The Influence of Airflow Inlet Region Modifications on the Local Efficiency of Natural Draft Cooling Tower Operation

We present the influence of the cooling tower airflow inlet region modifications at the Šoštanj 4 thermal power plant on cooling tower local efficiency.Local efficiency change was estimated based on temperature fields of drift eliminators before and after the reconstruction of the cooling tower.Temperature fields were measured with thermal vision method.The local reduction of cooling tower efficiency was analyzed based on phenomenological relations of heat transfer obtained from the selected vertical segment of the cooling tower.The characteristic influence that the reconstruction had on the temperature field was detected on the circumference of the cooling tower.The efficiency reduction was the highest on the periphery of the cooling tower and in particular section it peaked at 2%, while in most part of the area it was below 0.5%.The presented measurement and analysis method enables the estimation of changes in the local efficiency of heat transfer in cooling towers.