Dry cooling system for powerplants

Abstract

An indirect dry cooling system suitable for steam condensing applications in a power plant Rankine cycle in one embodiment includes an air cooled condenser having a plurality of interconnected modular cooling cells. Each cell comprises a blower and tube bundle assemblies each including inlet headers, outlet headers, and plurality of tubes extending between the headers. In one embodiment, the tube bundle assemblies may be shop fabricated as a unit to form an A-frame or V-frame cell construction The tubes may be finned. Steam circulating in a closed flow loop on the tube side from a steam turbine is cooled in each cell by ambient air blown through the tube bundles, thereby forming liquid condensate. The condensate is collected and returned to the Rankine cycle for reheating to form steam to drive the turbine.

Claims

1. A dry cooling system for condensing steam comprising: a steam turbine fluidly coupled to a Rankine cycle flow loop circulating a heat transfer medium; an air cooled heat exchanger fluidly coupled to the Rankine cycle flow loop and arranged to receive exhaust steam from a steam turbine; the air cooled heat exchanger comprising a plurality of fluidly interconnected cooling cells each comprising: a pair of first and second inlet headers fluidly coupled to the Rankine cycle flow loop; a pair of first and second outlet headers fluidly coupled to the Rankine cycle flow loop; a first tube bundle comprising a plurality of tubes fluidly coupled between the first inlet and outlet headers; a second tube bundle angularly oriented to the first tube bundle and comprising a plurality of tubes fluidly coupled between the second inlet and outlet headers; and an air blower arranged to direct ambient cooling air through the first and second tube bundles; wherein the plurality of cooling cells are arranged in a horizontally extending row in which each of the first and second inlet headers are axially aligned and connected in a contiguous series to other respective first and second inlet headers, and each of the first and second outlet headers are connected in a contiguous series to other respective first and second headers respectively; wherein at least some of the cooling cells are arranged in an adjoining pair in which the inlet headers of a first and second cooling cell are mechanically coupled together via joints which includes a flow partition plate configured to prevent steam from flowing directly from the inlet headers of the first cooling cell into corresponding inlet headers of the second cooling cell; wherein exhaust steam from the steam turbine is bifurcated and flows to each of the first and second inlet headers, through the first and second tube bundles wherein the steam is condensed forming condensate, the condensate being collected in the first and second outlet headers and then flows back to the Rankine cycle flow loop.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second tube bundles are arranged in a vertically-oriented triangular shape and converge towards a top of the cooling cell.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second outlet headers are supported by a horizontal mounting surface, and the first and second inlet headers are mechanically coupled together to form a self-supporting A-frame construction.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first inlet header, first tube bundle, and first outlet header form a first cooling flow path, and the second inlet bundle, second tube bundle, and second outlet header form a second cooling flow path fluidly isolated from the first flow path.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second inlet headers are connected together via mating bolted flanges to adjoining first and second inlet headers respectively, and first and second outlet headers are connected together via mating bolted flanges to adjoining first and second outlet headers respectively.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein in the steam flows downwards in the first and second tube bundles of each cooling cell from the first and second inlet headers to the first and second outlet headers.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the tubes have an oblong cross sectional shape and include a plurality heat transfer fins disposed on opposing sides of the tubes which extending towards adjoining tubes in the first and second tube bundles.

8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a steam inlet manifold fluidly coupled to the first and second inlet headers that bifurcates the steam flow, and a condensate outlet manifold which combines condensate from the first and second outlet headers.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein: the first inlet header, first outlet header, and first tube bundle are shop fabricated defining a first half section including comprising a plurality of linearly spaced apart finned tubes fluidly coupled between the first inlet and outlet headers; and the second inlet header, second outlet header, and second tube bundle are shop fabricated defining a second half section including a comprising a plurality of linearly spaced apart finned tubes fluidly coupled between the second inlet and outlet headers; the first and second half sections arranged proximate to each other at an installation site at an acute angle wherein the first and second inlet headers are disposed proximately to each other, and the first and second outlet headers are disposed distally to each other forming a triangular configuration.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein terminal ends of the tubes of the first and second tube bundles are each fluidly connected to a flat tubesheet attached to a box-shaped header manifold attached to each of the first and second inlet and outlet headers.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein each header manifold has a bell shape with a narrow end attached to the first and second inlet and outlet headers and a broader end that supports the tubesheets.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the blower is disposed below the first and second inlet headers and blows cooling air upwards and outwards through the first and second tube bundles for condensing the steam.

13. A modular air cooled heat exchanger for cooling a heat transfer medium, the heat exchanger comprising: a plurality of fluidly coupled cooling cells arranged in a contiguous row of adjoining fluidly interconnected cooling cells, each cooling cell comprising: a shop fabricated first half section including a first inlet header, a first outlet header, and a first tube bundle comprising a plurality of linearly spaced apart finned tubes fluidly coupled between the first inlet and outlet headers; and a shop fabricated second half section including a second inlet header, a second outlet header, and a second tube bundle comprising a plurality of linearly spaced apart finned tubes fluidly coupled between the second inlet and outlet headers; the first and second half sections arranged proximate to each other at an installation site at an acute angle wherein the first and second inlet headers are disposed proximately to each other, and the first and second outlet headers are disposed distally to each other forming a triangular configuration; the first and second inlet headers and the first and second outlet headers of each cooling cell being axially aligned with each other respectively; wherein at least some of the cooling cells being arranged in adjoining pairs in which the first and second inlet headers of a first cooling cell are fluidly isolated from the first and second inlet headers of an adjoining second cooling cell respectively, and the first and second outlet headers of the first cooling cell are in fluidly coupled to the first and second outlet headers of the adjoining second cooling cell respectively thereby forming a direct flow path therebetween; wherein the heat transfer medium flows in the first cooling cell from the first and second inlet headers through the first and second tube bundles into the first and second outlet headers, and axially into the first and second outlet headers of the second cooling cell; and the heat transfer medium then flows in the second cell from the first and second outlet headers through the first and second tube bundles into the first and second inlet headers; a blower arranged and operable to flow ambient cooling air through the first and second tube bundles; wherein heated heat transfer medium flows through the cooling cells between the first and second inlet and outlet headers of each cell via the first and second tube bundles and is cooled by the cooling air.

14. The air cooled heat exchanger according to claim 13, wherein the first and second inlet headers are disposed laterally adjacent to each other and mechanically coupled together to form a self-supporting cooling cell construction with the first and second outlet headers which are supported from a support surface.

15. The air cooled heat exchanger according to claim 13, wherein the first and second inlet headers of the adjoining pair of the first and second cooling cells are mechanically coupled together via flanged bolted joints and fluidly isolated from each other by flow partition plates arranged in the flanged bolted joints to prevent direct flow therebetween.

16. The air cooled heat exchanger according to claim 15, wherein the first and second outlet headers of the adjoining pair are mechanically coupled together via flanged bolted joints.

17. The air cooled heat exchanger according to claim 13, wherein the cooling cells each have an A frame configuration with the first and second outlet headers disposed distally to each other at a bottom of each cell and the first and second inlet headers disposed proximately to each other at a top of each cell defining an apex.

18. The air cooled heat exchanger according to claim 13, wherein the cooling cells each have a V frame configuration with the first and second inlet headers disposed distally to each other at a top of each cell and the first and second outlet headers disposed proximately to each other at a bottom of each cell defining an apex.

19. A method for condensing steam, the method comprising: providing an air cooled heat exchanger according to claim 13, wherein the heat transfer medium is water; receiving the heated heat transfer medium in the first and second inlet headers of the first cooling cell, wherein the heated heat transfer medium is in a gaseous state comprising steam exhausted from a steam turbine; flowing the steam through the first and second tube bundles in a first direction, wherein the steam is cooled a first time and condenses forming condensate; and collecting the condensate in the first and second outlet headers of the first cooling cell; flowing the condensate axially from the first and second outlet headers of the first cooling cell into the first and second outlet headers of the second cooling cell; flowing the condensate through first and second tube bundles of the second cooling cell; collecting the condensate in the first and second inlet headers of the second cooling cell; and flowing the condensate axially from the first and second inlet headers of the second cooling cell to first and second inlet headers of an adjoining third cooling cell.

20. A modular multi-pass air cooled heat exchanger for cooling a heat transfer medium via counter-flow and co-flow, the heat exchanger comprising: a plurality of fluidly coupled cooling cells arranged in a contiguous row of adjoining fluidly interconnected cooling cells, each cooling cell comprising: a first half section including a first inlet header, a first outlet header, and a first tube bundle comprising a plurality of linearly spaced apart finned tubes fluidly coupled between the first inlet and outlet headers; and a second half section including a second inlet header, a second outlet header, and a second tube bundle comprising a plurality of linearly spaced apart finned tubes fluidly coupled between the second inlet and outlet headers; the first and second half sections arranged proximate to each other at an acute angle wherein the first and second inlet headers are disposed proximately to each other, and the first and second outlet headers are disposed distally to each other forming a triangular configuration; the first and second inlet headers of each cooling cell being axially aligned and coupled together in a contiguous manner via a plurality of first joints; the first and second outlet headers of each cooling cell being axially aligned and coupled together in a contiguous manner via a plurality of second joints; a first flow partition plate being disposed in every other one of the first joints between the first and second inlet headers; and a second flow partition plate being disposed in every other one of the second joints between the first and second outlet headers; wherein a second flow partition plate is not disposed in the second joints between the first and second outlet headers of a first cooling cell and an adjoining second cooling cell when a first flow partition is disposed in the first joints between the first and second inlet headers of the first and second cooling cells; and a blower arranged and operable to flow ambient cooling air through the first and second tube bundles.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The features of the preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawings where like elements are labeled similarly, and in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic flow diagram of an indirect air-cooled dry cooling system in the form of an air blast chiller;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the air blast chiller of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is detail taken from FIG. 2 of the tube bundle showing some individual tubes;

(5) FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken from FIG. 2 of the tubes;

(6) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a half-section of the air blast chiller of FIG. 2 showing the tube bundle and inlet and outlet headers;

(7) FIG. 6 is a detail taken from FIG. 5 of one of the headers;

(8) FIG. 7 is a side view of the top header of FIG. 5 showing the header manifold and tube sheet;

(9) FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view thereof;

(10) FIG. 9 shows the air blast chiller of FIG. 2 with the air flow pattern through the chiller indicated by directional flow arrows;

(11) FIG. 10 is a detail taken from FIG. 9 showing the top headers;

(12) FIG. 11 is a top plan view showing a multiple tubeside pass air blast chiller comprised of a plurality of mechanically and fluidly interconnected cooling cells with cooling water tubeside flow pattern shown by directional flow arrows;

(13) FIG. 12 is top plan view of an array of cooling cells forming an air blast chiller;

(14) FIG. 13 is a detail taken from FIG. 12 of a cooling cell;

(15) FIG. 14 is a detail taken from FIG. 12 showing a lateral support system and arrangement of the chiller;

(16) FIG. 15 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of cooling cell having double A frame configuration;

(17) FIG. 16 is an alternative embodiment of a cooling cell having a V frame configuration;

(18) FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a conventional air cooled condenser showing typical locations where field welds are normally required; and

(19) FIG. 18 is a schematic flow diagram of an air-cooled direct dry cooling system according to the present disclosure in the form of an air cooled condenser.

(20) All drawings are schematic and not necessarily to scale. A reference herein to a figure number herein that may include multiple figures of the same number with different alphabetic suffixes shall be construed as a general reference to all those figures unless specifically noted otherwise.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(21) The features and benefits of the invention are illustrated and described herein by reference to exemplary (example) embodiments. This description of exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. Accordingly, the disclosure expressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features.

(22) In the description of embodiments disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as lower, upper, horizontal, vertical,, above, below, up, down, top and bottom as well as derivative thereof (e.g., horizontally, downwardly, upwardly, etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms such as attached, affixed, connected, coupled, interconnected, and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.

(23) As used throughout, any ranges disclosed herein are used as shorthand for describing each and every value that is within the range. Any value within the range can be selected as the terminus of the range.

(24) FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an air-cooled drying cooling system 30 according to the present disclosure in a steam condensing application of a power plant operating on a Rankine cycle. The electric power generating portion of the plant comprises a turbine-generator set 20 including an electric generator 21 and steam turbine 22 operably coupled to the generator for rotating a rotor. A steam generator (not shown) heats feedwater to produce the steam. In various embodiments, the source of heat for the steam generator may be a nuclear reactor, or a furnace which burns a fossil fuel such as coal, oil, shale, gas, biomass, etc. The heat and fuel source do not limit the invention. The air blast chiller 40 may be incorporated in the power plant to either supplant or supplement an evaporative system employing a cooling tower.

(25) The steam side of the plant equipment further includes a water-cooled surface condenser 23 which receives exhaust steam from the low pressure section of the turbine 22. A heat exchanger tube bundle assembly 24 comprising a tube bundle 32 having a plurality of heat transfer tubes 26 is mounted in the condenser below the neck in any suitable orientation. The tubes extend substantially from one side the condenser shell 31 to an opposite side. In one non-limiting embodiment, the bundle may be oriented horizontally. The tube bundle assembly 24 further comprises a cooling water inlet nozzle 28 and an outlet nozzle 27 fluidly and physically coupled to an exposed head 29 of the tube bundle assembly positioned outside the condenser shell 31. The head 29 forms an interior channel or flow plenum for receiving and discharging cooling water.

(26) Any type, metallic material, and configuration of tubes 26 suitable for the heat transfer application may be used such as U-bend tubes as illustrated or straight tubes with a return header provided on a distal end of the tube bundle opposite from the head 24. The tube bundle 32 extends internally inside and through the shell 31 of the condenser 23. A two-pass tube arrangement is provided by the U-shaped tubes in which cooling water traverses the width of the condenser shell 31 from side to side twice. Other numbers of passes may be used depending on the heat transfer duty sufficient to condense the steam. The condensed steam is collected in a hotwell in the bottom of the condenser 23 from which a feedwater pump 25 takes suction for returning the feedwater to the steam generator for heating and conversion into steam again, thereby completing the steam cycle water flow loop.

(27) The cooling system 30 includes an air-cooled heat exchanger in the form of an air blast chiller (ABC) 40. In one embodiment, the cooling system 30 defines a cooling water closed flow loop 43 formed by a cooling water pump 66 and flow conduits comprising a cold fluid flow conduit 41 (or cold leg) which receives cooled cooling water discharged by the air blast chiller for condensing steam and a hot fluid flow conduit 42 (or hot leg) which transports heated cooling water from the condenser 23 heated by the steam to the chiller for cooling, thereby completing the cooling cycle flow loop 43. It bears noting that the cooling water flowing inside the closed flow loop 43 is physically and fluidly isolated from the steam flowing through condenser 23. Flow conduits 41, 42 may be formed by piping of suitable diameter and material appropriate for the service conditions encountered.

(28) FIGS. 2-15 show further details of the air blast chiller 40. FIGS. 2 and 9 depict a single cooling cell 54 of the air blast chiller in air cooler nomenclature. A plurality of cooling cells may be physically and fluidly interconnected to form an array of cooling cells such as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The number of cells 54 will be dictated by the cooling capacity of the dry cooling system 30 required adequately cool the cooling water and condense steam in the condenser 23. In one embodiment, the array of cooling cells may be arranged in a single linear row, or multiple rows arranged parallel, perpendicularly, or obliquely to each other. There is no restriction on size or the contour of planform (footprint) of any subunit which is made of a number of cooling cells: The footprint may be rectangular or zagged. As the height of the bottom plenum is guided by the air suction needs of the blowers operating under the unit's roof, dividing the air blast chiller into multiple subunits separated from each other would result in a lower plenum height and thus an overall shorter chiller configuration. The invention is not limited by the cooling cell array configuration.

(29) Referring to FIGS. 1-15, air blast chiller 40 includes a longitudinal axis LA, inlet flow plenum, an outlet inlet flow plenum, and a plurality of tube bundles 49 extending between the inlet flow plenum and the outlet flow plenum. In one preferred embodiment, the outlet flow plenum may be defined by a pair of cooling water outlet headers 47 and the outlet flow plenum may be defined by a pair of inlet headers 48. In other possible embodiments, the outlet flow plenum may comprise a single large header having a vertical longitudinal flow separation baffle extending down the center of the header for the entire length of the header to keep the tube bundle outflows fluidly separated for establishing two cooling water flow circuits or paths through the air blast chiller, as further described herein. The headers in one embodiment may be formed by piping.

(30) The pairs of inlet and outlet headers 48, 47 may each be considered tube bundle section headers disposed at opposing ends of the tube arrays. In one arrangement, the inlet headers 48 may be bottom headers disposed at the bottom 50 of the air blast chiller closest to the ground or other flat horizontal support surface, and the outlet headers 47 may be top headers disposed at the top 51 of the chiller spaced above and distally to the support surface, or vice versa. The headers 47 and 48 may each be considered tube bundle section headers formed of individual sections of flow conduit such as piping which are physically coupled together. An inlet manifold 46 fluidly couples the inlet headers 48 to the hot fluid flow conduit 42 receiving heated water from the condenser 23, and an outlet manifold 45 fluidly couples outlet headers 47 to the cold fluid flow conduit 41 returning cooled cooling water to the condenser. Manifold 46 bifurcates and distributes the heated cooling water flow to each inlet header 48. Manifold 45 collects and combines the cooled cooling water flow from each outlet header 47. A motorized fan or blower 44 is provided which draws ambient cooling air from the environment and discharges/blows the air upwards through the tube bundles 49 for cooling the cooling water. The blower 44 may be quite large in typical fashion, such as for example without limitation as much as 40 feet in diameter.

(31) Each cooling cell 54 of the air blast chiller 40 in one non-limiting embodiment may have a self-supporting triangular or A-frame construction and configuration with a broader bottom base or bottom 50 of the frame than top 51. The A-frame profile of a single cooling unit or cell may comprise two closely spaced proximate parallel outlet headers 47 at the apex of the A-frame and two laterally spaced apart and separated parallel inlet headers 48 at the bottom of the frame disposed distally to each other. The top and bottom headers 47, 48 are parallel to each other. The top outlet headers 47 in one configuration may be laterally spaced apart and closely adjacent as illustrated so that the top headers may be mechanically/structurally fastened together by any suitable fastening method (e.g. tie-plates, struts, etc.) to create a strong truss-like connection at the top. The bottom headers 48 are supported on a steel (or concrete) base frame 52 structure that may also support the blower 44, its motors, gear box and other ancillaries. This construction formed a self-supporting construction. Identical A-frame bundles or cells may be arrayed in a row, each fastened to its contiguous adjoining one via joints 53 located at the ends of each header both at the top and at the bottom. Joints 53 may comprise bolted piping flanges, welded piping connections, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, bolted flanges are preferred.

(32) Each cooling cell 54 of the air blast chiller 40 may be considered to comprise a first half section 55 including a first inlet header 48, a first outlet header 47, and a first tube bundle 49 comprising a plurality of linearly spaced apart heat transfer tubes 57 extending and fluidly coupled between the first inlet and outlet headers. A second half section 56 includes a second inlet header 48, a second outlet header 47, and a second tube bundle 49 also comprising a plurality of linearly spaced apart tubes 57 extending and fluidly coupled between the second inlet and outlet headers. In the A-frame construction, the first half section 55 is arranged angularly at an included acute angle A1 to the second half section 56. In one embodiment, angle A1 may be between 0 and 90 degrees, and in one non-limiting example may be about 60 degrees. Other angles may be used.

(33) It will be appreciated that the first inlet bundle section header, first tube bundle, and first outlet bundle section header form a first cooling water flow circuit or path through the air blast chiller, and the second inlet bundle section header, second tube bundle, and second outlet bundle section header form a second cooling water flow circuit or path through the air blast chiller which is fluidly isolated from the first flow circuit or path in the cooling cell 54. Accordingly, the half sections 55 and 56 are fluidly isolated.

(34) Advantageously, the air blast chiller half sections 55 and 56, each having a substantially flat profile when fabricated in the shop, allows the air blast chiller 44 to be shipped in multiple half section units to the installation site and then field assembled for form the A-frame. Multiple flat individual half sections 55, 56 each having a substantially flat profile comprised of an inlet header 48, tube bundle 49, and outlet header 47 may be horizontally or vertically stacked on a flat bed truck or rail car for shipment. This beneficially facilitates transportation and maneuvering the half sections to the specific erection location on site which in the case of retrofit installations may have serious space and access constrictions. The pair of top headers 47 may then be mechanically coupled together at the site in the manner described herein to erect the A-frame construction. It bears noting that in conventional air cooled condenser designs, this is not possible since brazing or welding of the tube bundles to the tube sheets of a single outlet header must typically be performed in the fabrication shop controlled environment conditions for leak proof joints. Accordingly, the A-frame arrangement must be shop fabricated and the cooler shipped to the installation site already in V-shaped condition, thereby making transport cumbersome and requiring larger field erection equipment. In addition, regional and local traffic laws governing the truck transport of oversize loads often requires additional and costly measures such as a flag vehicle and/or police escort to accompany the transport vehicle.

(35) In alternative embodiments, it will be appreciated that the two cooling water outlet headers 47 may be replaced by a single outlet header having a longitudinally-extending vertical flow separation plate therein which maintains the flow isolation between the first and second cooling water flow circuits or paths. The separate cooling water flow paths whether created by either of the foregoing first and second half section arrangements helps maintain the desired high tubeside cooling water flow velocities with minimal friction loss in comparison to a single outlet header (not including the longitudinal flow separation plate) that allows the tube outlet flows to comingle instead of remaining isolated.

(36) The tube bundles 49 in one embodiment may be shop manufactured straight tube bundles each comprised closely spaced apart parallel tubes 57 aligned in a linear row. Tubes 57 may have an obround or rectangular cross section and are brazed or welded at opposite ends to a tubesheet 60 of a header manifold 61 which is turn is fixedly attached to an to an inlet or outlet header 47, 48. Tubesheet 60 may be flat in one embodiment. The manifold 61 forms a transition of the flat tubesheet to the arcuately curved sidewalls of the headers 47, 48. Manifold 61 may be a generally rectilinear box-like configuration in one embodiment as illustrated with a bell shape in side view (reference FIG. 7) with a narrow end attached to header to avoid interference with the header coupling flanges at the joints 53 and the broader end containing the tube sheet. The tubesheet 60 may contain a plurality of tube penetrations which place the tubes 57 in fluid communication with their respective header manifold and header. In one embodiment, the tubes 57 may include heat transfer fins 57 attached to opposing flat sides 59 of the tubes in opposing directions. When the cooling cell 54 is assembled, the fins of one tube 57 preferably are very closely spaced to the fins of an adjoining tube to ensure airflow through the tubesheet 49 comes into maximum contact with the fins for optimum heat exchange and cooling of the cooling water.

(37) Because of the stiffness of the rectangular tubes 57, the A-frame geometry is sufficiently self-supporting and rigid to meet the governing structural requirements (snow, wind & earthquake) at most sites. However, braces 63 and/or guy wires, frequently used to strengthen tall columns against winds and earthquakes, may be used to suitably brace the A-frame if required.

(38) The design of the air blast chiller 40 as outlined above involves virtually no welding during site construction and erection. The erection of the chiller at the site is essentially a set of rigging, handling, and fastening steps that require no welding in one embodiment when bolted flanged joints 53 are employed, thus significantly reducing the cooling cell assembly time. Furthermore, because every tube bundle and inlet/outlet header assembly (i.e. half section) is installed by fastening, any damaged bundle (e.g. tornado, storm, or seismic damage) can be easily removed and replaced without affecting structurally sound bundle assemblies. Each cooling cell 54 in some constructions may be transported as a unit to the operating site and assembled to adjoining cells via connecting the bolted flanges of outlet and inlet headers 47, 48 described herein.

(39) The headers, manifolds, tubes, flow conduits, and structural supports in one embodiment may preferably be made of an appropriate metallic material suitable for the service conditions.

(40) In one embodiment, each A-frame cooling cell 54 may be served by a single blower 44 which supplies cooling air to the tube bundles 49. Thus a cell is composed of two multi-pass heat exchangers working in parallel which are cooled by blower 44. In other embodiments shown in FIG. 15, a larger single blower 44 may provided ambient cooling air to two or more cells. The cells 54 can be arranged in a tight packed array (see e.g. FIG. 12) so that the entire air blast chiller 40 has a rectangular footprint that is as small as possible. In effect, each cell is a pair of autonomous heat exchangers working in parallel with its counterparts in other cells to render the aggregate heat duty. As such, the cells do not all need to be assembled in a single tight array configuration. Rather, one or more group of cells can be arranged as a stand-alone air blast chiller sub-unit with other sub-units nearby. This ability to deploy the air blast chiller in such modular subunits gives the much needed layout flexibility at those existing operating sites where air blast chillers are to be retrofitted and the available yard space is limited or has an unusual or discontinuous configuration.

(41) Referring to FIGS. 12-14 showing a rectilinear array of cooling cells 54, the cells may be further structurally interconnected and laterally supported by a network of structural lateral braces 63 tied together to provide lateral stability to the array. The braces 63 help to resist wind and seismic loads on the array. Thus the A-frame is laterally restrained at the bottom by supports 52 (see, e.g. FIG. 2) and stayed by the braces 63 and/or guy wires attached to its top headers, if necessary, to withstand design basis wind and earthquake loads. Alternatively, a buttressing structure may be employed.

(42) In some implementations shown in FIG. 11, the cooling cells 54 may be configured and arranged to form a multiple tubeside pass (multi-pass) air blast chiller 40. The multiple passes obtains a well-developed turbulent regime inside the tubes to optimize heat transfer. Typically, four to eight passes may provide the optimal balance between the required pumping power of cooling water pump 66 and a sufficiently high flow velocity to maximize the overall heat transfer coefficient, and to prevent freezing up of water at sites located in cold climates.

(43) As depicted in FIG. 11, a linear series of cooling cells 54 are arranged in end to end relationship as illustrated in which the inlet and outlet headers 48, 47 are all physically coupled together at the joints 53. To create the multi-pass flow pattern, however, not every set of inlet or outlet headers of each cell are in fluid communication in the adjoining inlet/outlet headers of an adjoining cell in order to create the cooling water flow pattern indicated by the directional flow arrows. Accordingly, the cooling water does not flow directly and in a linear path through either the inlet headers 48 or outlet headers 47 from one end of the array receiving heated cooling water to the other end of the array discharging chilled cooling water to the condenser 23. In one such non-limiting multi-pass arrangement as shown, a flow partition plate 63 may be installed at the joints 53 between the inlet headers 48 between passes 1 to 2, passes 3 to 4, and passes 5 to 6. Similarly, flow partition plates 64 may be installed at the joints between outlet headers 47 between passes 2 to 3 and passes 5 to 6. This arrangement causes the flow of cooling water to travel in both counterflow and co-flow with the blower cooling air which circulates upwards through the tube bundle array. The free ends of the outlet headers 47 at the ends of the array (not connected to an adjoining outlet header) may be closed by blind flanges 65 of another component to close the ends. In the tubeside multi-pass arrangement, some of the inlet and outlet headers 48, 47 according may reverse roles depending on the direction of the cooling water flow. As an example, the inlet headers 48 of pass 1 receive the heated cooling water from the hot fluid flow conduit 42 and condenser 23, while the inlet headers 48 of pass 6 act as outlet headers and are fluidly coupled to the cold fluid flow conduit 41 to return chilled water to the condenser. Other arrangement of flow partition plates and flow schemes may be used.

(44) The ability to create multi-pass flow patterns provides considerable flexibility in the arrangement and configuration of the array. Advantageously, the tubeside multi-pass flow arrangement maximizes the amount of heat that may be extracted from the ambient cooling air delivered by the blower 44. In some embodiments, using limited quantities of conditioning water introduced as a fine mist spray in the inlet bell of the blower 44 during abnormally hottest hours in the summer would, in most cases, ameliorate the condenser pressure rise driving it to a plant's design basis value. Other methods of cooling augmentation during unusually high ambient temperature such as use of chilled water from another source such as a cooling tower or other can be used.

(45) Various modifications of the air blast chiller 40 described herein may be made in various embodiments and implementation. For example, the two outlet header 47 configuration at the top 51 of the A-frame while preferred to maintain high tubeside flow velocities may nonetheless may be replaced with a single outlet header in some less preferred but acceptable embodiments dependent on the expected service conditions.

(46) In some embodiments contemplated, the tube bundles 49 of the cooling cell 54 may be instead be arranged in a V shape (see, e.g. FIG. 16) which is obverse of the A-frame shape illustrated and described above. In such an arrangement, a structural frame 70 may be necessary and provided to maintain and structurally stabilized the inverted V shape. The inlet and outlet headers 48/47 may be at the top or bottom of the cooling cell 54 depending on the flow direction selected. In the V shape arrangement, the fan 44 works by flow induction and is located at the top of the cooling cell to draw ambient cooling air inwards and upwards through the tube bundles 49 (see direction airflow arrows) in lieu of blasting cooling air directly through the bundles in the A-frame arrangement (compare FIG. 9). It bears noting that both the A frame or frame V advantageously shape reduces the system height requirements.

(47) In another geometric variation, the single A-shape of a cooling cell 54 may be replaced by a double-A frame configuration as shown in FIG. 15. The four tube bundles 49 are cooled by a single cooling fan or blower 44 centrally positioned between each A frame. Because the four tube bundles provide the same tube cooling surface arear as two taller bundles in the single A frame arrangement, the double A frame will significantly reduce the bundle height and overall vertical clearance requirements which may be advantageous particularly for air blast chiller system retrofit installations for existing operating power plants. In some embodiments contemplated where available vertical clearance may vary across the installation site, a combination of single and double A frame cooling cells 54 may be used, thereby still providing the equivalent tube heat transfer surface area for the required cooling load.

(48) The adoption of any of the above variations will be dictated by the site specific conditions, among them local wind patterns, earthquake resistance demands, size limitations of the air blast chiller, etc. The foregoing approaches provide significant design flexibility especially for retrofit air blast chiller installations.

(49) Air Cooled Condenser Embodiment

(50) The most common example of a large air cooled heat exchanger used in power plants is the so-called Air Cooled Condenser (ACC) discussed above which is used to directly condense a power plant's sub-atmospheric exhaust steam exiting the lower pressure section of the steam turbine using ambient cooling air after all usable work has been extracted to produce electricity. Although in some situations air blast chillers may offer some advantages as noted above, it may be desirable in other applications to utilize an ACC instead.

(51) Because of the severe limitations in the heat transfer rates that can be coaxed from an air cooled heat exchanger, the ACC is a large structure. The direct dry cooling system ACCs are typically large installations with footprints that may well exceed 100,000 square feet, often much more. In practically all cases, shop fabricated tube bundles, structural frames, headers, etc., must be welded in situ at the construction site to erect the unit. The welding and associated non-destructive examination of the welds represents a large fraction of the total site construction effort and are sometimes difficult without the ability to rely on shop fabrication conditions due to ambient inclement weather conditions particularly during season extremes. Largely because of the extensive site fit up, precision alignments, and welding required for making the tube to header, header to header, and other field welds of a conventional ACC, the cost of site construction often rivals the total cost of capital equipment used in the ACC. FIG. 17 shows typical welding locations required to erect a cooling cell of a conventional ACC.

(52) The high site construction cost has, in many cases, contributed to making the ACC a financially non-viable approach to dissipate a power plant's waste heat forcing the plants to rely on a natural water source and possibly a cooling tower. A commercially non-competitive ACC technology which renders direct rejection of the plant's waste heat to the air commercially unaffordable poses a significant problem for those locales where the aquatic life in the natural water source is threatened by the thermal pollution from the plant, or where the water source is drying up and is simply not available.

(53) According to another aspect of the present invention, an air-cooled heat exchanger in the form of an air cooled condenser (ACC) 110 is provided which in one non-limiting application may operate in a direct air-cooled dry cooling system adapted for use in condensing turbine exhaust steam of a power generation plant using ambient cooling air. This air-cooled heat exchanger may be substantially similar in configuration and design to the air blast chiller 40 (ABC) described above and shown in FIGS. 1-16, but instead is arranged to operate as an air cooled condenser 110. This innovative design concepts advantageously provides the same benefits of reducing time (and cost) of manufacturing and field installation of an ACC, similar to ABC 40 described above.

(54) One key distinguishing feature of an ACC is that instead of passing circulating cooling water through a heat exchanger in the water cooled surface condenser (WCC) or like in an ABC system, the turbine exhaust steam is directly routed from the turbine through ACC inlet headers (e.g. steam headers) and finned tubes where the steam is condensed by blasting ambient cooling air across the tubes. The cooling air extracts the latent heat of the exhaust steam in the ACC which condenses inside the tubes and is collected in outlet headers which return the condensate via pumped flow back to the balance of plant Rankine cycle equipment for reheating in a nuclear or non-nuclear (e.g. fossil fueled) steam generator. An ACC operates under vacuum just as a conventional surface condenser does due to the condensing steam inside the tubes. In some embodiments, air and other non-condensable gases that might enter the steam from several external sources (e.g. leaks through the system boundary, from the steam turbine, etc.) may be evacuated in a separate section of the ACC called the secondary section, which is connected to vacuum pumps or air ejectors that exhaust the non-condensable gases to the atmosphere.

(55) In various embodiments, the present ACC 110 can be used to handle the entire condensing needs of a power plant, or alternatively may be used in concert with other cooling systems such as a cooling tower and/or a separate ABC. Such combinations, known in the industry as parallel condensing may be deployed where a plant's service conditions so warrant such an arrangement. Accordingly, the ABC 40 and ACC 110 disclosed herein provide a tremendous amount of design and equipment flexibility to fulfill a power plant's steam condensing needs. Both the ABC 40 and ACC 110 provide the same benefits disclosed above such as shop fabricated, welded, and non-destructive tested cooling cell half sections each comprised of an inlet header, outlet header, and a tube bundle comprising a plurality of linearly spaced apart finned tubes fluidly coupled between the first inlet and outlet headers. Other benefits include a cooling cell weld-free coupling system to fluidly connect multiple cooling cells together in the field in a manner which minimizes or eliminates field welds, and flat transport condition of the half sections to expedite shipping and maneuvering of the equipment to the installation site to name a few of the advantages.

(56) FIG. 18 is a flow diagram of a direct air-cooled dry cooling system 100 according to the present disclosure in a steam condensing application of a power plant operating on a Rankine cycle. The electric power generating portion of the plant shown in FIG. 1 is essentially the same as for an indirect air-cooled dry cooling system 30 with the exception that the surface condenser 23 and heat exchanger tube bundle assembly 24 therein are eliminated entirely and replaced functionally by the air cooled condenser 110 which condenses the turbine exhaust steam. In some embodiments, the air cooled condenser 110 may also be incorporated in the power plant to either supplant or supplement another type evaporative system such as a cooling tower and/or an air blast chiller. The steam turbine 22 is disposed in and fluidly coupled to the Rankine cycle flow loop 101 which circulates a primary heat transfer medium such as water capable of undergoing a phase change from a liquid to a vapor (i.e. steam).

(57) In one embodiment, the dry cooling system 100 forms an integral portion of the Rankine cycle and is fluidly coupled to the Rankine cycle flow loop 101 as part of the steam generator feedwater system between the turbine 22 and steam generator 121. Cooling system 100 defines a steam-cooling closed flow loop 120 of the Ranking cycle flow loop 101 in which the air cooled condenser 110 is fluidly coupled between the low pressure exhaust section of the turbine 22 and the feedwater pump 25 as shown in FIG. 18. The air cooled condenser 110 is therefore arranged to receive exhaust steam from a steam turbine.

(58) The cooling flow loop 120 of dry cooling system 100 may be formed by a hot fluid flow conduit 102 (or hot leg) which in this embodiment receives and conveys exhaust steam from the steam turbine 22 to the air cooled condenser 110 for cooling and condensing, and a cold fluid flow conduit 103 (or cold leg) which in this embodiment receives cooled steam cycle condensate (i.e. condensed steam) discharged by the air cooled condenser 110 that flows back to the feedwater pump 25 which takes suction from the air cooled condenser 110 and flow conduit 103.

(59) Since the air cooled condenser 110 may be located a distance from the steam turbine 22 and outdoors, it will be appreciated that intermediate booster pumps may be provided as necessary between the air cooled condenser 110 and feedwater pump 25 to convey condensate back to the feedwater pump. From the feedwater pump 25, the condensate which may also be referred to as feedwater in the art is pumped back to the steam generator 121 which heats and evaporates the feedwater forming steam which then flows back to the steam turbine 22 to complete the cycle.

(60) The tube bundles 49 of the air cooled condenser 110 emanate from each of the two top steam inlet headers 47 at the apex of the ACC, and respectively slope downwards to two condensate outlet headers 48 at the bottom. Steam is delivered to the inlet headers 47 and condenses as it traverses downward through the length of the tubes of the tube bundles. The inside or tubeside of tubes 57 in tube bundles 49 therefore contains steam cycle water which experiences two phases of water in different parts of the bundlessteam in the upper sections and liquid condensate in the lower sections. The bottom headers 48 serve as the repository of the condensate which is collected from the tube bundles 49. The hot and cold fluid flow conduits 102, 103 may be formed by piping of suitable diameter and material appropriate for the service conditions encountered. The top manifold 45 receives steam hot fluid flow conduit 102, and bifurcates and distributes the steam flow to each top inlet header 47. The bottom manifold 46 collects and combines the cooled condensate flow from each bottom outlet header 48 which then enters cold flow conduit 103 for transport back to the plant. The ACC 110 is typically situated outdoors while the balance of power plant equipment (e.g. steam turbine, electric generator, steam generator, etc.) is usually either partially or fully enclosed inside a building structure for protection from the elements and operation.

(61) Other than a change in service conditions and application for receiving and condensing steam in lieu of cooling circulating cooling water like air blast chiller 40, the air cooled condenser 110 may be similar in structure and construction to the A-frame (or alternative V-frame) air blast chiller 40 already described above. Accordingly, general reference can be made to FIGS. 2-16 for structural details while recognizing that the hot fluid is instead steam and the cold fluid is cooled and condensed steam condensate in the present air cooled condenser cooling system 100.

(62) The steam inlet headers 47 and condensate outlet headers 48 in cooling cells 54 form a continuous open flow conduit from one end of the cooling cell array to the opposite end. This allows both steam and condensate to flow through the entire length of the headers in a single straight linear flow path through the headers from one end of the ACC 110 to the opposite end.

(63) As shown in FIG. 18, the dry cooling system 100 also contains a steam inlet manifold 145 fluidly coupled to the first and second inlet headers 47 that bifurcates the steam flow to each cooling cell half section 55 and 56, and a condensate outlet manifold 146 which collects and combines condensate from the first and second outlet headers 48. Depending on the arrangement and number of cooling cells 54 provided in a parallel flow arrangement of some embodiments, it will be appreciated that several manifolds 145, 146 may be used as needed.

(64) It further bears noting that the induced draft flow arrangement of FIG. 16 and dual A-frame construction of FIG. 15 may also be used for the ACC 110 embodiment of the present invention instead of the direct flow arrangement seen in FIGS. 2 and 9 in which the blower 44 blows cooling air upwards through the tube bundles 49. In the induced flow arrangement, the blower is on top of the cooling cells and draws cooling air upwards through the tube bundles 49. The induced or direct flow arrangements may be used with the dual A-frame construction also of FIG. 15.

(65) Other features of the air cooled condenser 110 are as follows. The cooling cell 54 modules may be arranged adjacent to each other with the contiguous header 47, 48 ends bolted to each other similar to air blast chiller 40 with multiple cooling cells served by one blower 44 (see, e.g. FIG. 15). No field welding is required to assemble adjoining cooling cells, or the tube bundles or their respective headers in each cooling cell 54. The tubes in the A-frame ACC structures are sized such that the structure has sufficient flexural stiffness to enable it being installed on the fan deck and fastened to it by a set of bolts. No welding of the ACC proper to the deck structure is required. The steam duct used to deliver the exhaust steam to the ACC is usually quite large in a conventional ACC, often exceeding 20 feet in diameter requiring at-site fabrication. In the present ACC 110, the single large steam duct may be replaced by several smaller diameter cooling cell steam ducts or headers 47 which can be shop fabricated, more easily shipped, and assembled at the site with minimal or no welding. Thus, for example, one conventional 24 ft. diameter main duct is replaced with several smaller 12 ft. diameter ducts of parallel flow cooling cells 54 thereby yielding an equivalent flow area. The ACC 110 can be installed as one large unit, or subdivided into a number of sub-units, each comprising a certain number of cells if the limitations in the available land area around the plant so warrant. The smallest sub-unit is a single cooling cell 54 served by a single blower. The ability to use separate parcels of land with ACC sub-units installed in each parcel working in parallel to render the required heat duty is also a unique feature of the present invention.

(66) While the foregoing description and drawings represent preferred or exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that various additions, modifications and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope and range of equivalents of the accompanying claims. In particular, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other forms, structures, arrangements, proportions, sizes, and with other elements, materials, and components, without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. In addition, numerous variations in the methods/processes as applicable described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. One skilled in the art will further appreciate that the invention may be used with many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, sizes, materials, and components and otherwise, used in the practice of the invention, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements without departing from the principles of the present invention. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof, and not limited to the foregoing description or embodiments. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention.