Meteorological effects of the mechanical-draft cooling towers of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant

The mechanical-draft cooling towers at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant dissipate about 2000 MW of heat. Downwash occurs about 40 percent of the time, when wind speeds exceed about 3 m/sec. An elevated cloud forms about 10 percent of the time. The length of the visible plume, which is typically 100 or 200 m, is satisfactorily modeled if it is assumed that the plumes from all the cells in a cooling-tower bank combine. The calculation of fog concentration is complicated by the fact that the moisture is not inert but is taking part in the energy exchanges of a thermodynamic system. Calculations of drift deposition agree fairly well with observations