ABSTRACT
The knowledge of equipment performance is essential for system simulation and optimization. This chapter presents availability analyses of several types of equipment including pumps, fans, condensers, and evaporative cooling towers, using their performance data. The irreversibility rate will increase rapidly as the pump capacity decreases. The pump irreversibility and the pump work do not change in the same direction. The higher the pump irreversibility rate, the poorer the pump performance. When a fan develops a small pressure change, the air flow is essentially incompressible. The condenser performance can be easily determined by showing that the condenser pressure is a function of condenser heat load and circulating water temperature. The chapter develops the equation for the condenser irreversibility and second law efficiency in terms of the performance data. The availability analysis involving the tower performance data can be carried out in the same manner as the analysis for the condenser.
