EPRI: Vortex-Generator Arrays for Air-Cooled Condensers in Electric Power Generation

这个项目是美国国家科学基金会和电力研究所共同资助的一项工作的一部分，目的是开发比现有发电厂用水量少得多的新型发电系统。发电和配电对现代社会的重要性怎么强调都不为过，显然，必须在有限资源的限制下满足日益增长的电力需求，并减少对环境的影响。水是一种关键的国家资源，火力发电厂的用水量占美国每年淡水供应总量的40%。几乎所有这些水在蒸汽通过发电厂的汽轮机发电机后都被用来冷却蒸汽--这种方法通常使用冷却塔。有一种方法可以在不使用冷却塔中的水的情况下冷却蒸汽；它依赖于所谓的“风冷冷凝器”。不幸的是，与冷却塔系统相比，这项技术使发电厂的成本增加了多达五倍。如果发电厂被要求使用当前的技术来节约冷却水，电力成本将大幅上升。需要一种新的方法来节约用水和压低电价，这个项目的目的是提供必要的突破。其主要想法是在热交换器上使用小型翼状结构(称为涡流发生器)，其中蒸汽由空气冷却。涡流发生器在用于冷却蒸汽的空气中产生强烈的旋流。通过这个项目，将评估涡流发生器提高空冷冷凝器性能的潜力，并将获得有效使用它们所需的基本知识。这一新知识将导致一种新技术，一种发电系统，它提供可靠、廉价的电力，并消除从我们有限的供应中提取宝贵的淡水的需要。

1357992JacobiThis project is part of a jointly funded effort by the National Science Foundation and the Electric Power Research Institute to develop new electric power generation systems that use much less water than do current power generating plants. It is hard to overstate the importance of electric power generation and distribution to modern societies, and it is clear that growing power demands must be met within the constraints of limited resources and with reduced environmental impact. Water is a key national resource, and the water used in thermal-electric power plants represents 40% of the total annual draw from fresh-water supplies in the United States. Almost all of this water is used for cooling steam after it passes through the steam-turbine generators in the power plant-this approach usually uses a cooling tower. An approach that cools the steam without using water in a cooling tower exists; it relies on so-called "Air-Cooled Condensers." Unfortunately, this technology increases the cost of the power plant by up to five times, compared to a cooling-tower system. The cost of electricity would rise sharply, were power plants required to use current technology to save the cooling water. A new approach is needed to save water and hold down the price of electricity, and this project is aimed at providing the needed breakthrough. The main idea is to use small wing-like structures (called vortex generators) on a heat exchanger where steam is cooled by air. The vortex generators create a strong swirling flow in the air used to cool the steam. Through this project the potential of vortex generators to enhance the performance of air-cooled condensers will be evaluated, and the fundamental knowledge needed to use them effectively will be acquired. This new knowledge will lead to a new technology, an electric power generation system which provides reliable, inexpensive electricity and eliminates the need for drawing precious fresh water from our limited supplies to do so.