Impact mechanism of the chip muffler on the cooling performance of super large-scale natural draft wet cooling tower under crosswind

• Published in: Applied thermal engineering 2022-08, Vol.213, p.118753, Article 118753
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xiaoyu, Sun, Fengzhong, Chen, Xuehong, Deng, Weipeng, Chen, Kun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chip muffler; Cooling performance; Crosswind; Layout pattern; Super large-scale natural draft wet cooling tower
• ISSN: 1359-4311
• DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2022.118753

•3D numerical simulation on S-NDWCT with chip muffler is carried out.•The chip muffler enhances the cooling efficiency of S-NDWCT under crosswinds.•The positive effect of the chip muffler on the S-NDWCT varies with layout patterns.•The optimal pattern of chip muffler is proposed based on the tower performance. The noise attenuation of cooling towers mainly relies on the chip muffler, of which the layout pattern exerts a non-negligible impact on the cooling effect. This paper analyzes the impact mechanism of the chip muffler’s layout pattern on the cooling performance of a super large-scale natural draft wet cooling tower (S-NDWCT) through a three-dimensional numerical study. The layout patterns of chip muffler include three installation angles (θ = 0°, 15° and 30°), three distances between the muffler and cooling tower (L = 0.0 m, 2.5 m and 5.0 m), and two layout angles of the muffler (α = 180° and 360°). Results manifest that the chip muffler can enhance the cooling performance of S-NDWCT by improving the airflow uniformity in the tower. The optimal layout pattern is L = 0.0 m, θ = 0° and α = 360°, under which the increment of circulating water temperature drop reaches a maximum of 1.04 ℃. The ventilation rate increases with the increase of L and the decrease of θ. The Merkel number increases with the decrease of L and θ. The circulating water temperature drop increases with the decrease of θ and shows little regularity with L. This paper can provide the reference for optimizing layout patterns and engineering applications of the chip muffler.