The condenser performance is strongly affected by the tube arrangement. The steam pressure drop in the tube bundle influences the condenser back pressure, which is an important indicator of the condenser performance used to compare different condenser tube arrangements. The condenser shell side pressure drop is studied here using the mechanical energy loss of the steam flow in the condensers. The mechanical energy loss is due to the flow resistance of the tube bundle and the steam condensation. Three typical tube arrangements are analyzed numerically. The results show that a higher condenser shell side pressure drop for different tube arrangements always corresponds to a larger mechanical energy loss. The mechanical energy loss is mainly in the periphery of the tube bundle, indicating that the flow pattern and the mechanical energy losses are markedly determined by the tube bundle profile. The condenser shell side pressure drop can be reduced by reducing the total mechanical energy loss when the steam enters the tube bundle more uniformly. Thus, a well designed tube arrangement will reduce the mechanical energy loss, and also the shell side pressure drop.power plant condenser, tube arrangement, shell side pressure drop, mechanical energy loss
Citation:Zeng H, Meng J A, Li Z X. Analysis of condenser shell side pressure drop based on the mechanical energy loss.
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