Influence mechanism of the louver on the thermal performance of the mechanical draft wet cooling tower

Abstract

To explore the performance influence of louvers on mechanical draft wet cooling towers (MCTs), the specific structure of the louver is described in this paper. The inclination angle of louvers, crosswind velocity, and crosswind direction are taken as the main study variables. Numerical analysis is employed to elaborate the impact mechanism of louvers on tower performance under crosswinds, by estimating the airflow distribution, air-water ratio distribution, ventilation capacity, and outlet water temperature. Results show that the thermal and ventilation performance of MCTs can be regulated in a large range by controlling the inclination angle of louvers. Compared with the MCT without the louver, the variation range of ventilation rate is −16.45 % to 6.25 %, and that of outlet water temperature is −0.73 °C to 0.81 °C. The MCT has the best thermal performance when the inclination angle of louvers is 90°, with an average decrease of outlet water temperature by 0.40 °C under the crosswind angle of 0°, 0.36 °C under that of 45°, and 0.25 °C under that of 90°. With the increase of the inclined angle of the louver, the influence range of the longitudinal vortex on the upper edge of the air inlet of the MCT gradually declines or even disappears. The current findings can promote efficient regulation of the thermal performance of the MCT by adjusting the inclination angle of the louver.