Cooling Tower

Dr. [Link]
Cooling tower:
• A cooling tower is a piece of equipment that
derives a primary cooling effect from the
evaporation of water when brought into direct
contact with air. Cooling towers are designed to
expose the maximum transient water surface to
the maximum air flow.
• Its function is to cool the hot water from the
condenser by exposing it to the atmospheric air, so
that the cold water may be used again for
circulation.
Uses:
*Used in power stations, oil refineries,
petrochemical plants and natural gas plants.
*Cooling water is continuously circulated through
heat exchangers to absorb heat from process
material and machinery.
*Because it's cost efficient to reuse water and
plants can't dump excessive amounts of hot water
into rivers and lakes, cooling towers are used to
remove the heat from the water, so it can be
recirculated.
Working:
 Types of cooling tower
• Based on Air flow generation methode:
1) Natural draught cooling tower
The circulation of air is produced by the pressure
difference of air inside and outside the cooling tower.
2) Forced draught cooling tower
The circulation of air is produced by means of fans placed
at the base of tower.
3) Induced draught cooling tower
The circulation of air is provided by means of fan placed at
top of tower.
Natural draught cooling tower

[Link]
Forced water cooling tower

[Link]
Induced draught cooling tower

[Link]
 • Based on Heat Transfer Methods

• Wet Cooling Tower

– Uses evaporation to transfer heat
– Water can be cooled to a temperature lower than
the ambient air “dry-bulb” temperature
• Dry Cooling Tower
– Uses convection to transfer heat
– Heat is transferred through a surface that
separates the water from ambient air, such as in a
heat exchanger.
based on method of flow of air and water
• Cross flow Cooling Towers
Cross flow cooling towers use splash fill media
through which the incoming cool air flows
horizontally ACROSS the downward flow of hot water
from the top distribution basins. These types of
towers were predominantly used from the 1950’s
through the 1970’s.

Crossflow towers
Counterflow Cooling Towers
In counterflow cooling towers the incoming cool air moves
vertically up through the fill media, COUNTER to the
downward flow of hot water coming from the distribution
laterals. These types of towers are commonly used in
today’s applications.

Counterflow towers
Cross Flow Cooling Tower Components
Crossflow
Typical Crossflow Towers
Counter flow Cooling Tower
Components
Counterflow
Typical Counterflow Towers
Other Types of
Cooling Towers
 Design calculations of cooling tower
Primarily we need to calculate,
• (i) tower cross-section required to take the given load of
warm water
• (ii) height of the packing required to achieve the desired
cooling
Basic assumptions for the design of cooling tower are as
follows:
(i) the rate of vaporization of water is much less than the
rate of water input to the tower (about 1% loss of feed
water)
(ii) evaporative or adiabatic cooling of water occurs in the
tower
: Enthalpy balance diagram of water cooling
tower
Cooling Tower Performance
i) "Range" is the difference between the cooling tower water inlet and outlet temperature.

ii) "Approach" is the difference between the cooling tower outlet cold water temperature
and ambient wet bulb temperature. Although, both range and approach should be
monitored, the 'Approach' is a better indicator of cooling tower performance.
iii) Cooling tower effectiveness (in percentage) is the ratio of range, to the ideal
range, i.e., difference between cooling water inlet temperature and ambient wet
bulb temperature, or in other words
Cooling tower effectiveness = Range / (Range + Approach).

iv) Cooling capacity is the heat rejected in kCal/hr or TR, given as product of mass flow
rate of water, specific heat and temperature difference.

v) Evaporation loss is the water quantity evaporated for cooling duty and, theoretically, for
every 10,00,000 kCal heat rejected, evaporation quantity works out to 1.8 m3. An
empirical relation used often is:

*Evaporation Loss (m3/hr) = 0.00085 x 1.8 x circulation rate (m3/hr) x (T1-T2)

T1-T2 = Temp. difference between inlet and outlet water.

vi) Cycles of concentration (C.O.C) is the ratio of dissolved solids in circulating water to
the dissolved solids in make up water.

vii) Blow down losses depend upon cycles of concentration and the evaporation losses
and is given by relation:
Blow Down = Evaporation Loss / (C.O.C. – 1)
viii) Liquid/Gas (L/G) ratio, of a cooling tower is the ratio between the water and the air
mass flow rates. Against design values, seasonal variations require adjustment and
tuning of water and air flow rates to get the best cooling tower effectiveness through
measures like water box loading changes, blade angle adjustments.
Thermodynamics also dictate that the heat removed from the water must be equal to
the heat absorbed by the surrounding air:
Evaporative Cooling and Cooling
Towers

Theory of evaporative cooling

 Evaporative cooling

• Heat exchanges between water and air

• Sensible heat is exchanged for latent heat
• Direct contact or indirect contact
• Usually both the air and water are cooled
Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

 Adiabatic saturation
• No external heat is involved
• Sensible and latent heat are exchanged
• Air and water temperatures approach each
other
• No heat transfer occurs when air is saturated
 Cooling

29
Pictures from [Link]
Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

Typical system
 Water returning to cooling tower = 95ºF

 Water supplied by cooling tower = 85ºF

 The condenser adds about 10ºF to the water

 The cooling tower removes about 10ºF from the

water
Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

Cooling tower design

 Heat rejected = system heat

 System heat comes form two sources

• Heat absorbed by the evaporator

• Heat produced by the compression process
 Water flow is about 3 gpm/ton
Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

Analysis of a cooling tower’s performance

 Performance affected by WB temperature of

entering air
 Range – change in tower water temperature

 Approach = leaving water temp – WB of air

 Normal approach temperature = 7 to 9ºF

Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers
 Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

Cooling tower classification and construction

 Parallel flow

• Air and water flow in the same direction

• Air velocity is low
 Cross flow

• Water flows from top to bottom

• Air flows from side to side
Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

 Counter flow
• Air flows from bottom to top
• Water flows from top to bottom
 Atmospheric (natural) draft tower – No fan

 Forced draft – air pulled through the tower

 Induced draft – air pushed through the tower

Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

Other tower components

 Distribution basin – top of the tower

 Water flows through orifices and over fill

 Spray nozzles can replace the orifices

 Eliminators – limit water loss by blow-by

 Sump – reservoir at the bottom of the tower

Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

 Water treatment
• Combats bacteria growth
• Reduces corrosion and mineral deposits
 Blowdown cycle

• Drains a portion of tower water

• Reduces mineral concentrations
Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

 Inhibitors
• Usually painted on the tower surfaces
• Reduces oxidation
• Reduces scale formation and buildup
 Strainers

• Catch foreign matter in the water

• Prevent clogging of the
water loop
 Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

Tower control
 Low ambient conditions

 Maintains a minimum water temperature

Fan control
 Fan cycles on when water temp is high

 Fan cycles in order to maintain desired water

temperature
 Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

Valve Control – water flow through the tower

 Low ambient conditions

• More water bypasses the tower

• Water temperature is increased
 High ambient temperatures

• Little or no water bypasses the tower

• Water temperature is decreased
Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

Damper control – air flow through the tower

 Low ambient conditions

• Air flow is reduced

• Water temperature is increased
 High ambient temperatures

• Air flow is increased

• Water temperature is reduced
Evaporative Cooling and Cooling Towers

Evaporative condensers
 Uses both air and water

 Air flows over the refrigerant coil

 Water flows over the coil when needed

 Water remains in the condenser

 Indirect contact evaporative cooling