Varying duty operation of air-cooled condenser units

Abstract

Results of experimental investigations of operation modes of air-cooled condensers (ACC) under design and varying duty conditions are presented. ACCs with varying cooling airflow rates under constant heat load and with constant cooling airflow under varying heat load are examined. Diagrams of heat transfer coefficients and condensation pressures on the heat load and cooling airflow are obtained. It is found that, if the relative heat load is in the range from 0.6 to 1.0 of the nominal value, the ACC heat transfer coefficient varies insignificantly, unlike that of the water-cooled surface condensers. The results of the determination of “zero points” are given, i.e., the attainable pressure in air-cooled condensing units (ACCU), if there is no heat load for several values of working water temperature at the input of water-jet ejectors and liquid ring vacuum pump. The results of the experimental determination of atmospheric air suction into the ACC vacuum system. The effect of additional air suctions in the steam pipe on ACCU characteristics is analyzed. The thermal mapping of ACC heat exchange surfaces from the cooling air inlet is carried out. The dependence of the inefficient heat exchange zone on the additional air suction into the ACC vacuum system is given. It is shown that, if there is no additional air suction into the ACC vacuum system, the inefficient heat exchange zone is not located at the bottom of the first pass tubes, and their portion adjacent to the bottom steam pipe works efficiently. Design procedures for the ACC varying duty of capacitors are presented, and their adequacy for the ACCU varying duty estimation is analyzed.