survey of the Oak Ridge Area,"
USAEC report ORO-99, 554-559 ROY F. WESTON, INC.
= y2P V'(TTR~)C» (1953). Environmental Science
16. F. W. Thomas, S. B. Carpenter, and
Thus we get the familiar drag equation, F. E. Gartrell, "Stacks—How High?" and Engineering Consultants
where the drag coefficient CD is a func- / . Air Poll. Control. Assoc, 13: 198-
tion only of Reynold's number (p VR/n), 204(1963). Water—Sewage—Refuse
and can be determined empirically in a 17. P. W. Bridgman, "Dimensional An- Industrial Wastes
alysis," Yale University Press, New
wind tunnel. Haven (1931). Stream—Air Pollution
While dimensional analysis can often 18. D. Ispen, "Units, Dimensions, and Di- Industrial Hygiene
greatly simplify complex problems, such mensionless Numbers," McGraw-Hill,
New York (1960). Community Planning
as those we find in fluid dynamics, it is 19. H. L. Langhaar, "Dimensional An-
well to warn that one cannot expect the Surveys—Research—Development—
alysis and Theory of Models," Wiley, Process Engineering—Plans and
right answer from the wrong assump- New York (1951).
(No Reference 14) Specifications Operation Supervision-
tions, even if it is dimensionally correct. Analyses—Evaluations and Reports
The critical step in this method is to
choose the most relevant parameters, NEWT0WN SQUARE,
which requires a good intuitional under- PENNSYLVANIA
standing of the problem. Combined
with differential equations, which by
themselves may be too difficult to solve,
dimensional analysis can be a powerful POLYTECHNIC INC. W I L L I A M T. I N G R A M
tool. An affiliate of Consulting Engineer
Detailed treatments of the subject can Walter C. Me Crone Associates
be found in references 17 through 19. Environmental Engineering
493 E. 31st St. Chicago, III. 60616 Planning—Design—Research
Telephone (312) 842-7100 Water—Wa stes—Refuse
REFERENCES
Air Pollution Control
1. G. K. Batchelor, "Heat Convection CHEMISTS AND ENGINEERS Industrial Health
and Buoyancy Effects in Fluids," CONSULTATION IN: Laboratory Services
Quart J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc, 80: 339- • AIR POLLUTION ANALYSIS
358(1954). • MICROSCOPIC IDENTIFICATION OF Offices:
2. 11. S. Scorer, "Natural Aerodynamics," PARTICULATES
pp. 186-217, Pergamon Press, London East Coast
• AIR POLLUTION SURVEYS
(1958). • INDUSTRIAL ZONING AND PER- 7 North Drive
3. R. S. Scorer, "The Behavior of Chim- FORMANCE STANDARDS Whitestone, N.Y. 11357
ney Plumes," Intern. J. Air Poll, 1:
198-220(1959). West Coast
4. R. S. Scorer, "The Rise of Bent-Over Marvin A. Salzenstein, P.E. 6426 Regent St.,
Hot Plumes," in "Advances in Geo- President Oakland Calif. 94618
physics," 6, Frenkiel and Sheppard,

438 Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association

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