Air Blast Chiller System for Power Plant Condenser
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air-cooled condensers for power plants face challenges such as large duct sizes, significant footprints, higher back pressure due to ambient air temperatures, and the risk of iron carryover, making them technically and commercially unfeasible for widespread adoption in existing power plants.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of an air blast chiller system, which circulates cooling water in a closed loop to condense steam in an existing or new water-cooled condenser, using an air-cooled heat exchanger with a compact A-frame design that reduces parasitic power expenditure and eliminates the need for on-site welding, allowing for modular and cost-effective installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If air cooled condensers are used to reject waste heat to ambient air, then water consumption is reduced, but the footprint and duct size become excessively large
Solution Approach 1:
The air cooled condenser system is divided into multiple tube bundles arranged in series, where each bundle handles a portion of the steam flow. This segmentation allows the total heat rejection function to be distributed across a more compact footprint while maintaining the required heat transfer capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tube bundles are arranged in a three-dimensional configuration with vertical and horizontal stacking, utilizing space in multiple dimensions rather than spreading out in a single plane. This dimensional approach reduces the ground footprint while accommodating the necessary heat transfer surface area.
2Loss of substance
If air cooled condensers are used to condense steam by blowing air across tubes, then water evaporation is eliminated, but the condenser back pressure increases due to ambient air temperature
Solution Approach 1:
A heat transfer fluid (such as glycol-water mixture) is introduced as an intermediary medium between the steam and ambient air. The fluid circulates through the tube bundles, absorbing heat from the steam and transporting it to a separate heat rejection section where it dissipates heat to ambient air through finned surfaces, thereby decoupling the condensation pressure from ambient air temperature.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat rejection function is extracted from the direct steam condensation process. Instead of relying on ambient air to directly cool the steam, the system separates condensation (occurring at controlled vacuum conditions) from heat rejection (occurring at atmospheric conditions through finned heat exchangers), allowing optimal performance for each function.
3Ease of manufacture
If carbon steel tubes are used in air cooled condensers, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but iron carryover occurs in the condensate
Solution Approach 1:
The heat transfer fluid serves as an intermediary that never comes into direct contact with the steam, eliminating the source of iron carryover. Since the fluid circulates in a closed loop through the tube bundles, any corrosion products remain confined to the liquid phase and can be managed through standard water treatment, preventing contamination of the condensate.
Solution Approach 2:
The potential contamination source (carbon steel tubes in direct steam contact) is removed from the steam path. The system extracts the heat transfer function from the condensation process itself, using a separate fluid circulation system that isolates any potential corrosion issues from the condensate quality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The air blast chiller system provides a compact, cost-effective, and efficient alternative to traditional air-cooled condensers by reducing footprint, minimizing parasitic power consumption, and preventing condenser tube fouling, thus enhancing power plant operations and extending equipment life.
Implementation Method 1
an air blower arranged to blow ambient cooling air through the first and second tube bundles
Implementation Method 2
an air-cooled heat exchanger with a compact A-frame design
Implementation Method 3
the ABC cools cooling water circulating in a pumped closed flow loop, which in turn condenses the steam in an existing or new water cooled condenser
Implementation Method 4
it extracts the latent heat of the exhaust steam in the WCC
Implementation Method 5
an air blower arranged to blow ambient cooling air through the first and second tube bundles
Data Source
AI summary
An indirect dry cooling system suitable for steam condensing applications in a power plant Rankine cycle in one embodiment includes an air cooled condenser having a plurality of interconnected modular cooling cells. Each cell comprises a blower and tube bundle assemblies each including inlet headers, outlet headers, and plurality of tubes extending between the headers. In one embodiment, the tube bundle assemblies may be shop fabricated as a unit to form an A-frame or V-frame cell construction The tubes may be finned. Steam circulating in a closed flow loop on the tube side from a steam turbine is cooled in each cell by ambient air blown through the tube bundles, thereby forming liquid condensate. The condensate is collected and returned to the Rankine cycle for reheating to form steam to drive the turbine.