Computer optimization of dry and wet/dry cooling tower systems for large fossil and nuclear power plants

Technical Report · Thu Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1979

OSTI ID:6171615

Choi, M; Glicksman, L R

This study determined the cost of dry cooling compared to the conventional cooling methods. Also, the savings by using wet/dry instead of all-dry cooling were determined. A total optimization was performed for power plants with dry cooling tower systems using metal-finned-tube heat exchangers and surface condensers. The optimization minimizes the power production cost. The program optimizes the design of the heat exchanger and its air and water flow rates. In the base case study, the method of replacing lost capacity assumes the use of gas turbines. As a result of using dry cooling towers in an 800 MWe fossil plant, the incremental costs with the use of high back pressure turbine and conventional turbine over all-wet cooling are 11 and 15%, respectively. For a 1200 MWe nuclear plant, these are 22 and 25%, respectively. Since the method of making up lost capacity depends on the situation of a utility, considerable effort has been placed on testing the effects of using different methods of replacing lost capacity at high ambient temperatures by purchased energy. The results indicate that the optimization is very sensitive to the method of making up lost capacity. It is, therefore, important to do an accurate representation of all possible methods of making up capacity loss when optimizating power plants with dry cooling towers. A solution for the problem of losing generation capability by a power plant due to the use of a dry cooling tower is to supplement the dry tower during the hours of peak ambient temperatures by a wet tower. A separate wet/dry cooling tower system with series tower arrangement was considered in this study, and proved to be an economic choice over all-dry cooling where some water is available but supplies are insufficient for a totally evaporative cooling tower.

• Research Organization: Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AS02-76EV04114
• OSTI ID: 6171615
• Report Number(s): MIT-EL-79-034; ON: DE81029729
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200101* -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Cooling & Heat Transfer Equipment & Systems
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220200 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Components & Accessories
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COOLING TOWERS
DESIGN
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
HEAT
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
OPERATION
OPTIMIZATION
PERFORMANCE
POWER PLANTS
SIMULATION
THERMAL EFFLUENTS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
TOWERS
WASTE HEAT
WASTES
WATER REQUIREMENTS