Case Studies

The growing use of cloud storage and remote provision of IT services has increased the need for cooling of large servers installations. Docks, lakes and rivers provide a supply of water for direct cooling yielding improved efficiency and lower costs compared to conventional systems. Thermal impact on the environment and temperature differentials within the heat exchanger system limit the total amount of heat that can be rejected and the time of year the system can rely on direct cooling. TechnoEconomica applied its Aquatic Heat Model to simulating the detailed thermal response of a dock

The River Almond 1D model was developed for Scottish Water to provide simulations of flow and water quality. It is intended to be an investment decision support tool for assessing issues affecting water quality within the river network. It will also inform design of solutions to address identified concerns. Regulatory drivers for this study are the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (EC01), the Freshwater Fish Directive (EC04) and the Water Framework Directive (EC10). TechnoEconomica carried out a review and mini audit of the 1D model in order to satisfy Scottish Water that the model was appropriately configured, stable and sufficiently accurate for its intended purpose.

Increased abstraction from a high quality salmonid fishery in Hampshire may generate changes in the temperature profile. Such changes may adversely affect the fish behaviour in particular migration upstream. We set up a detailed hydrodynamic and thermal balance model of the river to quantify the effects of the abstraction and lower flows. Time series of temperatures were measured over part of the summer of 2013 at key locations, enabling upstream boundary data to be generated and for model calibration. The model is very detailed and includes all stands of trees along the reach of interest and simulations showed that shading is significant in keeping the river cool. Simulations were carried out to examine potential changes to the temperature evolution in the lower reaches of the river, for a range of abstraction scenarios.

The demand for clean fresh water in extremely arid areas has generated a need for more desalination plants. Reverse osmosis systems discharge hypersaline waste water to the sea which must be dispersed in an environmentally acceptable manner. We were commissioned to model an RO plant outfall in the south western part of Bahrain Bay. This water body has an unusually high salinity gradient running from north to south and it was critical to model this accurately. This tidally very sluggish area is not idea for dispersing brine but our modelling showed that it was possible to site the outfall appropriately. The 3D model was calibrated and verified using data from a thermal, salinity and hydrographic survey that we specified and from which we analysed the data. Included in the model were the thermal plumes from two very large (2.5GW) power stations some 5km to the south of the site as concerns were raised that these would potentially interfere with the RO plant. Our modelling supported initial design and an EIA.