Mathematics IA

How does the hyperbola equation and trigonometric function create a mathematical

model of a nuclear natural draft cooling tower, deriving a way to calculate the volume

and surface area of revolution?

Student Code: hrl053

Session: May 2022

Contents

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1
MODELLING THE TOWER .............................................................................................................................. 2
METHOD 1: HYPERBOLA EQUATION ............................................................................................................. 3
METHOD 2: TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS................................................................................................... 7
CALCULATING THE VOLUME: Hyperbola Equation ..................................................................................... 11
CALCULATING THE SURFACE AREA: Hyperbola Equation ........................................................................... 12
CALCULATING THE VOLUME: Trigonometric Functions ............................................................................. 13
CALCULATING THE SURFACE AREA: Trigonometric Functions.................................................................... 14
DISCUSSION................................................................................................................................................. 15
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................... 16
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................ 17
INTRODUCTION

The idea of applying mathematical theory in the context of real-life situations has always

fascinated me. During a class in physics, we discussed shortly on nuclear cooling

towers. Despite glossing over it shortly, my mind wondered on its unusual shape. How

would one model such a structure? Through this questioning, I wished to explore the

different methods of modeling, and especially, to calculate the volume and surface area

as a way to expand the investigation and gain a better understanding of this peculiar

construction.

I chose this investigation as my topic due to interest in the topic of modeling and

graphing due to its practicality in many aspects of construction. Unfortunately, I was not

able to find any measurements of any cooling tower; therefore, I set the aim of this

investigation to explore suitable mathematical models that would best fit the cooling

tower, calculating the volume and surface area, and comparing them. I wanted to utilize

my mathematical knowledge to finally solve this long-overdue perplexion I had with

cooling towers, finding the most appropriate equation that fit the shape of the structure.

This forms the research question of this investigation, “How does the hyperbola

equation and trigonometric function create a mathematical model of a nuclear

natural draft cooling tower, deriving a way to calculate the volume and surface

area of revolution?”

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MODELLING THE TOWER

To calculate the volume and the surface area of the cooling tower, the height of the

tower has been assumed to be 95 meters where one unit represents 10 meters. The

height has been taken as an average from other cooling towers found online. Since the

image obtained is not precisely taken directly at the center of the cooling tower, the axis

of symmetry has been estimated.

Figure 1: Online image of the Figure 2: Cropped image of the

cooling tower being modeled. cooling tower (length = 95m) inserted

into Desmos.

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Before proceeding, the cooling tower must be broken down into a simple 2D shape. It

gives us a starting point of how the model would then be rotated about an axis to

calculate its volume and surface area.

Figure 3: Simple 2D shape of a cooling tower

By drawing the cooling tower as seen on Figure 3, it highlights the general form of how

a cooling tower would look in plane geometry. With this in mind, it provides an idea of

the curvature of the cooling tower and the plausible methods that could model the

shape.

METHOD 1: HYPERBOLA EQUATION

The shape of the cooling tower is quite similar to a hyperbola therefore the use of a

hyperbola equation will be utilized as a first method. To model a hyperbola, two things

are needed – the vertex and the focus. Depending on the transverse axis of the

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hyperbola, the equation can differ. If on the -axis where the vertices and foci have

coordinates (0, a) and (0, c), then the equation is as following:

(1)

The shifts the -intercept of the graph, where it can be used to vary the horizontal

distance between the two curves in a hyperbola. The of the equation changes the

curvature of the hyperbola, where the lower it is, the greater the curvature – an inverse

correlation. Otherwise, if on the -axis where the vertices and foci have coordinates (a,

0) and (c, 0) then the equation is:

(2)

where is the coordinates of the vertices and is the coordinates of the focus for both

equations. To find , the equation used is:

(3)

Following equation (2), shifts the -intercept of the graph while changes the

distance between the -axis.

(Byjus.com1)

1
Hyperbola equation

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Figure 4: Graphical representation of a hyperbola on the -axis and -axis respectively.

The general models obtained from Figure 4 aids in the attempt to applying the correct

hyperbola equation onto the natural draft cooling tower. Following this, Figure 2 shows

us that the cooling tower is on the -axis therefore equation (2) will be used. To model

the tower, the coordinates of the vertices must first be found. The vertices can be taken

as the -intercept of the graph. Therefore, from Figure 2, the coordinates obtained is

roughly (2.2, 0). The focus of the graph, (4.7, 0) has been chosen at random. This can

be changed accordingly if the hyperbola does not fit with the model. With these

coordinates, we can substitute these values into equation (3):

(4)

Now, these values give us the equation:

(5)

This equation allows us to draw a hyperbola graph onto the image to see whether it fits.

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 It can be seen from Figure 5 that the shape of the

hyperbola does not fit quite right yet. To properly

calculate the volume and surface area of the model, the

hyperbola equation needs to be adjusted to fit the model

and must be rotated on the -axis by following equation

(1):

Judging from Figure 5, the vertex point of equation (5) is

Figure 5: Graphical
too low. Upon closer inspection of the cooling tower, its
representation of equation (5)
vertex is at (1, 0).This can be done by modifying the

equation, where is subtracted by 1, shifting it upwards

on the -axis by (1, 0). Therefore, the equation of the

hyperbola has become:

(6)

Equation (6) has been modified to raise the -level of

the hyperbola by 1 after rotating the equation and the

Figure 6: Graphical representation
model onto the -axis. This has led the hyperbola to fit
of equation (6)
the model far better in Figure 6. However, the graph

begins to deviate from the image as it progresses past the vertex point. With equation

(6) in mind, it is now possible to calculate the volume and surface area of the cooling

tower.

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METHOD 2: TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS

Judging from the shape of the cooling tower in Figure 2 and seeing as how the cooling

tower fit well with a hyperbolic equation, a trigonometric function would be used to

model the cooling tower to see if it fits the model better. To help with modeling, the

cooling tower in Figure 2 will be rotated 90° clockwise so it is horizontal on the -axis. It

has also been translated right by (0, 5.5) so that the -values of the cooling tower are

above 0. The form of any trigonometric function follows the basic equation of:

(7)

The properties of this function are:

 which represents the amplitude of the curve

 represents either a or graph

 equates to the period of the curve – the distance of one complete cycle

 determines the horizontal shift

 determines the vertical shift

(Math.net2)

2
Trigonometric Functions | Sinusoidal

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Figure 7: The cooling tower with dotted points following the local maxima and minima.

As seen in Figure 7, the cooling tower starts at the local maxima which have been

determined to be (0, 3.75). With this in mind, it means that this model follows the shape

of a cosine curve:

Figure 8: A cosine curve with the function .

Taking Figure 7 and Figure 8 into account, a cosine curve can now be graphed

following equation (7), where each value will be calculated from the values obtained in

Figure 7. With the local maxima and minima, the amplitude can be calculated through:

(8)

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 (9)

To obtain , the distance between two consecutive points which in this case is from one

vertex to another – the period must be found which has been obtained from the local

minima:

With this, can be calculated through the formula:

(10)

(11)

The local maxima of the cooling tower in Figure 7 is at (0, 3.75). This means that there

is no horizontal shift in the curve. Therefore, . The vertical shift on the other hand

can be calculated through the distance between the -axis and the axis of the cosine

graph where:

(12)

With all the properties of the graph obtained, the function can be written as:

(13)

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This function provides the following model:

Figure 9: Cosine function modeled onto the cooling tower

From Figure 9, it can be seen as to how the cosinusoidal function does not fit the

cooling tower perfectly, where the beginning of the cosine curve overestimates the

cooling tower which would lead to a larger volume and surface area.

With both of these methods, the volume and surface area can be calculated and

compared, identifying the differences and drawing a conclusion.

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CALCULATING THE VOLUME: Hyperbola Equation

To calculate the volume of revolution, a 2D function must be rotated on the -axis by

and an integral between to limits which provides the following formula:

(14)

Where and and represent the lower and upper limits respectively. This is

known as the disc method3. In the context of this investigation, to obtain the volume of

revolution, equation (6) must be rearranged accordingly, making the subject:

(15)

Hence, equation (14) can be applied to equation (15) with the lower limit and upper limit

of the model seen in Figure 2:

(16)

3
Volume of Revolution | Brilliant Math & Science Wiki

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Since 1 unit has been represented as 10 meters, the volume would then be multiplied

by :

CALCULATING THE SURFACE AREA: Hyperbola Equation

The formula for the surface area of a solid of revolution that has been rotated about the

-axis in the interval is 4:

(17)

From equation (15), the derivative of can be found through the use of implicit

differentiation:

(18)

Where relates back to equation (15):

(19)

With equation (18) and equation (19), it can be implemented into equation (17), where

the surface area can be calculated:

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Area of a Surface of Revolution

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 (20)

For the surface area, all calculations would be multiplied by :

CALCULATING THE VOLUME: Trigonometric Functions

Equation (14) can be implemented to the volume of revolution formula discussed earlier,

where is substituted to be equation (14) and the upper limit of the function is the

height of the cooling tower in Desmos:

(21)

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CALCULATING THE SURFACE AREA: Trigonometric Functions

Using equation (17), the surface area of the cosinusoidal function can be calculated.

However, the derivative of the cosinusoidal function must be found first:

(22)

Now equation (17) and equation (20) can be inserted into the formula of an area of a

surface of revolution:

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DISCUSSION

Through both methods, I was able to identify the possible errors and strengths each

mathematical model had in its ability of producing an accurate model of the cooling

tower. Figure 6 had fewer deviations than Figure 9, where the shape of the hyperbola

fit much better due to overestimations in the trigonometric function. By calculating the

volume and surface area, it highlights the degree of inaccuracy of the trigonometric

function when compared to the hyperbola equation. The volume had a difference of

while the surface area had a difference of . The trigonometric

function had the higher values, evidently seen in the great overestimations the function

has on the cooling tower.

The analysis of both results points towards the hyperbola equation being more

favorable as a way to accurately model and deduce the volume and surface area of the

cooling tower. The trigonometric function seems to be unfit for modeling a cooling tower

due to its curvature of a cosine function as seen in Figure 9. One slight issue with the

hyperbola equation is that the focal point has been assumed to a certain degree, where

it could affect the accuracy of the hyperbola. Furthermore, structurally, the bottom of the

cooling tower would not continue as a hyperbola would. Despite this, the general

hyperboloid shape of nuclear natural draft cooling towers allows the hyperbola equation

to be applied to most structures of similar manner.

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CONCLUSION

Through the application of varying areas of mathematics, the aim of this investigation

has been achieved. Using methods such as the hyperbola equation and through

trigonometric functions, two plausible models of a nuclear natural draft cooling tower

has been produced, where it has been deduced that the former is more accurate.

Comparing the difference in volume and surface area proved the difference in accuracy

between the two methods. The calculation of the volume and surface areas of both

methods showcase the overestimation of a trigonometric function in modeling a cooling

tower. The hyperbola equation seems to be a far more accurate method of determining

the volume and surface area of the model itself, providing a function with fewer

deviations from the cooling tower.

However, there are a few limitations to the investigation, one being that the thickness of

the concrete used to build the cooling tower is unknown and therefore the volume may

vary accordingly. The overall measurements of the building were also unavailable,

preventing the ability to calculate its true volume and surface area. Furthermore, the

bottom structure of the cooling tower is built in a triangular pattern; the calculated

surface area of the cooling tower would not be entirely accurate. Lastly, the points used

to plot both methods are subject to human error, where assumptions along with the axis

of symmetry have been approximated to the closest degree. These assumptions result

in a slightly deviating graph. To further the scope of the investigation, different modeling

methods could be used to calculate the volume and surface area, comparing the

differences and degree of accuracy to one another. Then, the percentage error between

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the models and the actual volume and surface area could be calculated and compared,

finding the best mathematical model that suits the tower.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brilliant. “Volume of Revolution.” Brilliant Math & Science Wiki,

https://brilliant.org/wiki/volume-of-revolution/#disc-method.

Math24. “Calculus.” Area of a Surface of Revolution, https://math24.net/area-surface-

revolution.html.

BYJUS. “Hyperbola Equation -Major, Minor Axis, Related Terms and Solved Example.”,

3 Jan. 2022, https://byjus.com/hyperbola-formula/.

Math.net. “Sinusoidal.” Learn and Practice Math - Math.net,

https://www.math.net/sinusoidal.

Desmos. “Desmos | Graphing Calculator.” Desmos, https://www.desmos.com/calculator.

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