Performance of Power Plant Spray Cooling Modules and Systems

The detailed three-dimensional local interaction model developed previously for spray units is used here to predict the cooling performance of both a pass of sprays coaxially aligned with the wind, and a multipass spray system. Since the model predicts the local changes in temperature and humidity of the air-vapor phase as well as droplet trajectories and temperatures, it is capable of determining the degree of interference between adjacent spray units as a function of upwind conditions and spray spacing without recourse to empirical interference factors. Model predictions are compared with droplet cooling and wet-bulb temperature data for spray passes consisting of units of the Power Spray Module. The thermal efficiency of a pass of sprays is examined by use of a theoretically generated dimensionless performance chart.. Such charts are utilized in a computer model of a multipass spray canal system. The model shows excellent agreement with system data. System design and performance charts are presented for industrial use.