| Title | Comparison of Wind Pressures Using Wind Tunnel Test (WTT), the Prescriptive Approach (NSCP 2015), and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in the Case of Cooling Towers for Geothermal Power Plants |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ernesto Q. MALICAD, Jr., Virgilio G. LAPUZ, Jr., Martin Jude V. LACAMBRA |
| Year | 2020 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | cooling tower, wind modeling, analytical method, wind tunnel test, computational fluid dynamics, NSCP, channeling effect |
| Abstract | Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is a global geothermal energy industry pioneer and the recognized world leader in wet steam field technology. EDC is the Philippines’ largest verticallyintegrated geothermal developer, delivering 1,457.8 MW of clean and renewable energy to the country. EDC continues to diversify it’s renewable energy portfolio through investments in solar, hydropower and wind power projects in the Philippines. EDC has four (4) geothermal business units located in Leyte, Albay-Sorsogon, Kidapawan and Southern Negros, Philippines with a combined geothermal capacity of 1,169MW. EDC’s geothermal sites, especially Leyte and Albay-Sorsogon are located along the path of the country’s strongest typhoons. Its Leyte and Albay-Sorsogon sites have been hit by recent super typhoons like Typhoon “Haiyan†(Yolanda) in 2013 with one-minute sustained winds of 315 kph and Typhoon “Glenda†in 2013 with one-minute sustained winds of 260 kph, respectively, that caused widespread damage to its power plant facilities particularly the cooling towers. Cooling towers are an essential integral part of the geothermal power plants the damage of which can result to extended shut down of operations. This prompted EDC to enhance and strengthen major structures such as cooling towers, control buildings, power plant buildings, and warehouses for a basic wind speed of 300 kph. To further enhance engineering judgment, wind modeling studies for cooling towers in the abovementioned sites Tongonan Power Plant in Leyte and Palayan Power Plant in Albay-Sorsogon – Palayan were commissioned in mid-2016 with objectives (1) to determine the localized wind forces taking into consideration the topography, geometrical features of the structures, regional wind climate analysis; (2) to confirm the adequacy of enhancements made like the new resin transfer molding (RTM) fan stacks and additional reinforcements installed on the cooling tower structures; and (3) to determine the effectiveness of proposed wind fences in reducing wind speeds. The study involved major steps and scopes such as the conduct of a regional wind climate analysis, wind tunnel test (WTT), computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and analytical method referring to the provisions of the National Structural Code of the Philippines (NSCP 2015). This paper discusses the results of the wind modeling studies considering the three (3) methods in determining wind pressures using non-directional wind speeds including their limitations and advantages. The results were interpolated to come up with general results and conclusions. Such initiative is geared towards long term savings and preventing extended forced outages of power plants due to the potential damage caused by super typhoons. |