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Fluid inhomogeneous distribution affects heat transfer efficiency in the plate-fin heat exchanger (PFHE). In order to improve fluid uniform distribution in the exchanger, the irregular-shaped hole leading flow structure (IHLFS) was proposed for solving fluid inhomogeneous distribution among different layers of PFHE. The inlet distributor with irregular-shaped holes was designed according to different inlet flow velocities aiming at improving fluid uniform distribution. The results on fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics were carried out by the methods of CFD and experimental analysis, and finally, the fluid flow characteristics in inlet section of PFHE with IHLFS were achieved. Comparing with round hole leading flow structure (RHLFS), it can be observed that fluid distribution in PFHE with IHLFS is more uniform than that with round hole, however, the dynamic pressure increases accordingly and finally, increases the ratio of heat transfer and dynamic pressure. The comparison results also demonstrate that the IHLFS can improve fluid distribution, decrease fluid impact in inlet section of PFHE and finally, improve heat transfer enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large amount of waste heat generated in industrial production needs to be discharged by circulating cooling water systems. To save freshwater resources, freshwater cooling towers have been widely replaced by seawater cooling towers in coastal areas, but research on the thermal performance of seawater cooling towers is still relatively less. In this study, a detailed calculation model based on the heat/mass transfer process of seawater–air two‐phase counterflow was established, and the reliability of the proposed model was verified. The computer program developed under the VC++ framework was used for the numerical solution of the model. The effects of five inlet parameters on the cooling efficiency and heat dissipation were studied. The simulation results showed that with the increase of salinity, the cooling performance was reduced. When the salinity increased by 10 g/kg, the outlet water temperature rose by about 0.13°C. The wet‐bulb temperature increased by 1°C and the cooling efficiency increased by about 0.77%, while total heat dissipation was reduced by about 36.37 kW. When the air–water ratio increased, the cooling performance was improved, but the maximum cooling efficiency was affected by heat load. The change of dry‐bulb temperature had little effect on the cooling performance. With the increase of water temperature, the cooling efficiency and heat dissipation increased. The calculation model and simulation results can provide practical guidance for the operation of seawater cooling towers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]