Simulation of dispersion of a power plant plume using an adaptive grid algorithm

A new dynamic adaptive grid algorithm has been developed for use in air quality modeling. This algorithm uses a higher order numerical scheme—the piecewise parabolic method (PPM)—for computing advective solution fields; a weight function capable of promoting grid node clustering by moving grid nodes; and a conservative interpolation equation using PPM for redistributing the solution field after movement of grid nodes. Applications of the algorithm to a model problem, in which emissions from a point source disperse through the atmosphere in time, reflect that the algorithm is able to capture not only the regional ozone plume distribution, but also the small-scale plume structure near the source. In contrast, the small-scale plume structure was not captured in the corresponding static grid solution. Performance achieved in model problem simulations indicates that the algorithm has the potential to provide accurate air quality modeling solutions at costs that may be significantly less than those incurred in obtaining equivalent static grid solutions.