AC-4 Design Methods which Reduce or Eliminate the Inert Blanketing in Air-Cooled Condensers
In an air-cooled condenser which is built according to conventional principles, it is possible under some conditions to have a “backflow” of noncondensed vapor from the rear header into the frontal rows. This can cause an accumulation of noncondensables in the tubes which results in a loss of condenser efficiency. Corrosion damage, unstable operation, extensive tube stresses, and strong subcooling of the condensate (possibly leading to its solidification) are also adverse side effects of noncondensables blanketing. This report presents a description of design methods for solving this problem. Several calculation methods are presented which can determine suitable measures to prevent the reduction of the thermal performance and the accompanying disturbances.