Optimization of Thermal-Flow Processes in a System of Conjugate Cooling Towers

Abstract

The paper presents the thermal-flow study of a closed cooling system with special emphasis on the working parameters of natural draft wet cooling towers. The authors analyze the possibility of the improvement of the overall cooling efficiency of a closed cooling system consisting of several cooling towers by the proper redistribution of cooling water between individual units. The problem of the optimal redistribution of circulating water between cooling towers is formulated as a mathematical issue involving finding the extrema of the multivariate function with constraints fixing the total mass flow rate of cooling water circulated in the hydraulic installation and the ranges of the hydraulic loads of individual cooling towers. The optimization process requires information about the individual characteristics of each cooling tower, which is achieved by experimental measurements done on real objects. The research done inside the cooling towers enables the identification of the heat and mass transfer processes across its radius. Next, these characteristics are used to calculate the optimal cooling water flow rates to the cooling towers, giving the highest possible mean cooling water temperature drop in the system.