The working principle of a power plant cooling tower is to use the heat exchange between water and air to reduce the temperature of the cooling water. A large amount of heat is generated during the power generation process of the power plant, and the heat must be dissipated into the air through the cooling towers to maintain the normal operation of the unit and extend the operating life. life of the equipment.
Power plant cooling towers are generally divided into two types: open type and closed type. The open cooling tower sprays cooling water onto the filler and uses a fan to blow outside air through the filler, so that the water and air exchange heat, thereby lowering the temperature some water. The enclosed cooling tower circulates cooling water through a systemof closed pipes, passes through the radiator outside the pipe, dissipates the heat into the air, then returns to the generator for recycling.
Whether it is an open or closed cooling tower, the basic principle is to use the heat exchange between water and air to reduce the temperature of the cooling water. The efficiency of this heat exchange depends on many factors such as ambient temperature, humidity, water flow, type of load, etc.
What is the function of cooling towers in thermal power plants?
In fact, these “big chimneys” in power plants are not chimneys that emit exhaust gases as we understand them. Its name is cooling tower. The power plants we usually see today are essentially thermal power plants. When producing thermal energy, the unit requires a large amount of watercooling to cool to ensure the smooth running of electricity production. However, without these cooling towers, a large amount of water would be consumed every day for heat dissipation and cooling.
So why do cooling towers emit “smoke”? After cooling the device with cold water. Water vapor is produced when the water in the cooling tower heats up. Another function of the cooling tower is to recycle water without wasting water resources. This uses the difference in air density inside and outside the cooling tower to form a pressure difference, and then performs ventilation. Most of the water vapor and air cooled to form water droplets and fell into the tank. The water vapor which did not have time to cool escaped from the “large chimneye” and formed the “smoke” that we see, which in reality is. It's just water vapor.
So why is it designed like that? Like a big speaker played backwards! In fact, previous power plants also had cooling towers. At the beginning of the design, all shapes were tried, including straight and diamond shapes. I finally settled on this big speaker look. That’s also a lot of factors to take into account. Since power plant cooling towers are usually built at a height of around 160 to 200 meters, this style is the most economical and has a stable structure.
The top is small and the bottom is thick, which can accelerate the flow of Ke Ying and allow the air to discharge as much heat as possible. To make water use more efficient, this “chimney” does not eliminate waste gases, but the finenext to her does it! Do not mistake yourself.
The cooling tower of a thermal power plant is a device used to cool the heat generated during the electricity generation process. In thermal power plants, thermal energy is usually generated by burning fuels (such as coal, natural gas, etc.), and then the thermal energy is converted into steam through a boiler to drive a turbogenerator to produce electricity. In this process, burningThe combustion of materials will generate a large amount of heat, and the operation of the generator will also generate a large amount of heat, which needs to be dissipated through the cooling tower to maintain the normal operation of the equipment.
Specifically, the cooling tower of a thermal power plant mainly reduces the water temperature through water circulation and heat dissipationby evaporation, thus dissipating heat. The water from the cooling tower will be transported to the top of the tower by the water pipe, then atomized into small water droplets through the nozzle and enter inside the tower with the airflow . Inside the tower, the water droplets are in full contact with the air, dissipating heat through evaporation, dissipating heat, and the water temperature gradually drops. Through the wrapping layer inside the tower body, the contact area between water droplets and air is increased, thereby improving the heat dissipation effect. The cooled water returns to the pool again, is pumped by the circulation pump, and then enters the tower body again for circulation cooling. Through this cyclical process, the cooling tower can dissipate heat to ensure the normal operation of thermal power plant equipment.