Performance evaluation for rapid-dose estimation of radioactive plume dispersion based on pre-simulation database of wind conditions by large-eddy simulation

Sato, Takuto  ; Nakayama, Hiromasa   ; Satoh, Daiki   

We developed a framework for rapid monitoring of radioactive plumes in the vicinity of nuclear facilities based on a quick and practical high-resolution atmospheric dispersion simulation method that combines a large-eddy simulation (LES) model pre-simulation database (pre-sim DB) of wind conditions and onsite meteorological observation results, as proposed by the previous study. However, this framework was not quantitatively demonstrated using measurement data. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the wind condition reproduction and plume dispersion analysis methods. Air dose rates observed at monitoring posts around the stack were compared with the values reproduced by the method using the pre-sim DB, and the reproducibility of both air dose rate and flow field was discussed. The pre-sim DB-based method successfully captured the temporal variation of air dose rates at the monitoring posts, though it tended to overestimate the peak values. Particularly when the vertical wind shear was pronounced, the method using the pre-sim DB could cause significant errors. This is likely because the method relies on wind conditions from a single observation point, which inherently limits its ability to represent vertical wind shear within the pre-sim DB. Despite these limitations, particularly in reproducing complex wind fields, the method utilizing the pre-sim DB offers a valuable and practical tool for rapid dose rate simulation due to its lower computational cost compared to unsteady simulations using an LES model.