Calculation study of an efficient screw-type steam condenser

BACKGROUND: The article examines steam condensation in a power plant condenser. The steam condenser is an indispensable cold source in the thermodynamic process of a power plant and the condenser is a large, metal-intensive component that determines the overall dimensions of the power plant. A new solution used to increase performance of a round steam condenser is the proposed design of a condenser tube bundle, a screw-type tube bundle for a steam condenser. Oval heat exchange tubes of the proposed bundle are helically twisted. METHODS: The article calculates a tube bundle for a steam condenser with different out-of-roundness and swirl parameters using a new algorithm of nodal bundle calculation. The condenser tube bundle is broken down into condensation layers as the steam moves from the periphery to the center. For each layer, the heat transfer ratio, condensation surface area, temperature factors and the condensed heat are calculated. RESULTS: The calculation results are compared with tube bundle performance of a steam condenser with linear cooling tubes. CONCLUSIONS: The calculation shows that the maximum effect is achieved by the helical twisting and the reshaping of the circular heat exchange tube to an out-of-round one.