Abstract
Natural draft dry cooling tower (NDDCT) are a favourable choice for the cooling system of concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) plants located in arid regions with high solar radiation. However, additional cooling towers may be required as the capacity of the CSP plants is increased. The geometrical arrangement of the NDDCTs is an influencing parameter on the thermo-flow performance of the entire system. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tower spacing and crosswind velocity on the performance of three short NDDCTs in an in-line layout. The results showed that there is a noticeable interaction between the towers at different tower spacings and crosswind conditions. In the no-wind condition, the cooling performance of both towers is reduced with a small tower-spacing, as this limits the air supply and the airflow across the heat exchangers in both towers. However, in windy conditions, the redirection of flow due to the layout of the cooling towers can improve the performance of the towers. The performance of the middle and leeward tower is improved compared to the windward tower. This improvement becomes weaker with increasing tower spacing.
