RU2732710C1 - Method of creating artificial clouds and precipitation - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: artificial increase of precipitation.

SUBSTANCE: invention can be used in arid regions for protection against drought. Upstream flows are initiated by heating surface air from solar radiation. From particles with radius from 0.1 to 0.8 mcm in dosage of not less than 10¹² particles per 1 m² continuous artificial aerosol layer absorbing solar radiation is created, on an area of not less than 1 km².

EFFECT: enabling initiation of thermal convection and creation of ascending flows, artificial convective clouds and precipitation in a cloudless atmosphere, as well as intensification of natural clouds and precipitation due to use of solar radiation energy.

1 cl, 6 dwg

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The invention relates to the field of artificially increasing precipitation and can be used in arid regions to protect against drought.

According to UN estimates, in 2025 about 1.8 billion people will live in regions with "absolute water shortages." An increase in the world's population by three billion people by 2050 can increase the demand for water by 55%, and 40% of the world's population will experience an acute water shortage.

To mitigate the shortage of fresh water in arid countries, groundwater extraction and seawater desalination technologies are used. But the possibilities of such approaches are often limited by groundwater reserves and the high energy intensity of water desalination.

One promising avenue for replenishing freshwater is through artificial precipitation enhancement (ARM) techniques, which are used in more than 50 countries.

LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY

Traditional methods of IED provide for increasing the efficiency of sediment formation in natural clouds by seeding them with crystallization and condensation nuclei using aviation, rocket, artillery and ground technical means (Koloskov B.P., Korneev V.P., Shchukin G.G. Methods and means of modification clouds. - SPb., 2012.341 p.).

However, in many regions with arid climates, there are no clouds for long periods. For example, in the UAE and neighboring countries, the average annual number of cloudless days reaches 355, and from April to December there is only 20-40 mm of precipitation, with an annual rate of 130-150 mm.

This invention, in contrast to traditional ITR methods, proposes a new method of creating artificial clouds and precipitation in a cloudless atmosphere. The scientific prerequisites for this are the following two factors:

First, the Earth's atmosphere always contains about 1.27⋅10 ¹⁶ kg of water vapor, the source of which is evaporation from the surface of oceans, seas, moist soil and plants. If all the water vapor contained in the atmosphere is converted into precipitation, then the entire surface of the Earth will be covered with a layer of water with an average thickness of about 25 mm. These reserves of water vapor are continuously renewed due to the cycle of evaporation-condensation and precipitation, making 8-9 hydrological cycles annually lasting about 40-45 days. That is, the amount of water vapor available in the atmosphere is constantly replenished and is an inexhaustible source of moisture for PPI.

Secondly, it was discovered in antiquity that convective clouds and precipitation are often formed above powerful heat sources, which are not in the environment. Such heat sources that generate convective clouds and precipitation are forest and other large fires, active volcanoes, sun-warmed mountain peaks, “heat islands” that form over large cities, nuclear power plants, oil refineries and thermal power plants.

This is due to the fact that the air heated above heat sources becomes lighter than the surrounding air and rises upward, stimulating the development of thermal convection and the formation of clouds, called "PyroClouds" and "IndustryClouds", which can sometimes produce heavy rainfall in conditions where, without such heat sources, natural clouds and precipitation are not formed.

Therefore, all known methods of causing rain in drought are based on the creation of artificial heat sources:

A) There is an ancient method of causing rain during a drought, involving the creation of artificial fires in the prairies and savannahs, used in South America and Equatorial Africa.

B) There are known methods of creating clouds using meteotrons, which are artificial heat sources of heating the surface air due to the heat released during the combustion of oil products:

- The Dessance meteotrons, used in France and Cuba to create clouds, contained 100 or more jet burners located on an area with a radius of 33 m (A. Dessins Can we change the climate? Translated from French L .: Hydrometeoizdat. 1969. 119 from.). They consumed about 60 and 105 tons / hour of gas oil and had capacities of 700 and 1000 MW. Incomplete fuel combustion led to severe pollution of the atmosphere with soot.

- The meteotron of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the SB RAS had 60 jet flamethrowers located along the perimeter of an octagon with a side of 53 m, developed a power of 5-6 thousand MW, while consuming about 430 tons / hour of diesel fuel. The updrafts in some of the 8 experiments rose up to 3 km.

- Meteotrons of the Chelyabinsk Polytechnic Institute (8 options), were designed for ventilation of coal mines, creating clouds and dispersing fogs. They contained from 10 to 100 centrifugal nozzles with a diesel fuel consumption of 7 to 30 tons / hour, and developed a capacity of 80 to 400 MW. Finely dispersed spraying of diesel fuel in combination with various options for the placement of nozzles ensured complete combustion of the fuel, and obtaining a smokeless jet (A. A. Kuznetsov N. G., Konopasov. Meteotron. Vladimir: Publishing house of VlGU., 2015. Book 1. - 167 p. Book 2. - 232 p.).

- Meteotrons of the Institute of Applied Geophysics of the USSR Goskomhydromet with 4 and 10 jet engines, designed to study the possibility of creating artificial clouds and precipitation, had a capacity of 200 and 500 MW, and the Supermeteotron, built on the shore of the high-mountainous Lake Sevan, to replenish the water level in it, contained 6 engines with a total power of 500 MW (Wolfson N.I., Levin L.M., Meteotron as a means of influencing the atmosphere. M .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1987. - 131 p.). Due to the complete combustion of fuel, these meteotrons polluted the atmosphere much less than the meteotrons of Dessens and the Institute of Geology and Geophysics.

C) There are also known methods of stimulating the creation of clouds using solar meteotrons, which are areas of the earth's surface covered with asphalt or black cloth, or black blocks that absorb solar radiation well (Brenig L., Zaady E., Vigo-Agular J., Karnieli A., Fovell R., Arbel Sh., Al Baz I., Offer ZY Cloud formation and rainfalls induced by artificial solar setting: A weather engineering project for fighting aridity. Geographical Forum - Geographical studies and environment protection research. Year 7, No 7 / 2008. P. 67-82.).

The method of Oranovsky V.V. (RF patent No. 2071243, 1997) provides for the creation of a blackened screen raised above the ground and, in order to increase the efficiency of such a solar meteotron, surround it with a system of rotary mirrors focusing solar energy on the screen.

- It is also known "A method of creating an ascending air flow in the atmosphere by heating it" using the Heliator device, which is a multi-tiered garland of helium-inflated torroids with a blackened surface heated by the Sun (RF Patent No. 2462026, published 09/27/2012). In order to increase the feasibility of this method, a simplified design of this device is proposed, in which, instead of bulky inflatable torroids, it is proposed to use cone-shaped stripes of black fabric (RF patent No. 2670059 dated December 21, 2017).

The disadvantages of these methods are the following:

- the ancient method of burning prairie and shroud vegetation is not acceptable due to their limitations and damage to flora and fauna;

- torch and flamethrower meteotrons require huge fuel consumption and lead to serious environmental pollution;

- covering large areas with asphalt and low-albedo fuel materials is costly and their efficiency reduces energy losses due to leakage into the soil, on the surface of which the screen is located;

- the Oranovsky method provides for the elimination of these losses by arranging a screen on supports isolating the blackened screen from the ground, but it is practically impossible to implement due to the huge dimensions of the screen and the cumbersome system of mirrors surrounding the screen (in the patent description it is rightly stated that the screen area should reach several km ² );

- solar meteotrons with absorption screens in the form of asphalt, fabric and other black coatings with small areas are not effective, and the creation of screens with an area of the order of 2 - 6 km ² or more is very expensive and still remains at the level of unrealized ideas.

Due to the cumbersome nature and the need for high costs, none of the solar meteotrons has been implemented and are not applied (like all others) in practice to combat drought, while still remaining the subject of research and individual experiments.

The closest in technical essence to the claimed object is a method of creating clouds using the Oranovsky solar meteotron (Prototype, RF patent No. 2071243, 1997).

The inventive method solves the problem of initiating thermal convection and creating ascending currents and artificial convective clouds and precipitation in a cloudless atmosphere, as well as enhancing natural clouds and precipitation through the use of solar radiation energy.

The problem is solved by the fact that in the known method of creating artificial clouds as a black screen heated by solar radiation, instead of asphalt, cloth or block coatings of the earth's surface, an aerosol layer is created that effectively absorbs solar radiation.

An aerosol layer with the required optical density and low albedo is created in the surface atmosphere using aerosol generators. The difference in the albedo of the aerosol layer and its environment leads to the fact that the air temperature in the aerosol layer exceeds the ambient temperature in proportion to the difference in their albedo. Warmer air in the aerosol layer floats up and leads to the development of forced thermal convection, the formation of ascending currents, which, upon reaching the level of condensation, lead to the formation of convective clouds and precipitation.

In order to minimize the consumption of the smoke composition, the aerosol layer is created with such a dispersion of the aerosol that it absorbs solar radiation most efficiently in the wavelength range from 0.3 to 0.9 μm.

The choice of the optimal dispersion of the aerosol is based on the theory of light wave scattering in an aerosol medium and it has been established that the main spectrum of solar radiation is best absorbed by aerosol particles with a radius of 0.1 to 0.8 μm.

Calculations of the values of the absorption coefficient (γ, m ^-1 ), carried out according to the exact diffraction formulas of the scattering theory, showed that when the dosage of such an aerosol is more than 0.25 g / m ^{2, the} number of aerosol particles in the vertical column reaches N _AS ≥ 10 ¹² m ^-2 , which provides almost complete absorption of solar radiation.

To improve the efficiency of the proposed method, an aerosol layer is created from hygroscopic and electrically charged particles, which are active centers of condensation of water vapor, contributing to effective cloud formation and sedimentation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS

The essence of the invention is illustrated by drawings, which show:

• in FIG. 1 is a diagram of creating an aerosol layer with masking smoke bombs;

• in FIG. 2 is a diagram of an installation for creating an aerosol layer by finely dispersed spraying of seawater or an aqueous solution of carbamide in a jet stream: 1 - turbojet engine; 2 - ejector-branch, providing dilution and rotation of the jet stream by 90 degrees; 3 - jet stream; 4 - device for injecting a working fluid into a jet stream;

• in FIG. 3 - the distribution of the concentration of aerosol particles per unit area (N _AS , m ^-2 ), created during continuous operation for 1 hour 5 continuous sources of aerosol, located across the wind and consuming 150 kg / h of smoke composition at a wind speed: a ) u = 0.5 m / s; b) u = 1 m / s;

• in FIG. 4 - time variation of the area (S (t), km ² ) and volume (V (t), km ² ) of the aerosol layer, which can be created by five sources of aerosol of continuous action, placed 200 m apart along a line perpendicular to the direction of the surface wind having a speed : u = 0.5 and 1.0 m / s;

• in FIG. 5 - time variation of the amount of heat (Q _0.5 and Q _1.0 , GJ) emitted in the aerosol layer created by five sources of continuous aerosol placed 200 m apart along a line perpendicular to the direction of the wind having a speed: u = 0.5 and 1.0 m / s;

• in FIG. 6 - vertical sections of the region of ascending flows (W, m / s), stimulated by the aerosol layer. Sections are shown 20, 30, 40 and 50 minutes after aerosol layer creation. The calculation is based on the FlowVision hydrodynamic model.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

An aerosol layer with the required dispersion and dosage of aerosol is created using aerosol generators (smoke bombs, smoke machines), which generate an aerosol with a particle size of 0.1 to 0.8 μm, effectively absorbing solar radiation in the light wavelength range (Fig. 1 ). To form such an aerosol, aerosol generators are equipped with a pyrotechnic composition of masking action (for example, MS Reznikov and others. Pyrotechnic composition of black smoke, RF patent No. 2528851), intended for masking ships, airports and other large objects.

An alternative way to obtain a finely dispersed hygroscopic aerosol is spraying into tiny droplets and evaporating seawater or an aqueous solution of urea in a jet stream of a jet engine (Fig. 2).

Such aerosol sources are placed 200 m apart along a line across the direction of the wind (Fig. 1), so that turbulent diffusion and wind transfer lead to the merging of smoke plumes with each other and the formation of a continuous aerosol layer above the earth's surface in the form of a strip elongated in the direction of the wind ... FIG. 3 shows the field of aerosol concentration in the isolines of its content in a vertical column (N _AS , m ^-2 ), created during continuous operation of 5 sources located 200 m across the line across the wind direction and consuming 150 kg / h of smoke composition for 1 hour at wind speed: a) u = 0.5 m / s; b) u = 1 m / s. (Calculations were carried out on the basis of a theoretical model of aerosol propagation in the atmosphere: Abshaev AM, Malkarov Kh.Zh., Optimization of the parameters of an artificial aerosol layer ... - Meteorology and Hydrology, 2009, No. 9, pp. 27-39).

With continuous operation of aerosol sources, the area and volume of the aerosol cloud will increase with time (Fig. 4), leading to an increase in the amount of heat absorbed by solar radiation (Fig. 5).

The absorption of solar radiation in the aerosol layer will be directly proportional to the number of aerosol particles per unit area of the layer. At an aerosol concentration of the order of 2⋅10 ¹² m ^-2 , almost 100% absorption of solar radiation in the visible range is provided.

The air around the aerosol layer also heats up in proportion to the absorption of solar radiation, which is less, the greater the albedo of the earth's surface (A) and proportionally (1-A). Taking this into account, the excess amount of energy absorbed by the aerosol layer will be equal to:

Q = P (λ) ⋅Δλ⋅γ⋅S⋅sinθ⋅A⋅t,

where P (λ) is the spectral density of solar radiation; λ is the wavelength; Δλ is the width of the absorption band of the aerosol layer; γ - coefficient of absorption of solar radiation; S is the area of the aerosol layer; θ is the angular position of the Sun; A is the albedo of the landscape surrounding the aerosol layer; t - time from the moment of aerosol layer creation.

Assuming that at the surface P (λ) ≈ 1 W / (m ² ⋅nm), Δλ = 600 nm; γ ≈ 0.9 m ^-1 ; aerosol layer area S = 1.5⋅10 ⁶ m ² ; θ = 70 ^o ; the albedo of the environment (for example, for a desert) A = 0.35; t = 1 hour, we obtain that the amount of heat absorbed by the aerosol layer is Q ≈ 2.66⋅10 ⁵ kWh ≈ 9.6⋅10 ⁸ kJ.

Those. the power of such a solar meteotron reaches 1000 - 2000 MW (Fig. 5), which exceeds the power of the Dessans and Wolfson-Levin meteotrons, in which about 60 tons of oil products were burned in 1 hour.

Heat Q goes to heating the air in the aerosol layer and can lead to an excess of its temperature over the environment by ΔT, equal to

ΔT = Q⋅t / M _A ⋅t⋅ c _p .

M_A – масса прогреваемого воздуха, равная:where c _p = 1.005 kJ / (kg⋅ ^o C) is the heat capacity of air at constant pressure, and

M _A - the mass of heated air, equal to:

M _A = V _A ⋅t⋅ ρ = S⋅h⋅t⋅ρ.

where V _A is the volume of the aerosol layer; h is the thickness of the aerosol layer; ρ is the air density.

At S = 1.5⋅10 ⁶ m ² , h = 30 m, the volume of the heated aerosol cloud is V _A = 4.5⋅10 ⁷ m ³ . At an altitude of 1000 m above sea level, where the air density ρ = 1.11 kg / m ^{3, the} mass of the heated air will be equal to M _A ≈ 5⋅10 ⁷ kg.

In 6 minutes (t = 0.1 hours) after the creation of the aerosol layer, the excess of the air temperature in it will reach

ΔT = Q / M _A ⋅c _p ≈ 1.91 ^о С.

Taking into account that the temperature of thermals during natural convection in the atmosphere exceeds the temperature of the ambient air by ΔT ≈ 0.2–0.3 ^o C, it can be argued that an excess of the air temperature in the aerosol layer relative to the environment by ΔT ≈ 1.91 ^o C will lead to intense forced thermal convection. With continuous operation of aerosol sources, the volume of the upward flow will increase with time and can reach 10 ⁸ - 10 ⁹ m ³ (Fig. 4), with an average upward flow velocity of up to 15 m / s (Fig. 6).

The area and volume of the updraft initiated by the proposed method is comparable to the volume of powerful cumulus (Cu Cong) and cumulonimbus (Cb) clouds, even without taking into account the entrainment of ambient air. Theoretical modeling has shown that artificial updrafts can reach a level of condensation even above 2.5 km (Fig. 6), providing for the formation of convective clouds and precipitation.

CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

One of the options for creating an aerosol meteotron of such power is the ignition of smoke bombs with a smoke composition of 30 kg and a burning time of 10 minutes, for example, at 5 points located along a line perpendicular to the wind direction, every 10 minutes. Within 1 hour, 30 checkers will be consumed with a total mass of the smoke composition of 900 kg.

Numerical modeling of the ascending flows stimulated by the aerosol layer based on the three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of the FlowVision motion showed that at vertical temperature gradients in the atmosphere γ ≥ 8 ^о С / km and low wind speeds in the aerosol layer, ascending flows occur, reaching heights of 2 - 2.5 km and having speeds up to W _max = 12 - 15 m / s (Fig. 6). (The calculation according to the FlowVision model was carried out by the specialists of the Engineering Company "TESIS" AE Shchelyaev and Yu.A. Fisher). According to the calculated data, in 40-50 minutes after the creation of the aerosol layer, these flows can reach the level of condensation and trigger the mechanism of condensation of water vapor, release of condensation heat and the formation of a convective cloud and precipitation.

The advantages of the proposed method for creating artificial clouds and precipitation over the prototype and all previously proposed are the following:

1. Exceeding the power of the aerosol solar meteotron in comparison with meteotrons, in which oil products are burned.

2. Simplicity and cost-effectiveness of the method:

2.1. The creation of an aerosol layer is many times cheaper compared to asphalt, fabric and block pavements of huge areas.

2.2. To obtain the power of 1000 MW by the proposed method, a consumption of the smoke composition of 450 kg is required, and the use of Dessens' meteotrons and others requires 100 times more oil products.

3. Aerosol solar meteotron, unlike asphalt and fabric pavements, has no losses due to energy leakage into the soil.

4. An important advantage of the proposed method is also that generated by smoke bombs aerosol particles have electric charges, branched shape and active hygroscopic properties (Shidlovsky A.A. Basics of pyrotechnics. M .: "Mashinostroenie", 1973. 280 S.). Those. particles of the aerosol layer are active centers of water vapor condensation even in unsaturated air. When entering an artificial convective cloud, these particles can play the role of active condensation nuclei contributing to sediment formation.

The combination of these advantages and benefits of the proposed method provide higher efficiency compared to known methods, cheaper and more feasible creation of artificial clouds and precipitation.

One of the options for implementing the method for creating an aerosol layer is spraying an aqueous solution of carbamide, sea water or other working fluid in a jet of a turbojet engine (Fig. 1), to obtain a finely dispersed hygroscopic aerosol.

The creation of an aerosol cloud using a high-speed and high-temperature jet stream with a flow rate of 200 kg / s and more complement the advantages of the proposed method in the following:

- increasing the efficiency of creating an aerosol cloud;

- giving the aerosol cloud an initial overheating up to 500 ^о С, leading to its high buoyancy;

- creation of an initial impulse of an ascending stream with a high speed (400-600 m / s), which can break through the retaining layers and, according to Wolfson and Levin's data, rise in a stable atmosphere to an altitude of 400 m, in a weakly stable atmosphere up to 1000-1500 m, and if a layer of instability or stratus clouds up to 3000–4500 m, leading to the formation of a convective cloud.

This method of creating artificial clouds combines the capabilities of solar and jet meteotrons and allows the following chain of physical processes to be implemented:

a) The kinetic energy of a high-speed jet of reactive gases will create an initial upward impulse (dynamic factor).

b) A high initial temperature of the jet will lead to an increase in the upward flow (thermal factor).

c) Involvement of ambient air and expansion of the jet as it rises will increase the size of the aerosol cloud and the amount of absorbed solar radiation, thereby increasing the power of the proposed aerosol solar meteotron.

d) After reaching the level of condensation, the upward flow is enhanced due to the release of heat of condensation of water vapor and leads to the formation of a powerful convective cloud.

e) Condensation of water vapor is facilitated by the high content of hygroscopic aerosol.

f) In the presence of potential energy of instability in the atmosphere, the artificial cloud develops up to the Cb stage and gives showers.

The proposed method for creating artificial clouds and precipitation in a cloudless atmosphere is recommended to be used on days with favorable conditions, which should be selected according to the following criteria:

A) increased air humidity;

B) low wind speeds;

C) the presence of a retaining layer in the atmosphere below the condensation level;

B) the presence of potential energy of instability above the level of condensation.

The most appropriate time of day to generate artificial clouds is the maximum period of surface warm air from 14 ³⁰ to 18 ⁰⁰ and more acceptable location - windward wing ridge or mountain with height above sea level of about 1000-1500 m.

Authors: A.M. Abshaev

M.T. Abshaev

A. A. Mandus

Claims (1)

A method of creating artificial clouds and precipitation, including the initiation of ascending flows due to heating of the surface air from solar radiation, characterized by the fact that particles with a radius of 0.1 to 0.8 microns in a dosage of at least 10 ¹² particles per 1 m ² create a continuous artificial an aerosol layer that absorbs solar radiation on an area of at least 1 km ² .

Images