Heat Transport

Basic Equations and Applications

Environmental Hydraulics

Heat Exchange

Important for circulation in a receiving water.

Determines the rate at which artificially added heat is
transferred to the atmosphere

Examples:

• annual temperature variation and stratification in a lake

• evaporation

• discharge of cooling water from fossil and nuclear power

plants

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 Example of a Power Plant

Cooling power: Qo Δtρc

c: specific heat (4.19 · 103 J/kg oC)

Examples of Cooling Water Systems

Open system

Only open cooling water systems

in Sweden
Receiving waters: The Baltic Sea,
Öresund, Kattegatt

Savannah
River

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 Examples of Cooling Water Systems

Closed system:

Chernobyl

Nuclear Power Plant, Daya Bay, China

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 Öresundsverket, Malmö

Plant outline

Annual production:
3 TWhr electric power
1 TWhr heat

Öresundsverket, Malmö

Plant for production of electric power and district heating.

Advanced cooling system:

Pipe diameter 2.2 m
Handle a flow of 3 – 6 m3/s
Water intake in the harbor area
360 m long outfall in the harbor area
Excess temperature 10 deg

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 Heat Exchange Mechanisms

Heat exchange at a water surface:

Components in Heat Budget

Φs = incoming short wave solar radiation (0.17μm < λ <

3.8μm); instantaneous: 0 – 1000 W/m2; daily average
60 – 300 W/m2
Φsr = reflected short wave solar radiation; daily average 7
- 20 W/m2
Φa= incoming long-wave atmospheric radiation (3.8μm <
λ < 80μm); 200 – 450 W/m2
Φar = reflected atmospheric radiation 3 % of Φa
Φbr = emitted long wave radiation from the water surface;
250 – 500 W/m2
Φe = heat exchange due to evaporation or condensation,
naturally occuring (density driven) or forced (winds)
0 – 1000 W/m2
Φc = heat exchange due to conduction; 70 – 200 W/m2

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Net heat flow to a water surface:

Φn = (Φs - Φsr + Φa - Φar) – (Φbr + Φe + Φc) = Φm – Φv

(difference between positive and negative flows)

Φm depends on meteorological conditions

Φv depends on water surface temperature, air

temperature, air moisture, and wind speed

Equilibrium Temperature

Equilibrium temperature (TE): for given meteorological

conditions, the temperature that corresponds to a neat heat
flow of zero at the water surface

⇒ The temperature that the water surface will approach under

constant meteorological conditions

TS < TE : heating up

TS > TE : cooling down

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 Example: Temperature Variation and Heat
Balance for Lake Cayuga

For small deviations between TS and TE:

Φn = K (TE – TS)

K: heat exchange coefficient

Approximate expression for K:

K = 3.7 + (0.0613 + β )(70 + 3.5W22 )

β = 0.0454 + 0.00192Tβ + 0.000156Tβ2

Ts + Td
Tβ =
2

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A water mass is supplied with Φx extra heat (e.g.,
cooling water discharge)
=> increase in surface water temperature to TS1 to
allow for release of extra heat to the atmosphere

Φ n − Φ x = K (TE − Ts1 )

Φ x = K (Ts1 − Ts ) = K ΔTs

Example: Estimate Pond Size for Cooling Water

Calculate the pond surface water area that is required for

emitting the excess heat from a 600 MW nuclear power plant,
with an efficiency of 33 % (i.e., 33 % of the produced heat energy
in the power plant is transformed into electric energy). The
maximum allowable excess temperature in the pond is 2 0C:

a summer day, when the air temperature is 25 0C, the relative

humidity 40%, and the water temperature 15 0C

an autumn day, when the air temperature is 10 0C, the relative

humidity 70 %, and the water temperature 15 0C.

The wind velocity is assumed to be 5 m/s at both occasions.

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Determine dew point temperature from a Mollier diagram.
⇒Td = 10.5 0C and Td = 5.0 0C

15 + 10.5 15 + 5.0
Tβ = = 12.7 0
C and Tβ = = 10.0 0
C
2 2

=> K = 28.3 W/m2 0C and K = 26.0 W/m2 0C

The amount of heat power in the cooling water is: 1800 · 0.67 ≈
1200 MW (the total heat production in the power plant is 1800
MW, out of which 600 MW is electric energy).

Mollier Diagram for

Humid Air

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If 1200 MW heat power should be transferred from the pond to
the atmosphere, the following pond area A will be required:

1200 ⋅106
A= = 21.2 ⋅106 = 21.2 km 2
2 ⋅ 28.3

1200 ⋅106
A= = 23.1⋅106 = 23.1 km 2
2 ⋅ 26.0

Example: Discharge of Cooling Water to River

Steady state conditions prevail with the river flow rate Q

and the cooling water flow rate Q0. The discharged cooling
water has got an excess temperature ΔT0. Assume that the
water velocity U does not change in the river flow direction
(x-direction).

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A short distance downstream of the discharge point x=0 well-mixed
conditions are obtained, and the excess temperature ΔT due to the
cooling water discharge will only depend on the x-coordinate.
ΔT will asymptotically approach zero in the downstream direction
due to heat exchange (emittance) with the atmosphere. The cooling
of the river water can be described according to the following
relationship (the excess temperature ΔT can be considered as a
pollutant concentration c):

d ( ΔT ) d 2 (ΔT ) KB
u = Ex − ΔT
dx dx 2 ρcA

(steady-state AD equation with advection,

dispersion, and sink term)

Solution to governing equation:

Q0 ΔT0 1 ⎛ u ⎞
ΔT =
Q 1+ α
exp ⎜
⎝ 2 Ex
(
x 1− 1+ α ⎟
⎠
)

4 KEx
where: α=
A
ρc u 2
B

Q0 ΔT0 ⎛ BK ⎞
If a << 1 => ΔT = exp ⎜ − x⎟
Q ⎝ ρcQ ⎠

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 Numerical Example

Assume that:

Q = 400 m3/s
Q0 = 80 m3/s
ΔT0 = 10 0C
B = 400 m
W2 = 10 m/s
Water surface temperature (Ts) 20 0C
Air temperature 25 0C
Relative humidity of 40 %.

The Mollier diagram gives that Td = 10.6 0C.

We assume that Ts is constant = 20 0C when calculating Tβ, which

gives:

10.6 + 20
Tβ = = 15.3 0
C
2

=> β = 0.111 and K = 3.7 + (0.0613 + 0.111) (70 + 3.5 · 102) ≈ 76

This yields:

80 ⋅10 ⎛ 400 ⋅ 76 ⎞
ΔT = ⋅ exp ⎜ − ⋅ x ⎟ = 2 ⋅ exp ( −18.1 ⋅10−6 ⋅ x )
⎝ 1000 ⋅ 4.19 ⋅10 ⋅ 400 ⎠
3
400

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The excess temperature will be 2 0C close to the cooling water
discharge (implying a complete mixing across the entire river
cross section).

10 km further downstream the excess temperature will be:

ΔT = 2 ⋅ exp ( −18.1⋅10−6 ⋅104 ) ≈ 1.6 0

C

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