Simulation of Airborne Transport with a Simplified Drift-Flux Model
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 8
Abstract
The use of treated wastewater for irrigation is associated with the dispersion of fine droplets containing possibly pathogens. Their inhalation could expose workers and people in the surroundings to health problems. Wind and other atmospheric conditions may increase dispersion. The risk is difficult to assess, especially with water cannons and sprinklers, whose initial droplet conditions in airborne dispersal are not well characterized. In this study, the airborne dispersion of fine droplets (smaller than ) was investigated numerically. A simplified Eulerian drift-flux model was used to obtain airborne profiles in windy conditions (between 1 and ), and experiments in a wind tunnel were used for validation. The model was one-way coupled, evaporation was not taken into consideration, and droplet displacement was driven by fluid drag and gravity. Two main conclusions were drawn. First, single-diameter simulations provide a qualitative evaluation of the rapidity of sedimentation but are not exhaustive to represent the entire spray. Second, more precise predictions can be obtained by introducing an approximated size distribution, resulting from a slight improvement of the initial conditions.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by the FUI French project SmartFertiReuse (Smart Ferti-irrigation et Réutilisation des eaux usées traitées) coordinated by VEOLIA.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 8 • August 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 12, 2020
Accepted: Mar 25, 2021
Published online: Jun 11, 2021
Published in print: Aug 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Nov 11, 2021
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