A useful formulas to describe the performance of a steam condenser in off-design conditions

The article presents relations for determining the performance of a steam condenser in off-design operating conditions. To determine some steam condenser characteristics that are simplified, but useful for analyzing steam cycles of a power unit, a model validated on the basis of factory characteristics and measurement data was used. Formulas presented in the article-for given values of cooling water temperature at the condenser inlet, the cooling water mass flow rate, the inlet steam mass flow rate and reference data-determine the cooling water temperature at the outlet and the pressure in the steam condenser. The model can be used to analyze the operation of cooling systems in off-design conditions and to optimize the way the condenser works with the low-pressure (LP) part of the turbine and all steam cycles. The two proposed relations make it possible to determine the condenser performance easily and with acceptable accuracy. The correctness of the proposed relations was verified on the basis of data obtained from the condenser simulator, measurements obtained from the Distributed Control System (DCS), and data provided in the literature. •Universal relations for describing the performance of a condenser are provided.•The correctness of the proposed relations was confirmed.•A comprehensive set of steam condenser characteristics is presented.