Types of Dry Cooling Towers
There are two main configurations:
- Direct Dry Cooling (A-frame):
- The steam from the power plant’s turbine condenser is piped directly to the large A-frame finned-tube bundles.
- Fans blow air over the bundles, condensing the steam directly back into water (condensate).
- This system is also known as an Air-Cooled Condenser (ACC).
- Indirect Dry Cooling (Heller System):
- Uses a secondary cooling loop. The steam is condensed in a surface condenser using cool water.
- This warm water is then pumped to a natural draft dry cooling tower (which looks like a large, solid-shell hyperboloid tower) to be cooled by air before returning to the condenser.