ABSTRACT
There are a large number of atmospheric models that have been developed to predict dispersion in the atmosphere including stacks, automobile, and agriculture pesticides emissions. Drift consists of water droplets that are entrained in the discharge from cooling towers and carry with them the chemicals and dissolved solids present in the water being cooled. The condensed water vapor can cause a visible cloud that can reduce visibility to either aircraft or vehicles on the ground. The thermal effects due to condensation and evaporation and the mass loss effects due to droplet deposition have little effect on the main properties of the plume such as trajectory, size, and entrainment of ambient air. Several good models have been written specifically for cooling tower plumes that include moisture effects and plume visibility. Several simplifying assumptions are made in Gaussian plume models that make them fairly simple.
