From water model studies of two types of power station condenser, it has been deduced that the erosion of condenser tube inlets is due to a non-uniform inlet water-box flow distribution which results in damaging impingement flows in tube entries.
The impingement flow can be reduced either by fitting bell-mouths to the tubes, or by deflection of the cooling water flow at the condenser inlet to prevent it crossing the faces of tubes.
Some assessment has been made of the pressure losses in tube inlets, and these losses have been translated into drops in operational efficiency.
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References
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KozirevS. P. ‘Cavitation and cavitation abrasive wear caused by the flow of liquid carrying abrasive particles over rough surfaces’, B. H. R. A. 1965 (No. 839, Feb.) (Translation from the Russian).
