2023 , Volume 28, № 6, p.6-16

Methods for numerically constructing trajectories of rising smoke plumes from high-rise pipes of thermal power plants are discussed. When carrying out the study, the relations arising from dimension and similarity considerations are used as fundamentals for description of the jets entering the drift flow. The spatial location of points at the axes of smoke plumes is determined sing satellite images, which allows recording the direction of drift of plumes and the position of their shadows on the Earth’s surface. This takes into account the angular altitude and azimuth of the sun. Characteristics of wind speed and temperature in the lower troposphere are established on the basis of upper-air sounding data. The proposed approach for assessing the ascent trajectories of smoke plumes was tested on emissions of gas-aerosol mixtures from the high-rise chimneys of the Novo-Irkutsk Thermal Power Plant and Gusinoozerskaya State District Power Plant. To carry out the numerical analysis, we use winter satellite images of the territories where these energy facilities are located. Using the relationship that describes the analytical relationship between the current height of the rise of the smoke jet and its horizontal displacement within the framework of the so-called “2/3 law”, quite satisfactory approximations of the considered trajectories were obtained. Estimates for the heights and buoyancy flows of the ascenting smoke plumes have been carried out. The obtained results can be used for external monitoring of operating modes of thermal power plants.