Journal of Energy Engineering

Power plant condenser cooling water intake entrainment of fish eggs and larvae is becoming an issue in evaluating environmental impacts around the plants. Methods are required to evaluate intake entrainment on different types of water bodies. Presented in this paper is a derivation of the basic relationships for evaluating entrainment from the standing crop of fish eggs and larvae for different regions of a water body, and evaluating the rate of entrainment from the standing crop. These relationships are coupled with a 3D hydrodynamic and transport model that provides the currents and flows required to complete the entrainment evaluation. Case examples are presented for a simple river system, and for the more complex Delaware River Estuary with multiple intakes. Example evaluations are made for individual intakes, and for the cumulative impacts of multiple intakes.

This paper investigates the effect of time on the shear strength and the permeability of fly ash, a major solid by-product of thermoelectric power plants. Direct shear tests using Mikasa's apparatus, conventional permeability tests, and consolidation tests were conducted on two silt-size fly ashes, with low free lime contents, obtained from two different power plants. The results show that the immediate settling of both fly ashes takes place in a short period of time during consolidation and does not change with time. The rate of increase in shear strength with time is different depending on the pozzolanic reactions taking place for the two ashes. The permeability tests under constant stresses of 49 and 98 kPa for 12 days show that the coefficient of permeability for the tested ashes is between 10⁻⁶ and 10⁻⁷ m/s. During this period the coefficient of permeability either remains constant (for the case of the ash with a lower free lime content) or is slightly reduced (for the ash with a higher free lime content). The practical implications and the limitations of using low lime silt-size fly ash in vertical drains in the stabilization of soft ground are also discussed.

A two-dimensional, steady-state finite-element model was developed to simulate the thermal effects of the application of an attic radiant barrier system (ARBS) inside a ventilated residential attic. The attic is ventilated using the exhaust air from an evaporative cooler. The study uses a k-ε turbulent model to describe the velocity and temperature distributions in the attic. The ambient temperature and solar isolation densities on the outside inclined attic surfaces are used as driving functions for the model. The model also included the appropriate heat exchange modes of convection and radiation on these outside surfaces. Several recirculation zones were visually observed in the attic flow pattern. Also, the use of the ARBS seems to lower the heat transfer through the ceiling by 25–30%, but this effect decreases significantly as the outside ventilation rates are increased through the attic space. The 2D model revealed some interesting temperature distributions along the attic surfaces that could not have been predicted by the one-dimensional models. The lower emissivity ARBS seems to raise the temperature of the inclined attic surfaces as well as the temperature of the exhausted ventilation air.