Plume Rise

Summary of Equations
The effective height of emission (H) is obtained by adding the plume rise ( h ) to
the physical height of the stack (h):
H  h  h
1) For unstable and neutral stability categories (A-B-C and D)
1
h  1.6 F 1/3 x f 2/3
uz

F = Buoyancy flux parameter or floatation parameter [L4·T-3]

uz = wind speed at the physical stack top [L·T-1]
xf = distance from the stack to where the final plume rise occurs [L]

The value of buoyancy flux or floatation (F) is:

(Ts  Ta )
F  gvs rs2
4Ts

rs= inside stack-top radius [L]

g = acceleration due to gravity [L·T-2]
vs=stack gas velocity [L·T-1]
Ts=stack gas temperature (K)
Ta= ambient air temperature (K)

The horizontal distance from the stack to where the final plume rise occurs is
assumed to be:
x f  49 F 5/8 if F  55 m 4 / s 3
x f  119 F 2/5 if F  55 m 4 / s 3

2) For stable categories (E and F):

1/3
 F 
h  2.4  
 uz S 
S is the stability parameter. It is calculated by
g Ta
S  0.01 oC/m
Ta z

where ∆Ta/∆z is the change of ambient air temperature.

3) For calm conditions, the plume rise is:

5F 1/4
h  3/8
S
The mean wind speed is often represented as a power-law function of height by:
p
 z 
uz  u10  
 z10 

uz= wind speed at height z (m·s-1) [L·T-1)

u10 = wind speed at the anemometer measurement height (10 m) [L·T-1)
z = 10 meters (m) [L)

The exponent p is an empirically derived coefficient that varies depending upon

the atmospheric stability and surface roughness:

Rural/flatlands p = 0.16
Suburbs p = 0.26
Downtown p = 0.4
 Solved Problems
Problem 1: Calculate the buoyancy flux of a source for the following conditions:
vs. =19 m/s, rs= 3 m. Ts= 400 oK, Ta=283 oK, g=9.81 m/s2

Solution:
(Ts  Ta ) (400  283)
F  gvs rs2  9.8119  32   122.67 m4 / s3
Ts 4  400

Problem 2: Determine the plume rise from a 40 m high stack if the buoyancy flux
from the source is 50 m4/sec3 and the wind velocity at 10 m is 4 m/sec. The
atmospheric condition is slightly unstable. (Take the power exponent p=0.15).

Solution:
We have h=40 m, F=50 m4/sec3, u10= 4 m/s, stability is condition is slightly
unstable
p
 z 
0.15
 40 
u z  u10    4    4.93 m/s
 z10   10 
For Neutral and unstable cases
1.6 F 1/3 ( x f ) 2/3
h 
uz
Since F= 50 m4/sec3 (which is < 55 m4/sec3 ) then

x f  49F 5/8 =49(50)5/8  565.0

1.6 F 1/3 ( x f ) 2/3 1.6  501/3  (565) 2/3

h    81.78 m
uz 4.93
The effective plume height H is
H = h + h = 81.78 + 40 = 121.78 m