Background. The formulation and solution of the direct problem of heat and mass transfer in a chimney cooling tower are known, considering the uneven distribution of cooled water and cooling air over the cross-section of the cooling tower. The influence of the above-noted unevenness on the efficiency of cooling the circulating water has been analyzed. At the same time, possible causes of uneven air distribution in the cross-section are not considered. One of the main causes of uneven air distribution over the cross-section is the wind speed and direction. The relevant and logical development of studies of heat and mass transfer in a chimney cooling tower is consideration and modeling the influence of wind direction and speed when formulating direct and inverse problems of heat and mass transfer in cooling towers of thermal power plants and nuclear power plants.
Materials and methods. The study of the influence of wind speed and direction on the distribution of air flow in the cross-section of a cooling tower has been carried out using the ANSYS Fluent package. Heat and mass transfer in the cooling tower is described based on heat and material balances presented in the form of matrix equations. The results of the study have been tested using operational data for a cooling tower with an irrigation area of 4000 m2.
Results. The authors have obtained a solution of the direct problem of the influence of wind speed and direction on the uneven distribution of air flows in the cross section of a cooling tower. The reasons of the decline of the efficiency of cooling circulating water due to above-noted this unevenness are shown. The methods to reduce the above-noted unevenness by means of selective control of the degree of closing of air windows (transoms) are presented. An inverse problem of diagnosing the condition of cooling towers is formulated.
Conclusions. The proposed calculation method for a cooling tower, which includes an assessment of the unevenness of air supply and an assessment of the reduction of the efficiency of cooling the circulating water due to the above-noted unevenness, allows us to move on to the inverse problem of diagnosing the technical condition of the circulating cooling system, which includes a cooling tower as its main element.