Types of Dry Cooling Towers
There are two main configurations:
- Direct Dry Cooling (A-frame):
- The steam from the power plant turbine is piped directly to the large finned-tube bundles in the tower.
- The steam condenses back into water (condensate) inside the tubes as air cools it.
- This design is also known as Heller System or Air-Cooled Condenser (ACC).
- Indirect Dry Cooling:
- Uses two separate loops.
- First Loop: Steam is condensed using water in a conventional surface condenser.
- Second Loop: This warm water is then pumped to the dry cooling tower to be cooled down before returning to the condenser.
- This adds a step but offers more flexibility and control.