TA-23-C086 – Condensation-Evaporation Modeling of Drift from a Mechanical Cooling Tower

A numerical study for investigating the phase change behavior of a drift from a mechanical draft cooling tower is presented. A k-ε turbulence model, discrete phase model, species transport equations, and a heat-mass exchange model are solved simultaneously to capture the heat and mass transfer effects of a drift condensing and evaporating effects. The simulation result is compared to an available real scale test data and its limitation is also discussed. A parametric study is carried out by varying the ambient dry bulb temperature, ambient relative humidity, wind speed, liquid droplet diameter, and the drift amount. It is found that by combining the evaporation and condensation models, a drift phase change phenomenon is accurately depicted. A parametric study reveals that wind speed impact is affected by the ambient temperature and the number of liquid droplets and their size play a critical role in the phase change phenomenon.