12/28/21, 3:21 PM Cooling tower basics calculation formulas | Cooling Tower Efficiency

Cooling tower basics calculation formulas | Cooling Tower Efficiency

In this article explained about basic concepts of cooling tower, types of cooling
towers, formula for cooling tower efficiency. Also brief about Cooling tower mass
balance  of make-up water requirement in system, Drift Losses or Windage,
Evaporation losses & Blowdown or Draw off.

Types of cooling tower | Cooling Tower Basic Calculations

Contents  [hide]
1 Types of cooling tower | Cooling Tower Basic Calculations
1.1 Types of Cooling Towers
1.1.1 Mechanical draft water-cooling tower:
1.1.1.1 Forced draught cooling tower
1.1.1.2 Induced draught cooling tower
1.1.2 Natural draft water-cooling tower
1.2 Design Considerations of cooling tower
1.3 Operation Considerations of cooling tower (Cooling tower mass balance)
1.3.1 Drift Losses (D) or Windage
1.3.2 Evaporation Losses (E )
1.3.3 Blowdown or Draw off
1.3.4 Cycle of Concentration (COC)
1.4 Cooling Tower Efficiency Calculations
1.4.1 Cooling Tower Approach
1.4.2 Cooling Tower Range

Cooling towers are a very important part of many process plants and power
plants.  The make-up water source is used to refill water lost to evaporation.  Hot
water from heat exchangers/condenser is sent to the cooling tower. After reducing
the temperature of water in cooling tower and is sent back to the condenser
/exchangers or to other units for further process.

https://www.sugarprocesstech.com/cooling-tower-basics/ 1/9
12/28/21, 3:21 PM Cooling tower basics calculation formulas | Cooling Tower Efficiency

Terminology in Cooling Tower

Drift: From a cooling tower water lost due to liquid droplets entrained in the
exhaust air. It is independent of water lost by evaporation.
Heat exchange/ Condenser – It is a device for transferring heat from one
substance to another.
Concentration : The process of increasing solids per unit volume of solution also
the amount of material dissolved in a unit volume of solution.
Usually concentration of liquid in cooling tower occurs due to evaporation that
cools the water. It is normally expressed directly as (parts per million) ppm or
indirectly as mhos conductivity.
Air Blows: By the opening in cooling tower through which air enters a tower.
Blowdown: Water discharged from the system of cooling tower to control
concentration of salts or other impurities in the circulating water
Evaporation loss: In the process of  cooling tower system, water evaporated from
the circulating water into the atmosphere. 
Makeup : Water added to the circulating water in cooling tower system to replace
water lost by evaporation, blowdown, drift and leakage
Drift eliminators: An assembly constructed of plastic, cement board, wood, or
other material that minimize the entrained water moisture from the discharged air. 
Cooling water : Water circulated through a cooling system to remove heat from
certain areas. 
Exhaust air : The mixture of air and its associated vapor leaving the cooling tower
system
https://www.sugarprocesstech.com/cooling-tower-basics/ 2/9
12/28/21, 3:21 PM Cooling tower basics calculation formulas | Cooling Tower Efficiency

Louvers : Members installed horizontally in a cooling tower wall to provide

openings through which the air enters into the system while also containing the
falling water within the tower. Usually Louvers are installed at an angle to the
direction of air flow to the cooling tower. 
Fundamental Concept of Cooling Tower :   Heat is transferred from water drops
to the surrounding atmospheric air by the transfer of latent heat and sensible heat.

Types of Cooling Towers

Cooling towers mainly classified into two sub-divisions
1. Mechanical draft cooling tower
2. Natural draft cooling tower

Mechanical draft water-cooling tower:

Mechanical draft cooling towers are more commonly used for cooling of water. 
These mechanical draft cooling towers utilize large fans to force air through
circulated water.   The water falls downward over surface of fills, which help
increase the contact time between the air and water.  This helps maximize heat
transfer between the air and water.
Mechanical draft water-cooling tower consists mainly two types
a) Forced draft – In this cooling tower fans located at the air inlet
b) Induced draft – In this cooling tower fans located at the air exhaust.

Forced draught cooling tower

These take the form of a large rectangular concrete structure. The water is
pumped to the top and broken up into sprays. It falls as rain on to successive
stages of boards in the form of louvres of wood, polystyrene or metal, with
notches and ribs to break up the flow. The water flows from one stage to the next
and finally arrives at the pond which forms the base of the structure, from which it
is taken by the cold water pump.

https://www.sugarprocesstech.com/cooling-tower-basics/ 3/9
12/28/21, 3:21 PM Cooling tower basics calculation formulas | Cooling Tower Efficiency

In a forced draught cooling tower, as shown in figure. The circulation of air in

forced draft cooling tower is produced by means of fans placed at the base of
the tower

Induced draught cooling tower

In an induced draught cooling tower, as shown in below figure. The circulation
of air is provided by means of fans placed at the top of the tower.
They are generally induced draft cooling tower classified as counter
current or cross flow tower, descriptive of the direction of air flows relative to
that of the water.
The counter current tower is expected to be more efficient, but the cross flow
tower can be operated with lower power requirement or higher vapour
velocities.
Induced Draft Cooling Tower – Counter Current Flow type

https://www.sugarprocesstech.com/cooling-tower-basics/ 4/9
12/28/21, 3:21 PM Cooling tower basics calculation formulas | Cooling Tower Efficiency

Induced Draft Cooling Tower – Cross Flow type

Natural draft water-cooling tower

The cooling tower, generally packed with brushwood or wooden laths. This is a
very large tower in which the hot water encounters a natural draught which
promotes cooling of the water by convection and evaporation.

https://www.sugarprocesstech.com/cooling-tower-basics/ 5/9
12/28/21, 3:21 PM Cooling tower basics calculation formulas | Cooling Tower Efficiency

In a natural draught cooling tower, as shown in figure the circulation of air is

produced by the pressure difference of air inside and outside the cooling tower

Design Considerations of cooling tower

The efficiency of this device depends essentially on climatic conditions, in
particular the wet-bulb temperature and the relative humidity of the ambient air.
The required cooling tower design and size will be a function of following values
a) Cooling range
b) Web bulb temperature
c) Approach to wet bulb temperature
d) Mass flowrate of water (Circulation rate)
e) Air velocity through tower or individual tower cell
f) Tower height
The performance of cooling towers is estimated by approach and range. During
the performance assessment, portable monitoring instruments are used to
measure the following parameters:
a) Dry bulb temperature of air
b) Wet bulb temperature of air
c) Cooling tower inlet water temperature
d) Cooling tower outlet water temperature
e) Electrical readings of pump and fan motors
f) Exhaust air temperature
g) Water flow rate
h) Air flow rate

https://www.sugarprocesstech.com/cooling-tower-basics/ 6/9
12/28/21, 3:21 PM Cooling tower basics calculation formulas | Cooling Tower Efficiency

Operation Considerations of cooling tower (Cooling tower mass

balance)
Cooling tower mass balance gives an indication about make-up water requirement
in system. Cooling Tower Makeup is required due to water losses resulting from
Drift, Evaporation & Blowdown.
Water make-up (M ) = Total water losses = Drift Losses ( D) + Evaporation Losses
(E ) + Blow down Losses (B)
M=D+E+B
M = Make up water Requirement in m 3 /hr
D = Drift Loss in m 3 /hr
E = Evaporation Loss  in m 3 /hr
B = Blow Down in m 3 /hr

Drift Losses (D) or Windage

Drift losses may be assumed to be:
D = 0.3 to 1.0 percent of Circulating water (C ) for a natural draft cooling tower
D = 0.1 to 0.3 percent of Circulating water (C ) for an induced draft cooling
tower
D = about 0.01 percent or less of Circulating water (C ) if the cooling tower
has windage drift eliminators

Evaporation Losses (E )
It is calculated on the basis of heat balance around the cooling tower

where:
C = Circulating water in m 3 /hr

 = Latent heat of vaporization of water = 540 kcal/kg (or) 2260 kJ / kg or

Ti – To  = water temperature difference from tower top to tower bottom in °C (

cooling tower inlet hot water and outlet cold water temperature difference)
Cp = specific heat of water = 1  kcal/kg / °C (or) 4.184 kJ / kg / °C
Alternatively to find the evaporation loss by the following formula (Reference:
Perry’s Chemical Engineers Hand Book)
Evaporation loss in m 3 /hr  =  0.00085 x 1.8 x circulation rate in m 3 /hr  x (Ti-
To) in  0 C
( Hint: Theoretically the evaporation quantity for every 1,000,000 kCal heat
rejected to evaporate 1.8 m 3  of water)

Blowdown or Draw off

https://www.sugarprocesstech.com/cooling-tower-basics/ 7/9
12/28/21, 3:21 PM Cooling tower basics calculation formulas | Cooling Tower Efficiency

The process of cooling water circulates the cooling tower part of water evaporates
thereby increasing solids per unit volume of solution also the amount of material
dissolved in a unit volume of solution.
To control the Cycle of Concentration blow down or Draw off is given. Blowdown
can be calculated from the formula

B = E/ (COC-1)
B = Blow Down (m 3 /hr)
E = Evaporation Loss (m 3 /hr)
COC = Cycle of Concentration.

Cycle of Concentration (COC)

The cycle of concentration is a dimensionless number. It is a ratio between
parameter in Cooling Water to the parameter in Makeup water. It can be
calculated from any the following formulae.
Cycles of concentration (COC) = Silica in Cooling Water / Silica in Makeup
Water
Cycles of concentration (COC)  = Ca Hardness in Cooling Water/ Ca Hardness
in Makeup water
Cycles of concentration (COC)  = Conductivity of Cooling Water / Conductivity
of Makeup water
Cycles of concentration (COC) = Concentration of chlorides in circulating water
/Concentration of chlorides in make-up water
The cycle of concentration (COC) normally varies from 3.0 to 7.0 depending on
the Process Design and Manufactures Guidelines. In some large power plants,
concentration cycles of the cooling tower may be much higher.

Cooling Tower Efficiency Calculations

The efficiency of this cooling tower system depends on climatic conditions, in
particular the wet-bulb temperature and the relative humidity of the ambient air.

The required cooling tower design and size will be a function of following values
a) Cooling range
b) Web bulb temperature
c) Approach to wet bulb temperature
d) Mass flowrate of water (Circulation rate)
e) Air velocity through tower or individual tower cell
g) Tower height

https://www.sugarprocesstech.com/cooling-tower-basics/ 8/9
12/28/21, 3:21 PM Cooling tower basics calculation formulas | Cooling Tower Efficiency

In this calculation Cooling Tower Approach & Cooling Tower Range are

important factors

Cooling Tower Approach

Approach: The difference between the Cooling Tower Outlet water (Cold
Water Temperature) and ambient Wet Bulb Temperature is called as Approach
of Cooling Tower.
Approach of cooling tower = Cooling tower outlet water – Wet bulb temperature

Cooling Tower Range

Range: The difference between the cooling tower inlet temperature (Hot Water
Temperature) and cooling tower outlet temperature (Cold water temperature) is
called Range of Cooling Tower.
Range of cooling tower = Cooling tower inlet temperature – Cooling tower outlet
temperature
Cooling Tower Efficiency Formula:

Cooling Tower Efficiency 

Or Simply

Cooling Tower Efficiency 

In practice, the cooling tower efficiency will be in between 65 to 70%. In summer

season the ambient air wet bulb temperature raises when compared to winter
season so cooling tower efficiency limiting in summer season.

https://www.sugarprocesstech.com/cooling-tower-basics/ 9/9