Thermal performance assessment of two side-by-side natural draft dry cooling towers with circular and elliptical periphery radiator arrangements

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Faculty of Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

Abstract

Wind significantly deteriorates thermal performance of natural draft dry cooling towers (NDDCTs). Although various approaches have been proposed to enhance the performance of single and multiple cooling towers, the effect of modifying the geometric arrangement of the radiators has not been comprehensively investigated. In this study, the thermal performance of two side-by-side natural draft dry cooling towers with an elliptical radiator arrangement was numerically compared with that of a conventional circular arrangement using three-dimensional CFD simulations. Results revealed that the presence of an adjacent tower leads to a reduction in the heat transfer rate of each individual tower compared to the isolated (single-tower) condition, highlighting the significant impact of flow interference between the towers. However, at wind speeds of 7 and 10 m/s, the elliptical arrangement outperformed the circular layout. Under high-wind conditions, the elliptical tower improves the thermal efficiency by approximately 18.2% to 29.5% compared to the conventional circular tower. Detailed flow field analysis revealed that the enhanced passage of warm air over the rear radiators in the elliptical arrangement increased the average temperature gradient along the lateral surfaces of these radiators, thereby improving their heat transfer rate. The optimal radiator arrangement depends on the prevailing wind conditions at the site and plays a critical role in improving the thermal performance of the cooling towers.

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Amirkabir Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Volume 57, Issue 10
in progress
January 2026

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