Modeling Strategy for the Analysis of Forced Draft Air-Cooled Condensers Using Rotational Fan Models

Abstract

Air-cooled condenser (ACC) design methodologies use empirical correlations that are unable to account for the complex flow phenomena associated with ACCs. Numerical models are seen as an alternative evaluation tool. This paper details the development of a modeling strategy for an ACC in the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code of OpenFOAM. The axial flow fan is modeled using the extended actuator disk model (EADM) and validated using the B2a-fan. A good agreement between experimental and numerical results are noted for the volumetric flow rates expected in the ACC operating range. The A-frame heat exchanger is also validated using the empirical data. The ACC operating point is numerically and analytically determined. An overprediction of the numerical results to the analytical solution is attributed to the presence of kinetic energy recovery and validated using experimental results. A numerical recovery coefficient of 0.527 is measured and correlates well with the experimentally determined coefficient of 0.553.