Comparative Analysis on Thermal Performance of Different Natural-draft Dry Cooling Towers under Crosswind Condition

This article aims to study the thermal performances of four different natural draft cooling towers under crosswind condition. The windbreakers and the oblique exit plane have been simultaneously included in the structure of the new cooling tower. A finite volume method using SIMPLE algorithm was used to simulate the flow field around each cooling tower. The thermal performance of the new geometry has been compared with those of others for the generally investigated wind velocity profile for 10 m/s, and also two uniform wind velocities for 3 and 7 m/s. The cooling capacity of the cooling tower utilizing windbreakers and the oblique exit plane was predicted as 98.3% of the design value in the presence of generally studied wind velocity profile of 10 m/s, while that of the cooling tower utilizing windbreakers was predicted as 93.5%. Of course, the percentage of the thermal improvements of the different restoring strategies are sensitive to the profile of an approaching wind. The uniform wind velocity decreases the thermal efficiency of the cooling tower more than the distributed one, while the restoring strategies using windbreakers provide a higher percentage of thermal improvements in the presence of uniform wind velocity.