Introduction  In order to improve the thermal efficiency of the whole plant, reduce the power consumption rate, save land and reduce investment in noise reduction facilities, this paper proposes the application scenario of a new cooling tower in thermal power plants, especially in urban gas turbine power plants.

  Method  Based on the engineering background and the actual application, this paper described the selection of mechanical draft cooling tower, focused on the detailed description of the structure and layout of the typical single-sided air inlet mechanical draft cooling tower and the single-sided air inlet high level water collecting mechanical draft cooling tower, compared the two types of mechanical draft cooling tower in terms of energy consumption, noise control, environmental impact, economical efficiency, etc., and described the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of mechanical ventilation cooling tower on the premise of ensuring the same cooling effect by using the minimum annual total cost method of dynamic economic analysis.

  Result  The comparison results show that the high level water collecting device can have a better application prospect in mechanical draft cooling tower. The high level water collecting device can eliminate most of the water pouring noise and greatly reduce the circulating water pump lift; By providing a variable frequency circulating water pump, it can meet the cooling water demand of generator unit under different working conditions, reduce the power consumption rate and achieve obvious energy saving effect; It is suitable for large back-to-back tower type and can save land.

  Conclusion  The application of the new cooling tower in thermal power plants is feasible, especially in urban gas turbine power plants with land shortage. The adoption of a large high level water collecting mechanical draft cooling tower with back-to-back arrangement can improve the overall operation economy of the generator unit circulating cooling water system, reduce the system energy consumption, save energy and reduce emissions, while taking into account the initial investment of the circulating cooling system and the noise reduction effect in power plants. With the vigorous development and investment of large gas-steam combined cycle generator units in China, the application prospect of large high level water collecting mechanical draft cooling towers is broad.