Three‐dimensional modeling method for heat exchange of rotary air preheater in coal‐fired power plant

A numerical modeling method based on a 3‐D heat transfer model and duct models for a dual‐sectional rotary air preheater have been developed in this paper. Owing to different boundary conditions for the heat transfer model obtained by modeling and calculation of the ducts, this method is capable of calculating the 3‐D metal and fluid temperature fields at different radial locations in the rotary air preheater along the rotor height as well as the rotating period, and furthermore, it can calculate temperature and flow field inside the flow passage as well. A case study with a dual‐sectional rotary air preheater of a typical 300 MW_e unit used as the research object is presented in this paper. The calculation results accord well with those obtained by verified numerical methods in published literature. The difference between the calculated and the measured outlet fluid temperature of the rotary air preheater is smaller than 3 °C. The numerical modeling method presented in this paper is proved to have high precision and is beneficial for the secure and economic operation of a rotary air preheater as well as the whole unit. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20325