EPRI: On-demand Sweating-Boosted Air Cooled Heat-Pipe Condensers for Green Power Plants

1357920 li混合式冷却，正如这里所提出的，将对发电厂产生直接影响，特别是在提高发电效率，减少大约70%的用水量（与冷却塔相比），并减轻空气冷却性能对环境条件的依赖（即天气条件，环境空气温度和湿度，侧风等）。从这个项目中获得的基础知识将刺激从目前的发电厂冷却设备到这种独特的新技术的过渡。大量的节水将有助于缓解美国和世界面临的水危机。通过积极传播这些基本发现，它将为科学界提供以高效、环保和可持续的方式有效冷却大型发电厂机组的独特理解。在这项研究中，新型热管冷凝器将通过按需排汗增压空气冷却来冷却，以实现前所未有的冷却能力，并大大减少风冷冷凝器（ACC）的尺寸和占地面积，同时对电力生产的影响最小。这可以通过创新的工程相变传热来实现，从而大大增强了ACC中的三个主要传热过程。具体来说，大气等离子喷涂（APS）产生的坚固镍合金涂层上的滴状冷凝将增强热收集；采用新型混合微尺度灯芯结构的高导热热管（作为冷凝器芯）可以显著降低温差；通过设计一种模仿哺乳动物在体育运动中有效散热的主要机制的汗液蒸发，散热过程将大大增强。利用功能化碳纳米管（CNTs）开发新型纳米纳米管，实现蒸发和制造耐用的自清洁涂层。微/纳米工程表面的传热和传质将进行实验和数值研究。组件级模型将集成在虚拟试验台（VTB）中，以实现ACCs和发电厂的高保真建模。与传统的ACCs相比，根据我们的初步模型估计，资本成本可能降低67%。为了实现这个为期三年的项目的目标，将进行五项主要研究任务：1)设计和评估VTB中的冷凝器；2)设计排汗风冷；3)开发高性能热管作为冷凝器的核心；4)使水滴冷凝获得热量；5)实验室规模冷凝器的基准建模。这个项目强调了未被充分代表的学生的支持。将开展面向高中生、教师和公众的外展活动。

1357920LiHybrid cooling, as proposed here, will have direct impact on power plants, particularly in increasing the power generation efficiency, reducing approximately 70% water usage (compared to cooling towers) and by alleviating the dependence of air cooling performance on the ambient conditions (i.e. weather conditions; ambient air temperature and moisture, cross winds etc.). The foundational knowledge gained from this project will stimulate the transition from current cooling equipment of power plants to this unique and novel technology. The substantial water saving will help relieve the water crisis facing US and the world. By active dissemination of the fundamental findings, it will offer the scientific community a unique understanding of effectively cooling large scale power plant units in an efficient environment-friendly, and sustainable way. In this research, novel heat-pipe condensers cooled by on-demand sweat-boosted air cooling will be developed to achieve unprecedented cooling capability and substantially reduce the size and footprint of air-cooled condensers (ACC), with a minimal penalty in power production. This can be achieved by innovatively engineering phase change heat transfer to drastically enhance three major heat transfer processes in ACC. Specifically, heat acquisition will be enhanced by dropwise condensation on robust Nickel alloy coatings created by atmospheric plasma spray (APS); temperature difference can be significantly reduced by highly conductive heat pipes (as the condenser core) enabled by novel hybrid microscale wick structures; and the heat rejection process will be dramatically enhanced by devising sweat-evaporation that mimics the primary mechanism of mammals to effectively dissipate heat during physical exercise. Novel nanowicks will be developed from functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to realize evaporation and create durable self-cleaning coatings. The heat and mass transfer on micro/nano-engineered surfaces will be experimentally and numerically studied. Component level models will be integrated in a Virtual Test Bed (VTB) to achieve high fidelity modeling of ACCs and power plants. Compared with conventional ACCs, the capital cost can be potentially reduced by 67% as estimated in our preliminary model. To achieve the objectives of this three-year project, five major research tasks will be carried out: 1) designing and evaluating condensers in a VTB; 2) devising sweat-boosted air cooling; 3) developing high performance heat pipes as the core of the condenser; 4) enabling dropwise condensation for heat acquisition; and 5) benchmarking modeling in a lab scale condenser.Underrepresented student support is emphasized in this project. Outreach activities geared towards high school students, teachers, and general public will be carried out.