COOLING SYSTEM

Definition:
Cooling is the transfer of thermal energy from one medium to another. Many
cooling applications use water as a medium to absorb heat, because water has a high
boiling point and high specific heat. Cooling system is used to reject heat from a
process or plant. It keeps the temperature of a structure or device from exceeding limits
imposed by needs of safety and efficiency. The cooling system serves three important
functions. First, it removes excess heat from the engine; second, it maintains the engine
operating temperature where it works most efficiently; and finally, it brings the engine up
to the right operating temperature as quickly as possible. Cooling systems are
employed in automobiles, industrial plant machinery, nuclear reactors, and many other
types of machinery. Cooling systems or thermal protection play the most important role
in ensuring reliable and highly economical operation of power plants. They cool the
hottest and most stressed components and maintain the calculated thermal stress level
of the parts.
The cooling agents customarily employed are air and a liquid (usually water or a
solution of water and antifreeze), either alone or in combination. In some cases, direct
contact with ambient air (free convection) may be sufficient; in other cases, it may be
necessary to employ forced-air convection, created either by a fan or by the natural
motion of the hot body. Liquid is typically moved through a continuous loop in the
cooling system by a pump.

The cooling system or the circulating water system provides a continuous supply
of cooling water to the main condenser to remove the heat rejected by the turbine and
auxiliary systems. In the main condenser, the cooling water becomes hot. This energy is
rejected to the atmosphere via cooling towers. The cooling towers are devices that
reject waste heat to the atmosphere by cooling a water stream to a lower temperature.
Cooling towers are built in places where a scarcity of water. Using cooling towers
reduces the cooling water requirement, and only makeup water is to be supplied. The
cooling towers significantly reduce the cooling water demand, but it is achieved at the
expense of large capital costs.
https://youtu.be/kASLz29cU1g

The three main types of cooling system are:

1. Closed Recirculating System or Dry cooling towers operate by heat transfer

through a surface that separates the working fluid from ambient air, such as in a
tube to the air heat exchanger, utilizing convective heat transfer. They do not use
evaporation; hence the consumption of makeup water is minimal.
In closed recirculating systems or dry cooling towers, heat absorbed by the
cooling water is either transferred to a second coolant, or released into the
atmosphere. Dry cooling towers conduct heat transfer through air-cooled heat
exchangers that separate the working fluid from the cooling air. Because there is no
direct contact between the working fluid and the ambient air, there is no water loss in
this system.
The word dry is used because the water is never exposed to the air, and as a
result, very little water is lost. Evaporation is not used in closed recirculating cooling
towers. Instead, cool air rushes over a series of small tubes containing circulating
coolant.
Average Temperature Change: 10-15° F (6-8° C)
Amount of Water Used: Negligible
These systems are classified into two types:
1. Direct dry cooling systems.
Steam is condensed using ambient air, meaning no water is consumed. Turbine
exhaust steam is condensed directly through an air-cooled condenser (ACC). A
large-diameter piping is used at the turbine outlet to accommodate the relatively low
steam densities (compared with water) and reduce the pressure drop through the
route. The exhaust steam flows inside the tubes of ACC and is condensed by
transferring the heat to the flowing air outside the surface of the heat exchanger.

2. Indirect dry cooling systems.

Steam is condensed in conventional water-cooled condensers, but the cooling
water is kept in a closed systems. The turbine exhaust steam is condensed in a
surface heat exchanger called condenser where the heat of the exhaust steam is
transferred to the cold water pumped from the air-cooled heat exchanger located
inside the cooling tower. The cooling water gains the heat in the condenser and is
pumped back to the heat exchanger inside the cooling tower. Air is introduced to
flow across the exterior surface of the heat exchanger to cool the hot water inside
the heat exchanger tubes. The cooled water inside the heat exchanger tubes is then
pumped back to the condenser. The turbine exhaust is condensed by the circulating
water rather by the ambient air directly; hence, it gets the name of indirect cooling.
 In a dry cooling tower, air can be introduced either by mechanical draft or by
natural draft to move the air across the ACC. Increasing volumetric flow rate of air
through heat exchangers improves the performance of the cooling system which
ultimately depends on the air dry bulb temperature. Although dry cooling has
advantages for water conservation and environmental protection, it suffers from
lower efficiency when ambient air temperature is high. Thus, new technologies in
increasing CST power plant production during high ambient temperatures are
required.

2. Open Recirculating System or Wet cooling tower or Evaporative Cooling

Tower (or open circuit cooling towers). It operates on the principle of evaporative
cooling. Evaporative cooling is the addition of water vapor into the air, which causes
a lowering of the temperature of the air and the water. The energy needed to
evaporate the water is taken from the remaining mass of water, thus reducing its
temperature. The cooling water from the plant is pumped to a height of about 10 m
and distributed over the cooling tower fill, cascading down the fill to the well at the
bottom. Inside the wet cooling tower, fills are added to increase the contact surface
and contact time between air and water to provide better heat transfer.
This system reuse cooling water in a second cycle rather than immediately
discharging it back to the original water source. Most commonly, wet-recirculating
systems use cooling towers to expose water to ambient air. Some of the water
evaporates; the rest is then sent back to the condenser in the power plant. Because
wet-recirculating systems only withdraw water to replace any water that is lost through
evaporation in the cooling tower, these systems have much lower water withdrawals
than once-through systems, but tend to have appreciably higher water consumption.
Open recirculating cooling systems save a tremendous amount of fresh water
compared to the alternative method, once-through cooling. The quantity of water
discharged to waste is greatly reduced in the open recirculating method, and chemical
treatment is more economical. However, open recirculating cooling systems are
inherently subject to more treatment-related problems than once-through systems:
Cooling by evaporation increases the dissolved solids concentration in the water, raising
corrosion and deposition tendencies.
The relatively higher temperatures significantly increase corrosion potential.
The longer retention time and warmer water in an open recirculating system increase
the tendency for biological growth.
Airborne gases such as sulfur dioxide, ammonia or hydrogen sulfide can be absorbed
from the air, causing higher corrosion rates.
Microorganisms, nutrients, and potential foulants can also be absorbed into the water
across the tower.

3. Once- Through Cooling System is the cooling systems that uses water's cooling
capacity a single time. These systems use large volumes of water and typically
discharge the once-through water directly to waste. Large volumes of water are
necessary for even the smallest once-through systems; therefore, a plentiful water
supply at a suitably low temperature is needed. It transfer heat to a continuously
running supply of cold water, which is then discharged into the sewer. Typical OTC
appliances include air conditioners, refrigerators and ice machines. They are often
used in small commercial cooling applications, as they are inexpensive to install.
However, the costs associated with constantly running water through the unit are
often higher than alternative cooling methods.
Cooling systems that use a water's cooling capacity a single time are called once-
through cooling systems. These systems use large volumes of water and typically
discharge the once-through water directly to waste. Large volumes of water are
necessary for even the smallest once-through systems; therefore, a plentiful water
supply at a suitably low temperature is needed. It transfer heat to a continuously running
supply of cold water, which is then discharged into the sewer. Because of the large
volumes involved, once-through cooling systems often use water from rivers, lakes, or
(occasionally) well networks. The only external treatment generally applied to a once-
through system is mechanical screening to protect downstream equipment from serious
damage due to foreign material intrusion. Evaporation is negligible, so no significant
change in water chemistry occurs.
 It uses cool water that circulates only once through the entire system and returned to
the receiving body of water. Power utility services often uses this type of system.
 In Power Industry, Cooling water is drawn from a local source e.g. ocean, lake, river
or other).
 Passed through the condenser tubes, and returned to the environment at a higher
temperature.
 It contains two main water cycle:
1. Boiler Water Cycle- it is used to create steam via the energy source such as
fossil fuel combustion, fission chain reaction, heat exchange with deep rocks
or a heat transfer fluid and convey it to an electricity-generating turbine.
2. Cooling Water Cycle– to cool and condense the after-turbine steam. This
condensation decreases the volume of the expanded steam, creating a
suction vacuum which draws it through the turbine blade. Then to discharge
surplus heat to the environment.
Power Plants that uses once-through system:
a. Diablo Canyon Power Plant
For nearly three decades, Diablo Canyon Power Plant has remained one of the safest
and most efficient commercial nuclear power plants in the United States. It can generate
power nearly 3 million Northern and Central California homes. It uses upwards of 2.5
billion gallons of water from the Pacific Ocean to condense steam after it has passed
through the two electrical generators in a process known once-through cooling.
Dangers of Once-through
When the water from a once-through system returns to the original source, it can have
temperatures up to 37°C hotter than the surrounding water. This has been shown not
only to scorch unsuspecting marine life, but also to contribute to algae blooms and ruin
coral reefs, further harming the ecosystem.
Nearly all nuclear power plants, which use cooling towers, use wet cooling towers
based on the principle of evaporative cooling. Some water, about 1%, goes into the air
in the form of water vapor by absorbing its latent heat of vaporization from the remaining
water and thus causes the reduction in the water temperature as ambient air is drawn
past a flow of water. The remaining water (cooled) is collected in a sump at the bottom
of the tower and returned to the condenser.

The types of cooling towers based on the draught (method of air circulation) are:

Natural draught cooling towers. Natural draught cooling towers utilize buoyancy via a
tall hyperboloid chimney. Hyperboloid cooling towers are typical for natural draught
cooling towers because of their structural strength and because of the fact that the
hyperboloid shape also aids in accelerating the upward convective airflow, improving
cooling efficiency. In this cooling tower, the hot cooling water (e.g., 25°C) from the
condenser is pumped to a height of about 10 m, enters the tower, and then sprayed
over the trays. Water droplets fall down and meet the colder air entering from the
bottom of the tower, which is open to the atmosphere. Hot water (e.g., 25°C) gives up
its heat to the air and gets cooled (e.g., 22°C). Warm, moist air naturally rises due to the
density differential compared to the dry, cooler outside air. Warm moist air is less dense
than drier air at the same pressure. This moist air buoyancy produces an upwards
current of air through the hyperboloid tower. The cooled water falls down in the form of
rain and gets collected in the pond at the bottom of the tower.
Mechanical draught cooling towers. In general, in the mechanical draught cooling
towers, the air is circulated using a mechanical device like a fan or a blower.
Forced draught cooling towers. Forced draught cooling towers use the fan, which is
installed at the bottom of the tower. This produces high entering and low exiting air
velocities; therefore, these towers are much more susceptible to recirculation.
Induced draught cooling towers. Induced draught cooling towers use the fan, which is
installed at the top of the tower. This produces low entering and high exiting air
velocities, reducing the possibility of recirculation in which discharged air flows back into
the air intake.
Note that not all nuclear power plants have cooling towers, and conversely, the same
kind of cooling towers are often used at large coal-fired power plants. In large power
plants, cooling towers are used in the place of cooling fans. Industrial cooling towers are
larger than HVAC systems and are used to remove heat absorbed in the circulating
cooling water systems used in power plants, petroleum refineries, petrochemical plants,
natural gas processing plants, food processing plants, and other industrial facilities.
Power stations utilize a substantial amount of water in the generation of electricity.