Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to the

atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove
process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or in the
case of "Close Circuit Dry Cooling Towers" rely solely on air to cool the working
fluid to near the dry-bulb air temperature. Common applications include cooling the
circulating water used in oil refineries, chemical plants, power stations and building
cooling. The towers vary in size from small roof-top units to very large hyperboloid
structures (as in Image 1) that can be up to 200 metres tall and 100 metres in diameter,
or rectangular structures (as in Image 2) that can be over 40 metres tall and 80 metres
long. Smaller towers are normally factory-built, while larger ones are constructed on
site. They are often associated with nuclear power plants in popular culture.

A hyperboloid cooling tower was patented by Frederik van Iterson and Gerard
Kuypers in 1918.[1]

Contents
[hide]

 1 Classification by use
o 1.1 HVAC
o 1.2 Industrial cooling towers
 2 Heat transfer methods
 3 Air flow generation methods
 4 Categorization by air-to-water flow
o 4.1 Crossflow
o 4.2 Counterflow
 5 Cooling tower as a flue gas stack
 6 Wet cooling tower material balance
 7 Cooling towers and Legionnaires' disease
 8 Cooling tower fog
 9 Cooling tower operation in freezing weather
 10 Some commonly used terms in the cooling tower industry
 11 Fire hazards
 12 Stability
 13 See also
 14 References
 15 External links

[edit] Classification by use

[edit] HVAC

An HVAC cooling tower is a subcategory rejecting heat from a chiller. Water-cooled

chillers are normally more energy efficient than air-cooled chillers due to heat
rejection to tower water at or near wet-bulb temperatures. Air-cooled chillers must
reject heat at the dry-bulb temperature, and thus have a lower average reverse-Carnot
cycle effectiveness. Large office buildings, hospitals, and schools typically use one or
more cooling towers as part of their air conditioning systems. Generally, industrial
cooling towers are much larger than HVAC towers.

HVAC use of a cooling tower pairs the cooling tower with a water-cooled chiller or
water-cooled condenser. A ton of air-conditioning is the removal of 12,000 Btu/hour
(3517 W). The equivalent ton on the cooling tower side actually rejects about 15,000
Btu/hour (4396 W) due to the heat-equivalent of the energy needed to drive the
chiller's compressor. This equivalent ton is defined as the heat rejection in cooling 3
U.S. gallons/minute (1,500 pound/hour) of water 10 °F (5.56 °C), which amounts to
15,000 Btu/hour, or a chiller coefficient of performance (COP) of 4.0. This COP is
equivalent to an energy efficiency ratio (EER) of 13.65.

Cooling towers are also used in HVAC systems that have multiple water source heat
pumps that share a common piping "water loop". In this type of system, the water
circulating inside the "water loop" remove heat from the condenser of the heat pumps
whenever the heat pumps are working in the cooling mode, then the cooling tower is
used to remove heat from the water loop and reject it to the atmosphere. When the
heat pumps are working in heating mode, the condensers draw heat out of the loop
water and reject it into the space to be heated.

[edit] Industrial cooling towers

Industrial cooling towers can be used to remove heat from various sources such as
machinery or heated process material. The primary use of large, industrial cooling
towers is to remove the heat absorbed in the circulating cooling water systems used in
power plants, petroleum refineries, petrochemical plants, natural gas processing
plants, food processing plants, semi-conductor plants, and for other industrial facilities
such as in condensers of distillation columns, for cooling liquid in crystallization, etc.
[2]
The circulation rate of cooling water in a typical 700 MW coal-fired power plant
with a cooling tower amounts to about 71,600 cubic metres an hour (315,000 U.S.
gallons per minute)[3] and the circulating water requires a supply water make-up rate
of perhaps 5 percent (i.e., 3,600 cubic metres an hour).

If that same plant had no cooling tower and used once-through cooling water, it
would require about 100,000 cubic metres an hour [4] and that amount of water would
have to be continuously returned to the ocean, lake or river from which it was
obtained and continuously re-supplied to the plant. Furthermore, discharging large
amounts of hot water may raise the temperature of the receiving river or lake to an
unacceptable level for the local ecosystem. Elevated water temperatures can kill fish
and other aquatic organisms. (See thermal pollution.) A cooling tower serves to
dissipate the heat into the atmosphere instead and wind and air diffusion spreads the
heat over a much larger area than hot water can distribute heat in a body of water.
Some coal-fired and nuclear power plants located in coastal areas do make use of
once-through ocean water. But even there, the offshore discharge water outlet requires
very careful design to avoid environmental problems.
Petroleum refineries also have very large cooling tower systems. A typical large
refinery processing 40,000 metric tonnes of crude oil per day (300,000 barrels (48,000
m3) per day) circulates about 80,000 cubic metres of water per hour through its
cooling tower system.

The world's tallest cooling tower is the 200 metre tall cooling tower of Niederaussem
Power Station.

[edit] Heat transfer methods

Mechanical draft crossflow cooling tower used in an HVAC application

With respect to the heat transfer mechanism employed, the main types are:

 Wet cooling towers or simply open circuit cooling towers operate on the
principle of evaporation. The working fluid and the evaporated fluid (usually
H2O) are one and the same.
 Dry Cooling Towers operate by heat transfer through a surface that separates
the working fluid from ambient air, such as in a tube to air heat exchanger,
utilizing convective heat transfer. They do not use evaporation.
 Fluid coolers or Closed Circuit Cooling Towers are hybrids that pass the
working fluid through a tube bundle, upon which clean water is sprayed and a
fan-induced draft applied. The resulting heat transfer performance is much
closer to that of a wet cooling tower, with the advantage provided by a dry
cooler of protecting the working fluid from environmental exposure and
contamination.

In a wet cooling tower (or Open Circuit Cooling Tower), the warm water can be
cooled to a temperature lower than the ambient air dry-bulb temperature, if the air is
relatively dry. (see: dew point and psychrometrics). As ambient air is drawn past a
flow of water, an small portion of the water evaporate, the energy required by that
portion of the water to evaporate is taken from the remaining mass of water reducing
his temperature (aproximately by 970 BTU for each pound of evaporated water).
Evaporation results in saturated air conditions, lowering the temperature of the water
process by the tower to a value close to wet bulb air temperature, which is lower than
the ambient dry bulb air temperature, the difference determined by the humidity of the
ambient air.

To achieve better performance (more cooling), a medium called fill is used to increase
the surface area and the time of contact between the air and water flows. Splash fill
consists of material placed to interrupt the water flow causing splashing. Film fill is
composed of thin sheets of material (usually PVC) upon which the water flows. Both
methods create increased surface area and time of contact between the fluid (water)
and the gas (air).

[edit] Air flow generation methods

A forced draft cooling tower

With respect to drawing air through the tower, there are three types of cooling towers:

 Natural draft, which utilizes buoyancy via a tall chimney. Warm, moist air
naturally rises due to the density differential to the dry, cooler outside air.
Warm moist air is less dense than drier air at the same pressure. This moist air
buoyancy produces a current of air through the tower.
 Mechanical draft, which uses power driven fan motors to force or draw air
through the tower.
o Induced draft: A mechanical draft tower with a fan at the discharge
which pulls air through tower. The fan induces hot moist air out the
discharge. This produces low entering and high exiting air velocities,
reducing the possibility of recirculation in which discharged air flows
back into the air intake. This fan/fin arrangement is also known as
draw-through. (see Image 2, 3)
o Forced draft: A mechanical draft tower with a blower type fan at the
intake. The fan forces air into the tower, creating high entering and low
exiting air velocities. The low exiting velocity is much more
susceptible to recirculation. With the fan on the air intake, the fan is
more susceptible to complications due to freezing conditions. Another
disadvantage is that a forced draft design typically requires more motor
horsepower than an equivalent induced draft design. The forced draft
 benefit is its ability to work with high static pressure. They can be
installed in more confined spaces and even in some indoor situations.
This fan/fill geometry is also known as blow-through. (see Image 4)
 Fan assisted natural draft. A hybrid type that appears like a natural draft
though airflow is assisted by a fan.

Hyperboloid (a.k.a. hyperbolic) cooling towers (Image 1) have become the design
standard for all natural-draft cooling towers because of their structural strength and
minimum usage of material. The hyperboloid shape also aids in accelerating the
upward convective air flow, improving cooling efficiency. They are popularly
associated with nuclear power plants. However, this association is misleading, as the
same kind of cooling towers are often used at large coal-fired power plants as well.
Similarly, not all nuclear power plants have cooling towers, instead cooling their heat
exchangers with lake, river or ocean water.

[edit] Categorization by air-to-water flow

[edit] Crossflow

Crossflow is a design in which the air flow is directed perpendicular to the water flow
(see diagram below). Air flow enters one or more vertical faces of the cooling tower to
meet the fill material. Water flows (perpendicular to the air) through the fill by
gravity. The air continues through the fill and thus past the water flow into an open
plenum area. A distribution or hot water basin consisting of a deep pan with holes or
nozzles in the bottom is utilized in a crossflow tower. Gravity distributes the water
through the nozzles uniformly across the fill material.
[edit] Counterflow

In a counterflow design the air flow is directly opposite to the water flow (see diagram
below). Air flow first enters an open area beneath the fill media and is then drawn up
vertically. The water is sprayed through pressurized nozzles and flows downward
through the fill, opposite to the air flow.

Common to both designs:

 The interaction of the air and water flow allow a partial equalization and
evaporation of water.
 The air, now saturated with water vapor, is discharged from the cooling tower.
 A collection or cold water basin is used to contain the water after its
interaction with the air flow.

Both crossflow and counterflow designs can be used in natural draft and mechanical
draft cooling towers.

[edit] Cooling tower as a flue gas stack

At some modern power stations, equipped with flue gas purification like the Power
Station Staudinger Grosskrotzenburg and the Power Station Rostock, the cooling
tower is also used as a flue gas stack (industrial chimney). At plants without flue gas
purification, problems with corrosion may occur.
Base of a cooling tower with falling water

[edit] Wet cooling tower material balance

Quantitatively, the material balance around a wet, evaporative cooling tower system is
governed by the operational variables of makeup flow rate, evaporation and windage
losses, draw-off rate, and the concentration cycles:[5]

M = Make-up water in m³/h

C = Circulating water in m³/h
D = Draw-off water in m³/h
E = Evaporated water in m³/h
W = Windage loss of water in m³/h
= Concentration in ppmw (of any completely soluble salts … usually
X
chlorides)
XM = Concentration of chlorides in make-up water (M), in ppmw
XC = Concentration of chlorides in circulating water (C), in ppmw
Cycles = Cycles of concentration = XC / XM (dimensionless)
 ppmw = parts per million by weight

In the above sketch, water pumped from the tower basin is the cooling water routed
through the process coolers and condensers in an industrial facility. The cool water
absorbs heat from the hot process streams which need to be cooled or condensed, and
the absorbed heat warms the circulating water (C). The warm water returns to the top
of the cooling tower and trickles downward over the fill material inside the tower. As
it trickles down, it contacts ambient air rising up through the tower either by natural
draft or by forced draft using large fans in the tower. That contact causes a small
amount of the water to be lost as windage (W) and some of the water (E) to evaporate.
The heat required to evaporate the water is derived from the water itself, which cools
the water back to the original basin water temperature and the water is then ready to
recirculate. The evaporated water leaves its dissolved salts behind in the bulk of the
water which has not been evaporated, thus raising the salt concentration in the
circulating cooling water. To prevent the salt concentration of the water from
becoming too high, a portion of the water is drawn off (D) for disposal. Fresh water
makeup (M) is supplied to the tower basin to compensate for the loss of evaporated
water, the windage loss water and the draw-off water.

A water balance around the entire system is:

M=E+D+W

Since the evaporated water (E) has no salts, a chloride balance around the system is:

M (XM) = D (XC) + W (XC) = XC (D + W)

and, therefore:

XC / XM = Cycles of concentration = M ÷ (D + W) = M ÷ (M – E) = 1 + [E ÷
(D + W)]

From a simplified heat balance around the cooling tower:

E = C · ΔT · cp ÷ HV
where:  
HV = latent heat of vaporization of water = ca. 2260 kJ / kg
ΔT = water temperature difference from tower top to tower bottom, in °C
cp = specific heat of water = ca. 4.184 kJ / (kg °C)

Windage (or drift) losses (W) from large-scale industrial cooling towers, in the
absence of manufacturer's data, may be assumed to be:

W = 0.3 to 1.0 percent of C for a natural draft cooling tower without windage
drift eliminators
W = 0.1 to 0.3 percent of C for an induced draft cooling tower without
windage drift eliminators
 W = about 0.005 percent of C (or less) if the cooling tower has windage drift
eliminators

Cycles of concentration represents the accumulation of dissolved minerals in the

recirculating cooling water. Draw-off (or blowdown) is used principally to control the
buildup of these minerals.

The chemistry of the makeup water including the amount of dissolved minerals can
vary widely. Makeup waters low in dissolved minerals such as those from surface
water supplies (lakes, rivers etc.) tend to be aggressive to metals (corrosive). Makeup
waters from ground water supplies (wells) are usually higher in minerals and tend to
be scaling (deposit minerals). Increasing the amount of minerals present in the water
by cycling can make water less aggressive to piping however excessive levels of
minerals can cause scaling problems.

As the cycles of concentration increase the water may not be able to hold the minerals
in solution. When the solubility of these minerals have been exceeded they can
precipitate out as mineral solids and cause fouling and heat exchange problems in the
cooling tower or the heat exchangers. The temperatures of the recirculating water,
piping and heat exchange surfaces determine if and where minerals will precipitate
from the recirculating water. Often a professional water treatment consultant will
evaluate the makeup water and the operating conditions of the cooling tower and
recommend an appropriate range for the cycles of concentration. The use of water
treatment chemicals, pretreatment such as water softening, pH adjustment, and other
techniques can affect the acceptable range of cycles of concentration.

Concentration cycles in the majority of cooling towers usually range from 3 to 7. In

the United States the majority of water supplies are well waters and have significant
levels of dissolved solids. On the other hand one of the largest water supplies, New
York City, has a surface supply quite low in minerals and cooling towers in that city
are often allowed to concentrate to 7 or more cycles of concentration.

Besides treating the circulating cooling water in large industrial cooling tower systems
to minimize scaling and fouling, the water should be filtered and also be dosed with
biocides and algaecides to prevent growths that could interfere with the continuous
flow of the water.[5] For closed loop evaporative towers, corrosion inhibitors may be
used, but caution should be taken to meet local environmental regulations as some
inhibitors use chromates.

Ambient conditions dictate the efficiency of any given tower due to the amount of
water vapor the air is able to absorb and hold, as can be determined on a
psychrometric chart.

[edit] Cooling towers and Legionnaires' disease

Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant
Further information: Legionellosis and Legionella

Another very important reason for using biocides in cooling towers is to prevent the
growth of Legionella, including species that cause legionellosis or Legionnaires'
disease, most notably L. pneumophila.[6] The various Legionella species are the cause
of Legionnaires' disease in humans and transmission is via exposure to aerosols—the
inhalation of mist droplets containing the bacteria. Common sources of Legionella
include cooling towers used in open recirculating evaporative cooling water systems,
domestic hot water systems, fountains, and similar disseminators that tap into a public
water supply. Natural sources include freshwater ponds and creeks.

French researchers found that Legionella spread through the air up to 6 kilometres
from a large contaminated cooling tower at a petrochemical plant in Pas-de-Calais,
France. That outbreak killed 21 of the 86 people that had a laboratory-confirmed
infection.[7]

Drift (or windage) is the term for water droplets of the process flow allowed to escape
in the cooling tower discharge. Drift eliminators are used in order to hold drift rates
typically to 0.001%-0.005% of the circulating flow rate. A typical drift eliminator
provides multiple directional changes of airflow while preventing the escape of water
droplets. A well-designed and well-fitted drift eliminator can greatly reduce water loss
and potential for Legionella or other chemical exposure.

Many governmental agencies, cooling tower manufacturers and industrial trade

organizations have developed design and maintenance guidelines for preventing or
controlling (by using Neosens FS sensor for example, the growth of Legionella in
cooling towers. Below is a list of sources for such guidelines:

 Centers for Disease Control and PreventionPDF (1.35 MB) - Procedure for

Cleaning Cooling Towers and Related Equipment (pages 239 and 240 of 249)
 Cooling Technology InstitutePDF (240 KB) - Best Practices for Control of
Legionella, July, 2006
 Association of Water TechnologiesPDF (964 KB) - Legionella 2003
 California Energy CommissionPDF (194 KB) - Cooling Water Management
Program Guidelines For Wet and Hybrid Cooling Towers at Power Plants
 SPX Cooling TechnologiesPDF (119 KB) - Cooling Towers Maintenance
Procedures
  SPX Cooling TechnologiesPDF (789 KB) - ASHRAE Guideline 12-2000 -
Minimizing the Risk of Legionellosis
 SPX Cooling TechnologiesPDF (83.1 KB) - Cooling Tower Inspection Tips
{especially page 3 of 7}
 PERFECT Cooling Towers|109 KB}} - Legionella Control
 Tower Tech Modular Cooling TowersPDF (109 KB) - Legionella Control
 GE Infrastructure Water & Process Technologies Betz DearbornPDF (195 KB) -
Chemical Water Treatment Recommendations For Reduction of Risks
Associated with Legionella in Open Recirculating Cooling Water Systems

[edit] Cooling tower fog

Under certain ambient conditions, plumes of water vapor (fog) can be seen rising out
of the discharge from a cooling tower (see Image 1), and can be mistaken as smoke
from a fire. If the outdoor air is at or near saturation, and the tower adds more water to
the air, saturated air with liquid water droplets can be discharged—what is seen as fog.
This phenomenon typically occurs on cool, humid days, but is rare in many climates.

[edit] Cooling tower operation in freezing weather

Cooling towers with malfunctions can freeze during very cold weather. Typically,
freezing starts at the corners of a cooling tower with a reduced or absent heat load.
Increased freezing conditions can create growing volumes of ice, resulting in
increased structural loads. During the winter, some sites continuously operate cooling
towers with 40 °F (4 °C) water leaving the tower. Basin heaters, tower draindown, and
other freeze protection methods are often employed in cold climates.

 Do not operate the tower unattended.

 Do not operate the tower without a heat load. This can include basin heaters
and heat trace. Basin heaters maintain the temperature of the water in the tower
pan at an acceptable level. Heat trace is a resistive element that runs along
water pipes located in cold climates to prevent freezing.

 Maintain design water flow rate over the fill.

 Manipulate airflow to maintain water temperature above freezing point.[8]

[edit] Some commonly used terms in the cooling tower

industry
 Drift - Water droplets that are carried out of the cooling tower with the
exhaust air. Drift droplets have the same concentration of impurities as the
water entering the tower. The drift rate is typically reduced by employing
baffle-like devices, called drift eliminators, through which the air must travel
 after leaving the fill and spray zones of the tower. Drift can also be reduced by
using warmer entering cooling tower temperatures.

 Blow-out - Water droplets blown out of the cooling tower by wind, generally
at the air inlet openings. Water may also be lost, in the absence of wind,
through splashing or misting. Devices such as wind screens, louvers, splash
deflectors and water diverters are used to limit these losses.

 Plume - The stream of saturated exhaust air leaving the cooling tower. The
plume is visible when water vapor it contains condenses in contact with cooler
ambient air, like the saturated air in one's breath fogs on a cold day. Under
certain conditions, a cooling tower plume may present fogging or icing hazards
to its surroundings. Note that the water evaporated in the cooling process is
"pure" water, in contrast to the very small percentage of drift droplets or water
blown out of the air inlets.

 Blow-down - The portion of the circulating water flow that is removed in

order to maintain the amount of dissolved solids and other impurities at an
acceptable level. It may be noted that higher TDS (total dissolved solids)
concentration in solution results in greater potential cooling tower efficiency.
However the higher the TDS concentration, the greater the risk of scale,
biological growth and corrosion.

 Leaching - The loss of wood preservative chemicals by the washing action of

the water flowing through a wood structure cooling tower.

 Noise - Sound energy emitted by a cooling tower and heard (recorded) at a

given distance and direction. The sound is generated by the impact of falling
water, by the movement of air by fans, the fan blades moving in the structure,
and the motors, gearboxes or drive belts.

 Approach - The approach is the difference in temperature between the cooled-

water temperature and the entering-air wet bulb temperature (twb). Since the
cooling towers are based on the principles of evaporative cooling, the
maximum cooling tower efficiency depends on the wet bulb temperature of the
air. The wet-bulb temperature is a type of temperature measurement that
reflects the physical properties of a system with a mixture of a gas and a vapor,
usually air and water vapor

 Range - The range is the temperature difference between the water inlet and
water exit.

 Fill - Inside the tower, fills are added to increase contact surface as well as
contact time between air and water. Thus they provide better heat transfer. The
efficiency of the tower also depends on them. There are two types of fills that
may be used:
o Film type fill (causes water to spread into a thin film)
o Splash type fill (breaks up water and interrupts its vertical progress)
  Full-Flow Filtration- Full-flow filtration continuously strains the entire
system flow. For example, in a 100-ton system, the flow rate would be roughly
300 gal/min. A filter would be selected to accommodate the entire 300 gal/min
flow rate. In this case, the filter typically is installed after the cooling tower on
the discharge side of the pump. While this is the preferred method of filtration,
for higher flow systems, it may be cost prohibitive.

 Side-Stream Filtration- Side-stream filtration, although popular, does not

provide complete protection, but it can be effective. With side-stream
filtration, a portion of the water is filtered continuously. This method works on
the principle that continuous particle removal will keep the system clean.
Manufacturers typically package side-stream filters on a skid, complete with a
pump and controls. For high flow systems, this method is cost-effective.

Properly sizing a side-stream filtration system is critical to obtain satisfactory filter

performance. There is some debate over how to properly size the side-stream system.
Many engineers size the system to continuously filter the cooling tower basin water at
a rate equivalent to 10% of the total circulation flow rate. For example, if the total
flow of a system is 1,200 gal/min (a 400-ton system), a 120 gal/min side-stream
system is specified.

[edit] Fire hazards

Cooling towers which are constructed in whole or in part of combustible materials can
support propagating internal fires. The resulting damage can be sufficiently severe to
require the replacement of the entire cell or tower structure. For this reason, some
codes and standards[9] recommend combustible cooling towers be provided with an
automatic fire sprinkler system. Fires can propagate internally within the tower
structure during maintenance when the cell is not in operation (such as for
maintenance or construction), and even when the tower is in operation, especially
those of the induced-draft type because of the existence of relatively dry areas within
the towers.[10]

[edit] Stability

Ferrybridge power station

Two hyperboloid cooling towers on Kharkov Power Station #5

Being very large structures, they are susceptible to wind damage, and several
spectacular failures have occurred in the past. At Ferrybridge power station on 1
November 1965, the station was the site of a major structural failure, when three of
the cooling towers collapsed due to vibrations in 85 mph (137 km/h) winds. Although
the structures had been built to withstand higher wind speeds, the shape of the cooling
towers meant that westerly winds were funnelled into the towers themselves, creating
a vortex. Three out of the original eight cooling towers were destroyed and the
remaining five were severely damaged. The towers were rebuilt and all eight cooling
towers were strengthened to tolerate adverse weather conditions. Building codes were
changed to include improved structural support, and wind tunnel tests introduced to
check tower structures and configuration.

[edit] See also

 Architectural engineering
 Cooling water
 Deep lake water cooling
 Evaporative cooler
 Fossil fuel power plant
 HVAC (Heating, ventilating and air conditioning)
 Hyperboloid structure
 Mechanical engineering
 Power station
 Willow Island disaster

[edit] References
1. ^ UK Patent No. 108,863
2. ^ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (1997) Profile of the Fossil
Fuel Electric Power Generation Industry. Washington, D.C. (Report).
Document No. EPA/310-R-97-007. p. 79.
3. ^ Cooling System Retrofit Costs EPA Workshop on Cooling Water Intake
Technologies, John Maulbetsch, Maulbetsch Consulting, May 2003
4. ^ Thomas J. Feeley, III, Lindsay Green, James T. Murphy, Jeffrey Hoffmann,
and Barbara A. Carney (2005). "Department of Energy/Office of Fossil
Energy’s Power Plant Water Management
 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
College of Engineering
Engineering 435

Cooling Tower Experiments

Team Members:
Sharon Lewis
Scott Daniels
Austin Newman

September 17, 1996

Introduction

The laboratory cooling tower is a cooling tower unit from a commercial air
conditioning system used to study the principles of cooling tower operation. It is used
in conjunction with a residential size water heater to simulate a cooling tower used to
provide cool water to an industrial process. In the case of the laboratory unit, the
industrial process load is provided by the water heater. The laboratory cooling tower
allows for complete control of the speed of the fan used in cooling the warm return
water and the pump used to return the cooled water to the water heater.

Experiments can be conducted which study how adjustment of one or both of these
parameters affects the amount of heat removed from the water provided to the water
heater.

The remainder of this report will explain the theory behind the operation of a cooling
tower and how the laboratory cooling tower is operated. An example of a mass and
energy balance on the laboratory cooling tower will be presented along with the
results of experiments in which the rate of heat dissipated by the tower was calculated
at full capacity and when the pump speed and fan speed were varied independently.

Theory

The theory behind the operation of the cooling tower is the First Law of
Thermodynamics, which is the conservation of energy. In simpler terms, the energy
that enters the system must exit the system; energy can neither be created nor
destroyed, just transformed from one form to another.1

Energy that enters the cooling tower is in the form of hot water. (Other energy
contributions such as heat generation from friction of both air and water, energy losses
from pipes, etc. are ignored.) This hot water was cooled from temperature T1 to a
temperature of T2. The cooling of the hot water was in the form of forced convection3
by which ambient air at T1 was blown over the hot water and exited the cooling tower
at some temperature T2. Both the entrance and exit temperatures of the air and water
were recorded. Once this data is recorded, an energy balance can be conducted on the
system.

An energy balance is a form of bookkeeping that accounts for the energy entering and
leaving the system. The main component of the energy balance is enthalpy which is
defined as:

H = U + PV. (1)

Where H is enthalpy, U is internal energy, P is pressure, and V is volume.

The combined terms U+PV is enthalpy, which means to heat.1 Enthalpy can be
calculated or referenced from tables of data for the fluid being used. In the
Engineering 435 laboratory, the fluids used by the cooling tower are air and water,
whose enthalpy values can be obtained from a thermodynamics textbook. For
example: Since both the initial and final temperatures of the input hot water and the
output cool water were measured, the temperature Tin can be referenced and the
enthalpy (BTU/lbm, or KJ/kg) can be recorded. The enthalpy of the output cooled
water can be similarly referenced and an energy balance can be conducted for the
water.

The equation below displays the general method to conduct an energy balance:

in = out (2)

where H = H in - H out. A similar method is employed for conducting the energy

balance for air entering and leaving the system.

The change in enthalpy for air can be determined form either of two methods. Since
the air is at low pressure, it can be treated as an ideal gas and the enthalpy change can
be calculated through the use of the following equation:

H = Cp T (3)

where H is the change in enthalpy, T is the change in temperature, and Cp is the

specific heat with respect to constant pressure.

Since the specific heat relation does not take into account the percent of water in the
air, a psychrometric chart is used to determine the enthalpy change between the
entrance and exit air. In order for the psychrometric chart to be used effectively, some
information is needed about the input and output air.

The information needed to reference the psychrometric chart is the dry bulb and wet
bulb temperatures of the inlet and outlet air. Both the input and output air flow is
measured with a sling psychrometer. The sling psychrometer is an instrument that has
two thermometers. The thermometer for measuring the wet bulb temperature has a
wetted cotton sleeve over the bulb end, while the dry bulb thermometer is a regular
thermometer. Once the wet and dry bulb temperatures of the inlet and outlet air have
been measured, each can be referenced on the psychrometric chart and the enthalpies
obtained. Once the enthalpies for the inlet and outlet water and air conditions are
known, energy balance can be conducted on the system.

System Description

The basic layout of the laboratory cooling tower system is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Cooling Tower System Schematic

Water from the water heater, which is denoted cooling water return (CWR), flows
through a hose to the cooling tower, where it is then carried by another hose to the top
of the cylindrical cooling tower. From here it is collected by a rotating sparger which
sprays the water over the area of the tower. The water then flows down the tower over
a series of baffles made from a cardboard style material. Ambient air is blown through
a duct perpendicular to the flow of water by the fan. This air interacts with the water
resulting in a net transfer of heat from the water to the air by the vaporization of some
of the water. The cooled water then flows into the reservoir which provides any make-
up water required to replenish that lost to evaporation. The reservoir is connected by a
hose to the water supply inside the laboratory. The level of the reservoir is kept
constant by a float valve which controls the flow of the make-up water from the water
supply line. From the reservoir, the water flows to the pump that returns the cooled
water, now denoted as cooling water supply (CWR), to the water heater via a hose.
For more detailed information on the setup of the cooling tower, refer to the
setup/shutdown in Appendix A. Also included in Appendix A is a procedure regarding
safe operation of the pump and fan motors and a procedure describing how to handle a
mercury spill due to breakage of thermometers.
Data collection for the tower is provided by a data link from the tower to a Macintosh
computer running Labview data collection software. Data collected by the software
includes the flow rate of the water through the system; the percent of total electrical
load of the fan (0-60 Hz), used to control the fan speed; the percent of total electrical
load of the pump (0-60 Hz), used to control the pump speed; the humidity and
temperature of the air entering the fan; the humidity and temperature of the air leaving
the fan; the temperature of the cooling water supply and the temperature of the cooling
water return.

Because of a problem with the flow meter in which the flow detector would become
stuck and give erroneous readings, a calibration of the flow meter was performed and
is graphically shown in Appendix B. In addition to the flow meter problems, the
humidity data collectors on the cooling tower were not used because of questionable
readings and a sling psychrometer was used to collect the dry bulb and wet bulb
temperatures of the ambient air (air entering the fan) and the air leaving the cooling
tower. These values were then used in conjunction with a psychrometric chart to
determine the humidity of the inlet and outlet air. A procedure detailing the collection
of data is presented in Appendix C.Calculations

After the data has been collected (as discussed in the Cooling Tower Data Collection
Procedure presented in Appendix C), an energy balance around the cooling tower can
be calculated. First the energy lost by the water can be calculated, and then the energy
gained by the air can be calculated. This is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2. Energy Balance for Cooling Tower

The water going into the cooling tower loses energy. The enthalpy of the water going
into the tower can be determined by using the enthalpy of saturated liquid water in a
steam table. The enthalpy of the water coming out of the tower can be determined in
the same way. The data in steam tables are usually not given for every temperature so
linear interpolation must be performed to determine the enthalpy at the desired
temperature. Then the enthalpy of the water is multiplied by the mass flow rate. A
basis of an operation of 1 minute was chosen to make the calculation easier. The
change in enthalpy for the water is determined by

. (1)

The change in energy of the air can be determined using the same methodology as was
used for water. The enthalpy change is shown as

. (2)

However, the determination of the enthalpy of air is more complicated than the
determination of the enthalpy values of the water stream. An important tool that is
used for this is the psychrometric chart. On the psychrometric chart, the enthalpy of
the air stream can be determined by using the wet bulb and the dry bulb temperature
of the air stream. The enthalpy is given with the units of BTU per pound of dry air. By
using the output stream, the volumetric flow per mass flow of dry air can be
determined. This is a conversion factor that is used to convert volumetric flow of air to
pounds of dry air.

Now that the mass flow rate of dry air is known, the enthalpy values of the in and out
streams can be determined. The change in enthalpy of the water should have a
negative value, and the change in enthalpy of the air should have a positive value.
Theoretically, when the two values are added together, the result should be zero. This
can be shown by the first law of thermodynamics where

(3)

and

(4)

After collecting the data, the enthalpy values were determined and are shown in the
results section of this report. A sample calculation for one experiment is shown in
Appendix D.

Results

There were many different experiments that were conducted. However, in most of
them, steady state operation was not reached. One set of these experiments was run
with a constant pump speed, and the fan speed was stepped up. The data has been
plotted and is shown in Appendix E. This experiment proved to be useless to us. There
were attempts to calculate an energy balance around the cooling tower for the
experiments but the results proved to be inconclusive. On some of the experiments,
the change in enthalpy of the air was negative which means the air lost energy to the
water. This is impossible according to thermodynamics. In one of the experiments,
steady state operation was obtained. The experiment was conducted at a maximum fan
speed (60 Hz) and maximum pump speed (60 Hz). The temperature of the cooling
water supply and the cooling water return both reached a steady value. A graph of this
is shown Appendix E. The results from this experiment are shown in the table below.

Table 1. Steady State Results

Steady State Data In Out
o
Temperature of Water ( F) 76 71
Mass Flow Rate (pounds) 53.1 53.1
o
Dry Bulb of Air ( F) 77 76
o
Wet Bulb of Air ( F) 74 76
Velocity of Air (feet) N/A 600

Using this data, the enthalpy of the different streams were calculated.
 Table 2. Enthalpies of Air and Water
In Out Change
Water (BTU/min) 2341.2 2075.7 -265.5
Air (BTU/min) 4756.3 5132.2 375.9

Conclusions

There were many different things that were discovered while conducting these
experiments. One thing that was learned was to always make sure the system is
running at steady state before collecting data. If it is not at steady state, the different
measurements that are being made are continually changing. When these numbers are
used in calculations, they do not work like they should because everything in the
system was changing. Another thing learned was that models do not always fully
describe real situations, as is shown by enthalpy changes shown in Table 2 in the
Results section. The change in enthalpy for air should be equal to the change in
enthalpy for water. Table 2 clearly shows that they are not equal. The change in
enthalpy for the air is 42% higher than the change of enthalpy of the water. This is
because the cooling tower is not a perfect system. Another variable is the accuracy of
the calculations. If the system was perfectly insulated with no energy losses and the
thermometers were accurate to an infinite amount of significant figures then the two
numbers would be the same.

Recommendations

Several recommendations have been generated as a result of the experiences with the
cooling tower. The first is a recommendation that the auxiliary heaters always be used
during experiments in order to increase the temperature difference between the return
water from the water heater and the cool supply water. This increase in temperature
difference will allow for a larger enthalpy difference and will decrease the possibility
of the enthalpy difference being negligible. Another recommendation is that only a
few experiments be planned because of the time needed for the system to reach steady
state (approximately 30 minutes). One of the problems faced by this group was that
many of the planned experiments involving changes in the pump and motor speed
could not be completed in the allotted laboratory periods because of steady state time
constraint. A final recommendation is that the humidity recording devices, which were
not working properly, be recalibrated or replaced so that more accurate and timely
measurements of humidity can be made.

Bibliographical References:
1
Boles, M. A. and Y. A. Gengel, Thermodynamics, Engineering Approach , 2nd ed.,

McGraw Hill Book Company, St. Louis, MO, 1994, p. 8-12.

2
Harriot, P., W. L. McCabe, and J. C. Smith, Unit Operations of Chemical
Engineering, 5th ed., McGraw-Hill Book Company, St. Louis, MO, 1993, p. 330-340.
3
Occupational Safety and Health Standards for Genreal Industry, 29CFR Part
1910.303, 1994.

Appendix A
Operating and Safety Procedures

Engr. 435 Laboratory

Setup/Shutdown Procedure for Laboratory Cooling Tower (CT)

SETUP PROCEDURE

1. Inspect the fan and pump motors per the Electrical Safety Guidelines. If any
problems are found, correct them before performing any experiments.
2. Move the CT outside and position with the water connections facing the
window and the wheels closest to the window positioned on the blue marks on
the sidewalk.
3. Set the CT in position by adjusting the leg screws until contact with the
sidewalk is made.
4. Level the CT using the leg screws until the bubble of the level gauge on the
tower side of the unit is centered in the circle.
5. Remove the sheet metal cover from the CT.
6. Move the pump outside and connect to the cooling tower using the gray pipe
coupling.
7. Place the electrical cords for the pump and the cooling tower fan through the
window.
8. Plug the pump electrical cord into the blue (left) outlet on the laboratory wall
under the fan and pump controllers.
9. Plug the fan electrical cord into the yellow (right) outlet on the laboratory wall
under the fan and pump controllers.
10. Place the data link cord through the window and connect to the "B" input on
the computer data input selection box.
11. Connect the water hoses and set the hose valves as shown in attached Figure.
12. Place the hose with the "v" pipe connection (connected to the CT unit) in the
pipe at the center of the exit air vanes on top of the cooling tower.
13. Open the red handled pump valve on the gray pipe.
14. Turn on the water supply and fill the reservoir. Ensure that the float switch will
shut off the supply flow by lifting the float manually and verifying that the
water flow into the reservoir stops. If the switch fails, shut off the water supply
and notify the laboratory instructor of the problem.
15. Set the computer input data selection box to "B" (also labeled " Cooling
Tower").
16. Turn on the power supply, located on the shelf under the computer.
17. Select "CT 435 Fahrenheit" file and double click the mouse to open the file.
 18. Set pump and fan slide bars to desired power levels.
19. Click "START" to begin data collection.
20. Check to make sure the fan and the pump are operating.
21. Take data.

SHUTDOWN PROCEDURE

1. Click "STOP" to end data collection.

2. Save data to desired location as prompted by the software.
3. Set pump and fan slide bars to "0".
4. Click "START" to shut the fan and the pump off.
5. Verify that the pump and fan are not operating.
6. Shut off the water supply to the reservoir.
7. Shut off the valve to the pump and set the hose valves in the opposite
arrangement from that in the attached Figure.
8. Unplug the data collection cable, the pump motor and the fan motor and place
the cords through the window.
9. Wrap the fan motor cord and the data collection cable around the fan motor
and secure.
10. Unhook the reservoir supply hose, the CWS hose from the pump, and the
CWR hose from the CT and place through the window into the laboratory
floor.
11. Remove the hose from the top of the CT (leave connected to the side of the
CT) and lay it on top of the fan.
12. Uncouple the pump from the CT and place the pump in the floor of the
laboratory against the lab bench.
13. Loosen the leg screws on the CT.
14. Carefully move the CT to the edge of the sidewalk until the gray pump
coupling is over the sidewalk edge. (DO NOT let CT wheels roll off of the
sidewalk!)
15. Open the pump valve and drain the reservoir into the parking lot. (Note: Not
all of the reservoir will drain. About 1 ½" of water will remain in the bottom of
the reservoir tub.)
16. Close pump valve and replace sheet metal cover on CT.
17. Push CT back into the laboratory.

Electrical Safety Guidelines for Laboratory Cooling Tower

1. Inspect the fan motor on the CT and the pump motor for any obvious signs of
damage such as3:
o Loose cord connection
o Exposed wiring
o Frayed electrical cord
o Black marks around ventilation openings (possible sign of overheating
or winding damage)
o Severely bent or cracked plug prongs
o Discoloration of plug prongs due to overheating
2. If any signs of damage are found inform the Engr. 435 instructor and either the
mechanical or electrical shop supervisor and arrange any necessary
 repairs/replacement. DO NOT OPERATE the CT until the equipment is
returned to a safe operating condition.
3. If no obvious signs of damage are found, proceed with the setup per the "Setup
Procedure for Laboratory Cooling Tower (CT)".
4. During operation of the CT, if any problems arise regarding the fan or pump
motor operation (i.e. motor will not start, fluctuations in motor performance,
overheating, smoking, etc.), SHUT THE UNIT DOWN IMMEDIATELY and
inform the Engr. 435 instructor and either the mechanical shop or electrical
shop supervisor of the problem. DO NOT ATTEMPT any repairs or testing of
the malfunctioning motor without the approval of the Engr. 435 instructor.

Mercury Spill Procedure

In the event that a thermometer is broken in the lab, follow these steps:

1. Inform the instructor of the breakage.

2. Keep others away from the spill area.
3. Obtain a mercury spill kit.
4. Put on a pair of disposable gloves.
5. Following the mercury spill kit instructions explicitly, collect the mercury and
place in the appropriate container. Also place any items (such as the
thermometer bulb) which have mercury on them in the container. DO NOT
ALLOW THE MERCURY TO CONTACT THE SKIN!!
6. Contact the UTC Safety Director for pick up of the sealed mercury waste
containers.

Appendix B
Flow Meter Calibration Curves

Appendix C
Data Collection Procedure

Cooling Tower Data Collection Procedure

1. Outlet Air Velocity

The outlet air velocity readings were obtained using the anemometer/thermometer
instrument provided by the instructor. The top of the cooling tower where the air exits
was divided into eight equal sections as shown by in Figure 1 below. Four velocity
readings were taken at equal intervals in each section. A weighted average of the
velocities in the eight sections was then calculated to provide an overall average
velocity.
Measurement Point

Figure 1. Velocity Measurement Profile

1. Inlet Air Velocity

The inlet air velocity was obtained by taking one velocity measurement in the center
of each of the three sections of the fan inlet using the anemometer/thermometer
instrument. An average of these three measurements was then calculated.

1. Ambient Air Conditions

The dry bulb and wet bulb readings of the ambient air were measured using a sling
psychrometer. The wick on the wet bulb thermometer was wetted with reservoir water
and the psychrometer readings were taken within five feet of the fan inlet. To obtain
accurate readings of the ambient conditions, readings were taken away from the open
windows containing the hoses to the unit. This precaution minimized the influence of
the humidity controlled air from the building. Four readings of the wet bulb and dry
bulb temperatures were obtained during the course of an experiment, and the average
of these readings was calculated and used in conjunction with a psychrometric chart to
obtain a relative humidity value for the ambient air.

1. Outlet Air Conditions

Outlet air dry bulb and wet bulb readings were obtained each time experimental
conditions, such as pump or motor speed, were changed. These readings were
obtained by placing the psychrometer (with the wet bulb wick wetted with reservoir
water) in the exit air stream on top of the cooling tower. One set of readings was taken
each time an experiment was changed and these readings were used along with the
psychrometric chart to obtain relative humidity readings for the exit air.

5. Flow Rate

Flow meter data collected by the LabView computer program was taken and used in
conjunction with the flow meter calibration curves in Appendix ## to obtain the water
flow rate measurements.

1. Pump and Fan Speeds

The fan and pump speeds (full power equal to 60 Hz) were taken directly from the
LabView computer program.

1. Cooling Water Supply and Cooling Water Return Temperatures

The cooling water supply and cooling water return temperatures were taken directly
from the LabView computer program.
 Appendix D
Sample Calculations
Sample Calculations

The data collected from one of the experiments is shown below.

Steady State Data In Out

Temperature of Water (oF) 76 71
Mass Flow Rate (pounds) 53.1 53.1
Dry Bulb of Air (oF) 77 76
Wet Bulb of Air (oF) 74 76
Velocity of Air (feet) N/A 600

By using the temperature of the water streams, the enthalpy of each of the streams was
determined from the steam tables. The stream going in has a value of 44.09 BTU/lb.
The stream coming out has an enthalpy value 39.09 BTU/lb. The mass flow rate is
53.1 lbs.

The enthalpy can be determined by:

The enthalpy of the air going in can be determined from the pyschrometric chart. The
enthalpy of the input air was 36.7 BTU/lb DA. The enthalpy of the output air was 39.6
BTU/lb DA. The volumetric flow rate of the air coming out was determined by using
an anemometer to determine the velocity of the air. The velocity was then multiplied
by the area of the output duct of the cooling tower. This is shown by 2.98 ft2*600 ft =
1788 ft3.

The volume of the output air is 13.8 ft3/llb DA. The volume is used to determine the
mass flow rate by

The mass flow of the air is then multiplied by the enthalpy of the input and the output
air streams.

These calculations are used for any combination of any pump speed and fan speed.