CHAPTER 7

Center of concentration
Chapter - 7

ABSTRACT

Theoretical investigation has been carried out to evaluate the effect of wind
velocity, the concentration decreases with increasing values of the wind velocity.
Proposed model helps in protecting and managing ambient air quality.

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7.1 INTRODUCTION
The concept entitled “Center of concentration” which is similar to concepts in
physics such as ‘Center of gravity’, and ‘Center of mass’. It helps in a better
understanding of the concentration of emissions from an assortment of stacks of varying
heights and different pollutant emissions. Gaussian plume Dispersion Model is used in
the study comprising of various Atmospheric stability Classes each of which
representing a measure of turbulence in the ambient atmosphere. The effect of wind
velocity is also studied.

The dispersion models require the input of data which includes:

Meteorological conditions such as wind speed and direction, the amount of

atmospheric turbulence (as characterized by what is called the “stability class”), the
ambient air temperature and the height to the bottom of any inversion aloft that may be
present.

Table 7.1:
Description of stability classes

Stability Description
Class
A Very unstable
B Moderately unstable
C Slightly unstable
D Neutral
E Slightly stable
F Stable

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7.2 Pasquill Stability Classes:

The amount of turbulence in the ambient air has a major effect upon the rise and
dispersion of air pollutant plumes. The amount of turbulence can be categorized into
defined increments or "stability classes". The most commonly used categories are the
Pasquill stability classes A, B, C, D, E, and F. Class A denotes the most unstable or
most turbulent conditions and Class F denotes the most stable or least turbulent
conditions.

The Pasquill stability classes are presented below as they are defined by the
prevailing meteorological conditions of: (a) surface windspeed measured at 10 meters
above ground level and (b) day-time incoming solar radiation or the night-time
percentage of cloud cover.

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Psaquill stability classes

Table 7.2

Surface Daytime Night-time

Windspeed Incoming Solar Radiation Cloud Cover

m/s mi/hr Strong Moderate Slight > 50% < :

50%

E</CENTER<
<2 <5 A A-B B f ;
TD

5-7</CENTER<
2-3 A-B B C E F
TD

13-5</CENTER<
7-11 B B-C C D E
TD

11-
5-6 13</CENTER< C C-D D D D
TD

>6 >13 C D D D D

| Note: Class D applies to heavily overcast skies, at any windspeed day or night.

NOTES:
(1) m/s = meters per second
(2) mi/hr = statute miles per hour

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Emissions parameters such as source location and height, source vent stack
diameter and exit velocity, exit temperature and mass flow rate.

Terrain elevations at the source location and at the receptor location.

The location, height and width of any obstructions (such as buildings or other structures)
in the path of the emitted gaseous plume.

Present Study:
Many of the modem, advanced dispersion modeling programs include a pre­
processor module for the input of meteorological and other data, and many also include a
post-processor module for the graphing the output data and/or plotting the area impacted
by the air pollutants on maps.

The atmospheric dispersion models are also known as atmospheric diffusion

models, air dispersion models, air quality models, and air pollution dispersion models.
Gaussian air pollutant dispersion equation.

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7.3 Gaussian Plume model:

The technical literature on air pollution dispersion is quite extensive and dates
back to the 1930’s and earlier. One of the early air pollutant plume dispersion equations
was derived by Bosanquet and Pearson.[l] Their equation did not assume Gaussian
distribution nor did it include the effect of ground reflection of the pollutant plume.

Sir Graham Sutton derived an air pollutant plume dispersion equation in 1947[2]
which did include the assumption of Gaussian distribution for the vertical and crosswind
dispersion of the plume and also included the effect of ground reflection of the plume. It
was further developed by Pasquill and Gifford. This solution is commonly known as
Gaussian Plume model.
Under the stimulus provided by the advent of stringent environmental control
regulations, there was an immense growth in the use of air pollutant plume dispersion
calculations between the late 1960s and today. A great many computer programs for
calculating the dispersion of air pollutant emissions were developed during that period of
time and they were called “air dispersion models”. The complete Equation for Gaussian
Dispersion Modeling of Continuous, Buoyant Air Pollution Plumes is shown below: [3]

Cxy = ((?/nua ya z )exp[-0.5{(0} ]------ (1)

Where:

Crosswind dispersion parameter

Vertical dispersion for reflection from the ground = exp(-H2 Hal)

C = concentration of emissions, in g/m3, at any receptor located:

x meters downwind from the emission source point y meters crosswind from the
emission plume centerline z meters above ground level
Q = source pollutant emission rate, in g/s
u = horizontal wind velocity along the plume centerline, m/s
H = height of emission plume centerline above ground level, in m

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Chapter - 7

az = vertical dispersion coefficient (standard deviation) of the emission distribution, in

m
<yv = horizontal dispersion coefficient (standard deviation) of the emission distribution,

in m
exp = the exponential function

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Chapter - 7

THE COMPLETE EQUATION

FOR GAUSSIAN DISPERSION MODELING
OF CONTINUOUS, BUOYANT AIR POLLUTION PLUMES

Q f 9i + gi 4- g3

where:
/ ss crosswind dispersion parameter

g t/eriura/ dispersion parameter

ss

~ pi + gz + gs
9x = vertical dispersion with no reflections
“ a* }]
32 “ vertical dispersion due to reflection from the ground
- eip [-{z +Hf/(2 }]
gz sss tAffrticai t&spenstcm cfoe fo re/leclion /row tnvefSfcm ltd aloft
<50
“ 13 {e*F [-(*-#- 2m L)2/ (2 erf } j

f»=i
+ exp [— (x + if + 2miff f (2 erf } ]
+ exp [- (x + if - 2miff (2 erf ) ]
+ exp [— (2 — H + 2mLf f (2 of )]}
C » concentration of emissions, p/m3, at any receptor located at:
x meters dbumtoind from the emission source point
y meters crosswind from the emission plume centerline
z meters above ground level converge
Q as source pollutant emission rate, p/s
u sr horizontal wind velocity along the plume centerline, m/s
H— emission plume centerline above ground level, m
<rs ss tierticai standard deviation of the emission distribution, m
crj, ss horizontal standard deviation of the emission distribution, m
L ss distance /ram prmmd level to bottom of the inversion aloft, m
The sum of the four exponential terms in g3 converge quite rapidly. For most cases,
the summation of the series with m = 1, m = 2 and m = 3 will provide an adequate
evaluation of the series.
It should be noted that o-z and oy are functions of the downwind distance to the
receptor.

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Chapter - 7

The above equation includes upward reflection from the ground. The exponential
term converges to a final value quite rapidly. For most cases, the equation will provide
an adequate solution.

It should be noted that sz and sy are functions of the atmospheric stability class
(i.e., a measure of the turbulence in the ambient atmosphere) and of the downwind
distance to the receptor. The two most important variables affecting the degree of
pollutant emission dispersion obtained is the height of the emission source point and the
degree of atmospheric turbulence, the more turbulence, the better the degree of
dispersion.

The resulting calculations for air pollutant concentrations are often expressed as
an air pollutant concentration contour map in order to show the spatial variation in
contaminant levels over a wide area under study. In this way the contour lines can
overlay sensitive receptor locations and reveal the spatial relationship of air pollutants to
areas of interest.

Many esoteric concepts abound exclusive to Physics such as Center of Gravity,

wherein the entire weight of a body is supposed to be concentrated at a point. It is also
well-known that for an exploded projectile under gravity its Center of mass still
continues to traverse in a parabolic path.

Analogously it is now proposed to introduce a novel concept entitled “Center of

Concentration” which helps in a better understanding of the concentration of emissions
from an assortment of stacks of varying heights and comprising of different degrees of
pollutant emissions It’s coordinates are defined as follows:

V, V.-v >>........(2)

y*=Y.ci>’ilY.c....t3)
Where:

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Chapter - 7

Xcc= x coordinate of Center of Concentration

And

Ycc= y coordinate of Center of Concentration, respectively.

Without loss of generality, some parameters are assumed constant throughout the study
(shown in Table-7.9) and other possible combinations of variables explored.

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Chapter - 7

AIR POLLUTION
/•AIR POLLUTION*/
#inelude<stdio.h>
#include<stdlib.h>
#include<eonio.h>
#include<math.h>

void mainQ
int i;
double c[ 10] ,a,b[ 10] ,res[ 10];
double q[10]={0.17e7,0.58e7,0.61e7,0.75e7,0.63e7,0.075,0.76e7,0.49e7,0.99e7,0.39e7};
double sigmayf 10]= {16,30,43,56,68,126,235,436,811,990};
double sigmaz[ 10]={9,15,21,27,31,51,78,117,173,196};
double y[10]={-83.3,225,63,294,161,202,237,163,55,219};
double H[10]={ 100.8,225,63,294,161,202,237,163,55,219};
clrscr();
for(i=0;i<10;i++)
{
a=1.0/(3.141593*5);
b[i]=q[i]/(sigmay[i]*sigmaz[i];
c[i]=- 0.5*(((y[i]*y[i])/(sigmay[i]*sigmaz[i]))+((H[i]*H[i])/
sigmaz[i] * sigmazfi])));
res[i]=a*b[i]*exp(c[i]);
printf(“S.No.%d\t”,i);
}
getch();

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Chapter - 7

Table-7.3
Coordinates of center of concentration
Atmospheric stability ciass-A

SI no Concentration Xcc(km) Ycc(m)

1 336.15567 0.20 -83.30

2 426.10508 0.31 11.17

3 149.60826 0.53 47.04

4 82.49347 0.40 18.02

5 57.63072 0.43 13.57

6 0.60991 0.43 13.59

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Chapter - 7

Table-7.4
Coordinates of center of concentration
Atmospheric stability class-B

Si no Concentration Xec(km) Ycc(m)

1 96.50975 0.20 -83.30

2 595.89386 0.37 62.14

3 308.51232 0.44 50.57

4 232.39882 0.51 54.12

5 208.46111 0.58 37.14

6 6.41887 0.59 37.24

7 5.89479 0.60 36.68

8 2.89082 0.62 36.48

9 1.48184 0.63 36.51

10 0.37615 0.64 36.50

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Chapter - 7

Table-7.5
Coordinates of centre of concentration
Atmospheric stability class-C

SI no Concentration Xcc(km) Ycc(m)

1 2.29961 0.20 -83.30

2 277.47592 0.40 84.31

3 228.21569 0.49 57.49

4 196.30006 0.58 60.81

5 196.90354 0.67 33.69

6 15.29655 0.69 34.11

7 17.71400 0.75 31.57

8 10.57336 0.83 30.46

9 6.36858 0.94 30.71

10 1.74159 0.97 30.65

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Chapter - 7

Table-7.6
Coordinates of center of concentration
Atmospheric stability class-D

SI no Concentration Xcc(km) Ycc(m)

1 0.00003 0.20 -83.30

2 7.76353 0.40 85.70

3 8.67893 0.51 53.45

4 11.59091 0.63 60.04

5 9.02216 0.72 30.01

6 14.92000 1.09 38.36

7 26.60996 2.07 -8.59

8 22.89647 3.41 -21.84

9 19.21493 5.41 -7.61

10 10.64162 6.60 -6.89

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Chapter - 7

Table-7.7
Coordinates of center of concentration
Atmospheric stability class-E

SI no Concentration Xcc(km) Ycc(m)

1 0.00000 0.20 -83.30

2 0.02514 0.40 85.70

3 0.04331 0.53 47.04

4 0.02882 0.61 53.67

5 0.06401 0.76 7.25

6 4.23855 1.95 57.20

7 11.21687 3.42 -55.93

8 8.94620 5.09 -60.70

9 6.62820 7.41 -32.96

10 16.87797 11.83 -20.93

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Chapter - 7

Table-7.8
Coordinates of center of concentration
Atmospheric stability class-F

SI no Concentration Xcc(km) Ycc(m)

1 0.00000 0.20 -83.30

2 0.00000 0.40 85.70

3 0.00000 0.41 82.82

4 0.00000 0.77 70.35

5 0.00000 0.86 16.44

6 0.07177 2.00 59.10

7 0.36997 3.68 -74.40

8 0.17420 4.90 72.39

9 0.06480 5.96 -59.08

10 11.12020 19.19 -2.18

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Chapter - 7

Table-7.9
For U=5 m/see.
Q H X Y
X107 fjgts Km.
m. m.
0.17365 100.8 0.2 -83.3

0.587878 225 0.4 85.7358

0.607898 63 0.6 24.615

0.747551 294 0.8 -69.409

0.628864 161 1 -63.316

0.074496 202 2 59.0817

0.761467 237 4 -100.264

0.485366 163 8 -67.283

0.986663 55 16 67.5329

0.391644 219 20 0.1262

<*y, and Oj are taken from standard sources14,51 for stability classes A-F. xccandycc are calculated

for ait the stability classes A-F. They are depicted in Chart. 1.

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Chapter - 7

CENTER OF CONCENTRATION

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Chapter - 7

7.4 Results and discussion:

> Values of xcc are found to increase progressively from x=0.2 Km. to 20Km. for
any stability class. Also for a given x xcc is found to increase progressively from
stability classes A-F. Respectively.

> Ycc is found to vary randomly.

> A note of caution is to be exercised in the calculations. As the source is assumed

located at (0,0,0), for a source at (-xi), the relative distance x for calculation will
be (x+xi) and for a source at (+xi), the relative distance x for calculation will be
(x-X[). Similarly for y.

> The effect of wind velocity: As u varies inversely as Cxy , the concentration
decreases with increasing values of the wind velocity u. It has no effect on the
trend discussed already.

Chart-1 Legend: The series axy to txy represent the 6 stability classes respectively

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Chapter - 7

References:

1. Bosanquet, C.H. and Pearson, J.L., “The spread of smoke and gases from
chimneys”, Trans. Faraday Soc., 32:1249, 1936

2. Sutton, O.G., “The problem of diffusion in the lower atmosphere”, QJRMS,

73:257, 1947 and “The theoretical distribution of airborne pollution from factory
chimneys”, QJRMS, 73:426,1947

3. Beychok, Milton R., Fundamentals of stack Gas Dispersion, 4th Edition, author-

published, ISBN 0- 9644588-0-2.www.air-dispersion-com 2005.

4. Martin D.O, The change of concentration standard deviation with distance, J. Air
Polln. Control Assocn.26 (2) p 112-118,1976.

5. Gilbert M.Master, Intr. To Environmental Engineering and Science, 2nd.Ed. p.

413-418, PubkPearson Education. 2004.

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