A study on the effects of wind on the air intake flow rate of a cooling tower .2. Wind wall study

Cooling towers operating in western Canada are often subject to adverse weather, which can hinder their performance. In particular, during winter months, cooling towers may experience strong winds and sub-freezing temperatures, which can lead to large ice formations at the windward intake. These ice accumulations may be partly attributed to increased flow through the windward intake. Part 1 of this study showed that strong winds can increase the windward intake flow rate by as much as 45%. The present study examines the use of wind walls placed upstream of the cooling tower to control the flow rate entering the intakes. A 1:25 scale model cooling tower was tested in the simulated atmospheric boundary layer of a wind tunnel to investigate the effect of different wind wall configurations. The results show that a simple wind wall placed upstream of the windward intake can be used to balance the flow rate into the two intakes.