CFD analysis of air flow through the LNG ambient air vaporizer with longitudinal finned tubes

Ambient air vaporizers, depending on their efficiency, can be up to several meters high. Therefore, they can have a large outside surface area exposed to the wind. Forced air flow through the vaporizer structure have a beneficial effect on improving heat transfer from the environment. On the other hand, if the vaporizer is placed in the region of significant wind velocities, the wind forces acting on the structure can be considerable. This paper presents CFD analysis of air flow through the structure of the ambient air vaporizer with a 6 x 6 finned tube array. The effect of changing wind direction on the wind pressure and wind velocity distributions is investigated.