Shape Optimization of Power Plant Ducting Using CFD

Power plant ducting generally designed with simple shapes has to undergo many changes of shape to accommodate interfacing equipment associated with plant operation leading to higher pressure drop, higher power consumption and flow maldistribution zones having higher or lower velocities. To redress this situation, baffles, guide vanes and other internals are used to streamline the flow through ducts, especially in bends. A basic disadvantage in coal fired plants of using baffles is that they get punctured / eroded due to impact of high velocity ash particles in flue gas ducting, and the effectiveness of baffles is lost in short duration. To overcome the above disadvantages, a new method is developed to change the shape of the duct in such a way that a more streamlined flow is maintained across any cross section. The velocity profile, obtained using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations, across the cross-section is examined at several locations along the duct. Wherever high velocity compared to average velocity is found, the cross-section is increased and where the velocity is low, the cross-section is reduced. A new grid is created through the revised cross-section and a fresh CFD analysis is made to identify zones of flow maldistribution. The flow simulation is done in an iterative manner, alternately calculating the flow domain and modifying the local cross-section based on the local velocity distribution. The method has been found to be more robust and led, after a few iterations, to a shape of the duct which resulted in a significant reduction in the pressure drop without using any baffles or inserts.