Thesis (MScIng)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Forced draft air-cooled steam condensers (ACSCs) consisting of multiple fan units are used in direct cooled power plants to condense steam in a closed steam cycle. Axial flow fans located below an A-frame configuration of finned tube heat exchanger bundles, force ambient air through the system. In so doing, heat from the condensing steam is rejected to the environment via the finned tubes. The performance of an air-cooled system is proportional to the air mass flow rate and the temperature difference between the finned tubes and the ambient air. A variation in either will directly affect the efficiency of the steam turbines. Air flow distortions at the fan inlet caused by structures, wind and other fans may result in a significant reduction in flow rate as well as fan blade vibration. This phenomenon has an adverse affect on the cooling capacity of an ACSC, and consequently turbine performance, due to a decrease in air mass flow rate. In this study the effect of inlet flow distortions on fan performance (i.e. flow rate and fan shaft power) in an ACSC is numerically investigated by modelling a section (or sector) of such a system using the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, FLUENT. Fan performance at different platform heights, and corresponding different degrees of inlet flow distortions, is investigated. The performance of two types of axial flow fans are also compared. The two fans have the same diameter, number of blades and rotational speed, but feature different blade designs, and hub-tip-ratios of respectively 0.153 and 0.4. A fan model based on blade element theory, better known as an actuator disc model, is used to numerically model the fans. Previous experimental studies have shown that a solid walkway installed along the edge or periphery of an ACSC platform can significantly increase the flow rate through the fans situated along the platform edge. The effects of such a walkway, and other windscreens on fan performance, are numerically investigated. Numerical predictions correlate with earlier experimental results: the flow rate and fan shaft power are decreased by inlet flow distortions. It was found that the fan with a hub-tip-ratio of 0.4 was less affected by these flow distortions. The addition of a walkway increased the flow rate through the edge fan by up to 48 %. It is furthermore shown that wind effects can only be accurately modelled if the entire ACSC is considered. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geforseerde-trek lugverkoelde kondensators wat bestaan uit ʼn aantal waaier-eenhede, word in direk-verkoelde kragstasies gebruik om stoom in ʼn geslote stoomkringloop te kondenseer. Aksiaalvloei-waaiers wat onder ʼn A-raam-konfigurasie van vinbuisbundels geïnstalleer is, forseer omgewingslug deur die stelsel. Sodoende word die hitte van die kondenserende stoom aan die omgewing oorgedra deur middel van die vinbuise. Die warmteoordragkapasiteit van ʼn lugverkoelde kondensator is eweredig aan die massavloei-tempo van die lug, asook die temperatuurverskil tussen die vinbuise en die lug. ʼn Verandering in enige van dié faktore sal die benuttingsgraad van die stoomturbines direk beïnvloed. Lugvloeiversteurings by die waaier-inlate wat veroorsaak word deur geboue, wind en ander waaiers kan lei tot aansienlike verlagings in vloeitempo deur die waaiers. Sekondêre effekte soos waaierlemvibrasie kan ook veroorsaak word. In hierdie studie word die effek van inlaatvloeiversteurings op waaierwerkverrigting (dws vloeitempo en waaierdrywing) ondersoek deur ʼn seksie (of sektor) van ʼn lugverkoelde kondensator te modelleer deur gebruik te maak van die kommersiële numeriese vloeidinamika-pakket, FLUENT. Waaierwerkverrigting word by verkillende platformhoogtes, en gevolglik verskillende grade van inlaatvloeiversteurings, ondersoek. Twee verskillende waaiers word ook vergelyk. Die waaiers het dieselfde diameter, aantal lemme en rotasiespoed, maar het verkillende lem ontwerpe, en naaf-lempunt-verhoudings van onderskeidelik 0.153 en 0.4. ʼn Waaiermodel wat gebaseer is op lem-element-teorie, beter bekend as ʼn aksie-skyf-model, word gebruik om die waaiers numeries te modelleer. Vorige eksperimentele studies het bewys dat ʼn loopvlak om die rand van lugverkoelde kondensators die vloeitempo deur waaiers aansienlik kan verhoog. Die effek van so ʼn loopvlak, en ander windskerms word numeries ondersoek. Numeriese voorspellings stem ooreen met eksperimentele resultate: die vloeitempo en waaierdrywing word verlaag deur inlaat-vloeiversteurings. Dit is bevind dat die waaier met ʼn naaf-lempunt-verhouding van 0.4, minder beïnvloed word deur vloeiversteurings. ʼn Loopvlak het die vloeitempo deur die randwaaier met tot 48 % verhoog. Dit is ook bewys dat windeffekte alleenlik gemodelleer kan word deur die hele lugverkoelde kondensator in ag te neem.

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Thesis (M. S.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Dr. Srinivas Garimella; Committee Member: Dr. Samuel Graham; Committee Member: Dr. Sheldon Jeter. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

M.Tech. (Mechanical Engineering) / Eskom fossil fuel power stations operate under various conditions and the ageing fleet of fossil fuel power stations are under strain due to the rising demand in electricity. The quest for cheaper electricity in growing businesses and bringing foreign investment into South Africa is significant for economic growth. Therefore, minimizing operation costs and improving availability, reliability and thermal heat rate are key objectives for the operation of the business. Thermal heat rate calculation is a method used to assess the performance of fossil fuel power stations. It provides an indication of the thermal performance which reflects the condition and operation of the plant. This dissertation refers to the tools used to measure the condenser performance and to identify the reason for unhealthy condenser performance and an increase in thermal heat rate. Problem: Poor condenser performance causes significant losses in generation and thermal heat rate in fossil fuel plants. Loss in generation and thermal heat rate is caused by condenser backpressure. This has an adverse effect on turbine thermal heat rate and henceturbine efficiency. The performance of the condenser affects the turbine performance to a large extent. Decreased condenser performance will increase the turbine thermal heat rate, i.e. kJ/kWh, because of the increased steam consumption per kWh of energy generated and therefore lowering the overall turbine efficiency. This will result in poor thermal heat rate efficiency resulting in an increased coal burn rate, i.e. kg/kWh, and an increased fuel bill and carbon foot print for the fossil fuel power station. The aim of this dissertation is to determine the effects of condenser performance on thermal heat rate and to provide the engineering and operating personnel with a guide for monitoring condenser back pressure in order to improve turbine thermal heat rate and turbine efficiency. Method and Procedure: Chapter 4 describes the method and procedure used for the pre and post outage evaluation to cost-effectively determine the current condition of the condenser and to quantify the increase in thermal heat rate due to condenser degradation. The pre and post outage evaluation offered an opportunity to evaluate and quantify the effectiveness of the maintenance program and the value of the capital layout undertaken during the scheduled Unit outage. Findings: Chapter 5 discusses the findings of the pre and post outage data analysis of the condenser using the EtaPRO system as the tool. Re-tubing 50% of the condenser inner loop tubes and cleaning the other 50% of the outer loop tubes demonstrated a decrease in condenser backpressure and therefore an improvement in thermal heat rate. This will also result in an improvement in turbine cycle efficiency and reduce coal cost.

When water vapour condenses at a sub-atmospheric pressure, the pressure drop may be a significant fraction of the absolute pressure. Furthermore the pressure drop in a condenser passage also reduces the absolute vapour temperature and therefore affects the heat transfer capacity of a condenser. For a tubular heat exchanger the pressure loss in the heat exchanger tubes can be minimized by the use of contoured or rounded inlet sections at the inlets of the tubes instead of using a sudden contracting inlet section or a protruding inlet section for the tubes. The pressure loss characteristics of different inlet sections to the tubes were obtained through a literature survey of the pressure loss coefficients. The pressure loss at the inlet sections were also investigated with computational fluid dynamics, using the Star-CD software system. The flow regimes for which the pressure loss was investigated were for the laminar incompressible and turbulent incompressible flow regimes. The inlet sections investigated were a sudden contraction and two rounded inlet sections with a rounding radius of 52% and 105% of the tube diameter respectively. The computational fluid dynamics results of the laminar flow simulations revealed that the pressure loss coefficients of the sudden contraction and rounded inlet sections were very similar. The pressure loss coefficient of the sudden contraction inlet sections only being 3 to 6% higher than the rounded inlet sections. This is due to the dominant effect of viscosity in the laminar flow regime. The viscosity reduces the extent of flow contraction occurring since transverse momentum is damped by the viscous dissipation. The dominant pressure loss mechanism in the laminar flow regime is hydrodynamic flow development. With hydrodynamic flow development the flow velocity profile changes from a uniform velocity profile before the inlet section into a pointed parabolic profile downstream in the tube. The turbulent flow simulation results revealed that the pressure loss coefficients of the rounded inlet sections investigated in this study were very similar. The pressure loss coefficient of the sudden contracting inlet section was higher than the rounded inlet sections’ pressure loss coefficient. The results indicated that rounded tubular inlet sections would be of limited value in the laminar flow regime; it would however be beneficial in the turbulent flow regime. / Prof.J.P. Meyer Prof. L. Pretorius

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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The steam-side side operation of a practical air-cooled steam condenser is investigated using a combination of CFD, numerical, analytical and experimental methods. Particular attention is directed towards the vapor flow distribution in the primary condensers and dephlegmator performance. Analysis of the vapor flow in the distributing manifold, connecting the steam turbine exhaust to the air-cooled heat exchangers, highlights the importance of careful design of the guide vanes in the manifold bends and junctions. Improved guide vane design and configuration can reduce the steam-side pressure drop over the manifold and improve the vapor flow distribution, which may be beneficial to condenser operation. The vapor flow in the primary condensers is shown to exhibit a non-uniform distribution amongst the heat exchanger tubes. The vapor flow distribution is strongly linked to the distribution of tube inlet loss coefficients through the heat exchanger bundles. The non-uniform flow distribution places an additional demand on dephlegmator performance, over and above the demands of row effects in the case of multi-row primary condenser bundles. Row effects are shown to account for as much as 70 % of available dephlegmator capacity in this case. Simultaneously, inlet loss coefficient distributions can account for up to 30 % of dephlegmator capacity. In some situations then, the dephlegmator is fully utilized under ideal operating conditions and there is no margin of safety to cope with non-ideal operation of the primary condensers. The upstream regions of the primary condensers are therefore exposed to a high risk of undesirable noncondensable gas accumulation. Reduced dephlegmator capacity due to insufficient ejector performance may further compound this problem. Single-row primary condenser bundles eliminate row effects and thereby significantly reduce the demands on dephlegmator performance. The use of such bundles in the dephlegmator would also measurably reduce ejector loading. In light of the findings of this study, it is recommended that single-row bundles be considered as the primary option for future air-cooled condenser applications. A hybrid (dry/wet) dephlegmator concept is analysed and shown to be able to provide measurably enhanced dephlegmator performance when operating in wet mode, while consuming only a small amount of water. The enhanced dephlegmator cooling translates to an increase in total air-cooled condenser capacity of up to 30 % at high ambient temperatures in this case. The benefit of this enhanced cooling capacity to steam turbine output may be significant. The hybrid dephlegmator concept therefore offers a simple, cost-effective and sustainable solution to the issue of reduced air-cooled condenser performance during hot periods. Careful design of the first and second stage bundle configurations in the hybrid dephlegmator is necessary to avoid flooding in the first stage during wet operation of the second. Furthermore, the slightly poorer dry-operation performance of the hybrid dephlegmator results in increased risk of non-condensable gas accumulation in multi-row primary condensers. Again, single-row primary condenser bundles would lay rest to such concerns. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die bedryf aan die stoom-kant van ʼn praktiese lugverkoelde-stoomkondensor word ondersoek met behulp van 'n kombinasie van berekeningsvloeimeganika, numeriese, analitiese en eksperimentele metodes. ʼn Spesifieke fokus word geplaas op die dampvloeiverspreiding in die primêre kondensors asook die deflegmatorwerksverrigting. Ontleding van die damp vloei in die verdeelspruitstuk, wat die uitlaat van die stoomturbine aan die lugverkoelde-stoomkondensor koppel, beklemtoon die belangrikheid van noukeurige ontwerp van die leilemme in die spruitstukdraaie en aansluitings. Verbeterde leilemontwerp en opstelling kan die drukval aan die stoom-kant van die draaie en aansluitings verminder en die dampvloeiverspreiding verbeter. Dit kan gevolglik lei tot verbeterde werksverrigting van die kondensor. Die studie toon dat ʼn nie-eenvormige dampvloeiverspreiding in die warmteruilerbuise van die primêre kondensors bestaan. Die verspreiding van buisinlaat-verlieskoëffisiënte deur die bundels van die warmteruiler is sterk afhanklik van die voorgenome dampvloeiverspreiding. Die nie-eenvormige vloeiverspreiding veroorsaak 'n groter aanvraag na deflegmator-werksverrigting, bo-en-behalwe nog vereistes van ry-effekte in die geval waar multi-ry-bundels vir primêre kondensors gebruik word. Ry-effekte is verantwoordelik vir so veel as 70 % van die beskikbare deflegmator kapasiteit. Terselfdertyd kan die verspreiding van inlaat-verlieskoëffisiënte verantwoordelik wees vir tot 30 % van die deflegmator kapasiteit. In sommige gevalle is die deflegmator dus ten volle aangewend onder ideale bedryfstoestande, en bestaan daar geen band van veiligheid om nie-ideale werksverrigting van die primêre kondensor te hanteer nie. Sekere dele van die stroom-op primêre kondensors word dus blootgestel aan 'n hoë risiko vir die opbou van ongewenste nie-kondenseerbare gasse. Verder kan ‘n vermindering in deflegmator kapasiteit, weens onvoldoende werksverrigting van die vakuumpompe, dié probleem vererger. Enkel-ry-bundels vir primêre kondensors vermy ry-effekte en lei sodoende tot ʼn aansienlike vermindering in die aanvraag na deflegmator-werksverrigting. Die gebruik van sulke bundels in die deflegmator sou die vakuumpomplas ook meetbaar verminder. Uit die bevindinge van hierdie studie word dit aanbeveel dat enkel-ry bundels beskou word as die primêre opsie vir toekomstige lugverkoelde-kondensor aansoeke. ’n Konsep vir ’n hibriede-deflegmator (droog/nat) word ontleed. Die studie toon dat, deur hierdie konsep in die nat-modus te gebruik, ’n meetbare verbetering in deflegmator-werksverrigting gesien kan word, ten koste van net ʼn klein hoeveelheid waterverbruik. Die verbetering in verkoelingsvermoë van die deflegmator beteken ʼn toename van tot 30 % in die totale verkoelingsvermoë van die lugverkoelde-kondensor gedurende periodes wanneer hoë omgewingstemperature heersend is. Die voordeel van hierdie verbeterde verkoelingsvermoë op die werksuitset van die stoomturbine kan beduidend wees. Die konsep vir ’n hibriede-deflegmator bied dus 'n eenvoudige, koste-effektiewe en volhoubare oplossing vir warm atmosferiese periodes, wanneer die lugverkoelde-kondensor se verkoelingsvermoë afneem. Noukeurige ontwerp van die eerste en tweede fase bundelkonfigurasies in die hibriede-deflegmator is nodig om oorstroming in die eerste fase, tydens nat werking van die tweede fase, te verhoed. Verder veroorsaak die effens swakker werksverrigting, gedurende die bedryf van die hibriede-deflegmator in die droog-modus, ʼn verhoogde risiko vir die opbou van nie-kondenseerbare gasse in multi-ry primêre kondensors. Weereens sal enkel-ry-bundels in primêre kondensors hierdie probleem oplos.

Thesis (MEng) -- Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The use of air-cooled steam condensers (ACSCs) is the preferred cooling method in the chemical and power industry due to stringent environmental and water use regulations. The performance of ACSCs is however highly dependent on the influence of windy conditions. Research has shown that the presence of wind reduces the performance of ACSCs. It has been found that cross-winds (wind perpendicular to the longest side of the ACSC) cause distorted inlet flow conditions, particularly at the upstream peripheral fans near the symmetry plane of the ACSC. These fans are subjected to what is referred to as '2-D' wind conditions, which are characterised by flow separation on the upstream edge of the fan inlets. Experimental investigations into inlet flow distortion have simulated these conditions by varying the fan platform height. Low platform heights resulted in higher levels of inlet flow distortion, as also found to exist with high cross-wind speeds. This investigation determines the performance of various fan configurations (representative of configurations used in the South- African power industry) subjected to distorted inlet flow conditions through experimental and numerical investigations. The similarity between platform height and cross-wind effects is also investigated and a correlation between system volumetric effectiveness, platform height and cross-wind velocity is found. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die gebruik van lugverkoelde stoom kondensors (LVSK's) word verkies as 'n verkoelingsmetode in die chemiese- en kragvoorsieningsindustrie as gevolg van streng omgewings- en waterverbruiksregulasies. Die werkverrigting van LVSK's word egter grootliks beïnvloed deur die teenwoordigheid van wind. Navorsing het gewys dat die teenwoordigheid van wind die werkverrigting van LVSK's verminder. Daar was gevind dat kruiswinde (wind loodreg tot die langste sy van die LVSK) versteurde inlaat vloeitoestande veroorsaak, veral by waaiers wat aan die stroomop kant van die LVSK naby die simmetrievlak geleë is. Hierdie waaiers word blootgestel aan na wat verwys word as '2-D' windtoestande wat gekenmerk word deur vloeiwegbreking wat plaasvind by die stroomop rand van die waaierinlate. Eksperimentele ondersoeke van inlaat vloeiversteurings het hierdie toestande gesimuleer deur die waaier platformhoogte te verstel. Lae platform hoogtes het gelei tot hoër vlakke van inlaat vloeiversteuring, soortgelyk aan wat gevind word met hoë kruiswindsnelhede. Hierdie ondersoek gebruik numeriese en eksperimentele metodes om die werkverrigting van verskeie waaierkon gurasies (verteenwoordigend van kon- gurasies wat gebruik word in die Suid-Afrikaanse kragvoorsieningsindustrie) wat blootgestel word aan versteurde inlaat vloeitoestande te bepaal. Die ooreenkoms tussen platformhoogte en kruiswind e ekte word ook ondersoek en 'n korrelasie tussen die sisteem volumetriese e ektiwiteit, platformhoogte en kruiswindsnelheid word bepaal.

Thesis (MScEng (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Air-cooled steam condensers (ACSC’s) are increasingly employed to reject heat in modern power plants. Unfortunately these cooling systems become less effective under windy conditions and when ambient temperatures are high. A better understanding of the fundamental airflow patterns about and through such air-cooled condensers is essential if their performance is to be improved under these conditions. For known flow patterns, improved fan designs are possible and flow distortions can be reduced by means of extended surfaces or skirts, windwalls and screens. Spray cooling of the inlet air or the addition of an evaporative cooling system can also be considered for improving performance under extreme conditions. The present numerical study models the air flow field about and through an air-cooled steam condenser under windy conditions. The performance of the fans is modeled with the aid of a novel numerical approach known as the “actuator disc model”. Distorted airflow patterns that significantly reduce fan performance in certain areas and recirculatory flows that entrain hot plume air are found to be the reasons for poor ACSC performance. It is found that the reduction in fan performance is the main reason for the poor ACSC performance while recirculation of hot plume air only reduces performance by a small amount. Significant improvements in ACSC performance are possible under these conditions if a cost effective skirt is added to the periphery of the ACSC while the installation of a screen under the ACSC has very little effect.