Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are used to understand complex thermal flow regimes in power plants. The thermal power plant may be divided into different subsectors and the CFD analysis applied to critical equipment/components - mainly different types of heat exchangers - which are of crucial significance for efficient and trouble free long-term operation of the plant.
Overview
The thermal power station subsystem involves multiphase flow, phase transformation and complex chemical reaction associated with conjugate heat transfer.
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Methods
Finite difference method
Finite difference method describes the unknowns of the flow problem by means of point samples at the node points of a grid co-ordinate lines. Taylor series expansions are used to generate finite difference approximations of derivatives in terms of point samples at each grid point and its immediate neighbours. Those derivatives appearing in the governing equations are replaced by finite differences yielding an algebraic equation.
Finite element method
Finite element method uses piece wise functions valid on elements to describe the local variations of unknown flow variables. Here also a set of algebraic equations are generated to determine unknown co-efficients.
Finite volume method
Finite volume method is probably the most popular method used for numerical discretization in CFD. This method is similar in some ways to the finite difference method. This approach involves the discretization of the spatial domain into finite control volumes. The governing equations in their differential form are integrated over each control volume. The resulting integral conservation laws are exactly satisfied for each control volume and for the entire domain, which is a distinct advantage of the finite volume method. Each integral term is then converted into a discrete form, thus yielding discretised equations at the centroids, or nodal points, of the control volumes.
Application of CFD in thermal power plants
Low NOx burner design
When fossil fuels are burned, Nitric oxide and Nitrogen dioxide are produced. These pollutants initiate reactions which result in production of ozone and acid rain. NOx formation takes place due to (1) High temperature combustion i.e. thermal NOx and (2)Nitrogen bound to fuel i.e. fuel NOx and which is insignificant. In the majority of cases the level of thermal NOx can be reduced by lowering flame temperature. This can be done by modifying the burner to create a larger (hence lower temperature) flame, in turn reducing the NOx formation. The role of CFD analysis is vital for design and analysis of such low NOx burners. Many available CFD tools, such as CFX, Fluent, Star CCM++ with different models as RNG k-ε turbulence models with hybrid and CONDIF upwind differencing schemes has been used for analysis purpose and the data obtained with these analysis helped in modifying the burner design in turn lowering the adverse effect on the environment due to NOx formation during combustion.
CFD analysis of economiser
The economiser is a crucial component for efficient performance of a thermal power plant. It is a non-steaming type of heat exchanger which is placed in the convective zone of the furnace. It takes the heat energy of the flue gases for heating the feed water before it enters the boiler drum. The thermal efficiency/boiler efficiency largely depends on the performance of the economiser. CFD analysis helps in optimizing the thermal performance of the economiser by analysing the pressure, velocity and temperature distribution, and to identify the critical areas for further improvement with the result obtained by CFD analysis.