STRATIFIED COOLING CHANNEL FOR THERMAL DISCHARGES

A method of designing a stratified cooling channel for managing the ex cess heat of a thermal discharge is presented. The cooling channel is connected to a larger body of water such as a river, lake, or ocean. A continuous exchange flow with a larger body of water allows mixing to play an important role in reducing the temperature of a discharge in the cooling channel. The equations governing the now and temperature i n a deep cooling channel are derived from basic principles of momentum and heat balance. The numerical solutions show that most of the therm al impact of a heated discharge may be confined to within the boundari es of the cooling channel, minimizing the ecological impact on the nat ural environment. An example is used to demonstrate the method of desi gning a cooling channel. The example shows that cooling channels could operate under thermal loading conditions significantly higher than th ose required in cooling ponds.