Achieving near-water-cooled power plant performance with air-cooled condensers

Abstract

Power plants using air-cooled condensers suffer a 5 -10% plant-level efficiency penalty compared to plants with once-through cooling systems or wet cooling towers. In this study, a model of a representative air-cooled condenser (ACC) system is developed to explore the potential to mitigate this penalty through techniques that reduce the air-side thermal resistance, and by raising the air mass flow rate. The ACC unit model is coupled to a representative baseload steam-cycle power plant model. It is found that water-cooled power-plant efficiency levels can be approached by using enhanced ACCs with a combination of significantly increased air flow rates (+68%), reduced air-side thermal resistances (−66%), and air-side pressure losses near conventional levels (+24%). Emerging heat-transfer enhancement technologies are evaluated for the potential to meet these performance objectives. The impact of ambient conditions on ACC operation is also examined, and two hybrid wet/dry cooling system technologies are explored to improve performance at high ambient temperatures. Results from this investigation provide guidance for the adoption and enhancement of air-cooled condensers in power plants.

Experimental Investigation on Seismic Behavior of Steel Truss-RC Column Hybrid Structure with Steel Diagonal Braces

“…Despite more or less symmetric floor planning in both horizontal directions, the stiffness and mass are usually unevenly distributed in the vertical direction due to the peculiar characteristics of structural components and industrial requirements. Past studies mainly focused on the ACC technology including experimental investigation, numerical simulation and optimization [4][5][6][7][8][9]. However, the supporting structure of the ACC system was addressed rarely.…”

Thermal and flow characteristics of a single-row circular-finned tube heat exchanger under elevated free-stream turbulence

“…To find h, the steam-side conductance is required-but since the steam-side resistance is less than 5-10% of the total resistance in such a test scenario, an estimate of h c is sufficient (Kays and London, 1950). In this particular study a value of h c = 15 × 10 3 W/m 2 K was applied in accordance with London (1950), O'Donovan et al (2014) and Bustamante et al (2015).…”

Corrosion testing of metals in contact with calcium chloride hexahydrate used for thermal energy storage

“…The market for air‐cooled condensers (ACCs) for power generation applications has increased during the past decade due to growing water use restrictions on power plants. While ACCs are very good at reducing power plant water withdraw, this benefit is associated with a drawback caused by the steam condenser's operating temperature being dependent on the ambient air temperature . On very hot days, the condenser temperature can rise above its design condition, increasing the backpressure experienced by the low‐pressure (LP) turbine and limiting its power output.…”