Power-Gen International 2007

Selection of the Appropriate Design Values for the Dry and Wet
Bulb Temperature in Power Plant Cooling Systems

Luc De Backer, PhD & Natasha Peterson

Bechtel Power Corporation

New Orleans December 11-13, 2007

Abstract
Ambient air temperatures, relative humidity, wind velocity, and other weather data are
routinely measured and recorded by the United States Weather Bureau, worldwide US
military airports and various other organizations to whom anticipated weather conditions
are of vital concern. Compilations of these data exist which are extremely valuable to
both the users and designers of cooling systems for power plants. If nothing else is
available, these sources are the only tools for the selection of the design values for the
ambient temperature, like the dry bulb temperature in the case of dry cooling systems or
wet bulb temperature in the case of wet cooling systems and for the optimization of the
cooling system for power plants.

The most widely used source for weather data in relation to the design of heating and
cooling equipment governed by climatic conditions is the ASHRAE (American Society
of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers). This paper will outline how
to select appropriate design values for the dry and wet bulb temperatures using the
climatic design data from the new 2005 ASHRAE Handbook. Other important ambient
conditions like wind speed and direction and their effect on the design of the cooling
system in power plants will be discussed.

1. Introduction
The cooling system is one of the major components in the steam cycle of power plants,
and its major purpose is to reject the heat duty of the steam condenser to the atmosphere.
A critical design step for a cooling system is the appropriate selection of the design
temperature. Depending on the type of cooling system, either the dry bulb temperature or
the wet bulb temperature should be considered. The dry-bulb temperature is the
temperature of the ambient air measured by a thermometer freely exposed to the air but
shielded from radiation and moisture. The wet-bulb temperature is the dynamic
equilibrium temperature obtained by a water surface when the rate of heat transfer to the
surface by convection equals the rate of mass transfer away from the surface6 and is
measured using a thermometer that has its bulb wrapped in cloth—called a sock—that is
kept wet with water via wicking action. Dry cooling systems depend on the dry bulb
temperature since the driving force for heat transfer is the difference in temperature
between the process fluid and the air. Wet cooling systems depend on the wet bulb
temperature since the driving force for heat and mass transfer is the difference in enthalpy
between the water and air. The design temperature of the cooling system should be
selected in such a way that the cooling system will perform adequately for a certain range
of ambient conditions.
The cooling system performance is directly related to the steam turbine back pressure and
to the steam generator output. In the case of an air cooled condenser, the steam turbine

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back pressure increases with the dry bulb temperature. For wet cooling towers, the
condenser water inlet temperature will increase with the wet bulb temperature, and a
higher condenser water inlet temperature corresponds with an increased steam turbine
back pressure. Figure 1 shows an example of the variation in steam generator output as a
function of the steam turbine exhaust pressure, and as can be noticed in this case, the
generator output will decrease about 3 % for every inch increase in steam turbine exhaust
pressure when operating above the design point.

3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
Δ output (%)

-4
-5
-6
-7
-8
-9
-10
-11
-12
-13
1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 6.50 7.00 7.50

LP Turbine Exhaust Pressure (inch HgA)

Figure 1: Variation in Steam Generator Output as Function of Back Pressure.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers

(ASHRAE) provided data tables for more than 4400 weather monitoring stations
worldwide in the 2005 ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals. This published information
is widely used in industry for designing energy-related processes, including air cooled
condensers and cooling towers. Selection of the appropriate ambient temperature will
depend on plant requirements, such as meeting a specific generator output. This paper
will outline how to select appropriate design values for the dry and wet bulb temperatures
using the climatic design data from the new 2005 ASHRAE Handbook and other sources
of climatic information.

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2. Wet Cooling Towers
In an evaporative wet cooling tower, heat and mass are transferred from the cooling water
to the ambient air, and in order to cool the water, there must be a difference between the
water temperature and the wet bulb temperature (WBT) of the air. For a wet tower to be
economically feasible, the difference between the cold water temperature (CWT) and the
inlet wet bulb temperature should be at least 7 ºF. The difference between the CWT and
the WBT is also called the cooling tower approach. In the condenser, heat is transferred
from the condensing steam to the cooling water, and usually the temperature difference
between the steam and the hot water (HWT), also called the TTD, should be at least 5 ºF
for surface condensers in accordance with Heat Exchange Institute (HEI) standards. For a
given heat duty, the difference between the hot water and cold water temperature will
vary with the cooling water flow rate. The difference between the HWT and CWT is also
called the cooling water range.

2.1 Cooling Tower Wet Bulb Temperature and Cold Water Temperature

Selection of the design wet-bulb temperature must be made on the basis of conditions
existing at the site proposed for a cooling tower, and should result in the optimum cold
water temperature at or near the time of peak load demand. For the design point of the
cooling tower, typically a high summer ambient wet bulb temperature is selected, but for
economical evaluations it is important to know how the steam generator output will vary
with the ambient conditions. Therefore, the performance of the cooling tower should be
known to evaluate the cold water temperature at off-design conditions. In the figure
below, a typical performance curve for a cooling tower is shown.

90
88
86
Cold Water Temperature (deg F)

84
82
80
78
76
74
72
70
68
66
50 55 60 65 70 75 80
Inlet Wet Bulb Tem perature (deg F)

Figure 2: Cold Water Temperature as Function of the Wet Bulb Temperature.

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The circulating water flow rate for this cooling tower was 300,000 gpm (gallons per
minute) and to meet the design back pressure in the surface condenser, a cold water
temperature of 80 ºF was required. The ASHRAE handbook provides design values for
the wet bulb temperature corresponding to 0.4, 1.0 and 2 % annual cumulative frequency
of occurrence with the corresponding mean coincident dry bulb temperature. Towers
designed to each of these various wet bulb temperatures will perform differently on an
annual basis, and evaluation of annual performance, as discussed above, will determine
which ASHRAE wet bulb temperature selection will yield a tower design best suited for
specific site needs.

2.2 The Influence of Recirculation, Interference, and Wind on the Design

Even after the correct ambient wet bulb temperature is selected, other environmental
factors will affect tower performance and need to be considered before a final design
temperature is selected. Recirculation occurs when hot and humid air discharged from
the tower mixes with the inlet air and raises the entering wet bulb temperature. Due to
the height of the discharge air stream, recirculation does not occur to a significant extent
in natural draft towers so this effect is limited to mechanical draft. The wind direction
plays a major role in the degree of recirculation that will occur. As wind blows across a
tower, a negative pressure is created on the downwind side of the tower, enhancing
recirculation. The Cooling Technology Institute (CTI) has performed research to
determine what climatic conditions and tower features influence recirculation, and to
what degree2. As can be seen from figure 3, recirculation increases as function of the
cooling tower size, which is related to the cooling tower water flow rate.

3.5
Wet Bulb Temp correction in deg F

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Cooling tower water Flow Rate in 1000 gpm

Figure 3: Maximum Recirculation Allowance as Function of the Water Flow Rate.

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The above relation represents the maximum recirculation that will occur. If the
longitudinal axis of the tower is oriented parallel to the summer prevailing wind
direction, designing for maximum recirculation is not economically justifiable because it
will rarely occur. In lieu of this, the CTI also published recommended recirculation
allowances3 that should be used if the tower is oriented favorably and the
recommendation is typically about 60 % of the maximum recirculation that can occur.

2.3 Other Climatic Data to be Considered in Cooling Tower Design

Evaporative cooling systems (wet cooling towers, WSACs, etc.) rely mainly on the
evaporation of water in the cooling process and need water to make up for the
evaporation, blow down and drift. The total make-up water flow rate that is required for
an evaporative cooling system or cooling tower in particular is given by:
−up = mevap + mblow− down + mdrift
' ' ' '
mmake

Usually, the drift rate (m’drift) is expressed in terms of the circulating water flow rate
(m’circ) and with the current high efficiency drift eliminators, the drift rate can be limited
to 0.0005 % of the circulating water flow rate.

1.8%
RH = 20 %
Evaporation rate to circulating water flow ratio

1.7%

1.6%
RH = 40 %

1.5%
RH = 60 %

1.4%
RH = 80 %
RH = 100 %
1.3%

1.2%

1.1%

1.0%
30 40 50 60 70 80
WBT (deg F)

Figure 4: Evaporation Rate as Function of Wet Bulb Temperature and Relative Humidity

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The blow down rate (m’blow-down) will be a function of the cycles of concentration (COC),
and by applying first principles (mass balance for water) the make-up flow rate can be
related to the evaporation rate using the following equation:
⎛ COC ⎞ '
−up = ⎜ ⎟ mevap
'
mmake
⎝ COC − 1 ⎠
The evaporation rate will vary with the relative humidity (RH) and the ambient wet bulb
temperature (WBT) as shown in figure 4.

In some power plants there is a limit on the amount of water that can be used for cooling
tower make-up and other plant users on a yearly basis, and this value is typically
expressed in acre-foot per year. The cooling tower make-up requirements have to be
integrated over the whole year and it should be determined if the total consumed make-up
water volume on a yearly basis is lower than the specified limit. The first step is to
analyze the climatic data for the site, and in the figure below the occurrence in number of
hours per year and the mean coincident wet bulb temperature is shown for each dry bulb
temperature bin. This information is not available in the ASHRAE handbook, but can be
found in the Engineering Weather Data published by the National Climatic Data Center.

950 70
900
850 60
800
50
750
Number of hours per year

700 40
650

MCWB (deg F)
600 30
550
500 20
450 10
400
350 0
300
250 -10
200
-20
150
100 -30
50
0 -40
00 / 04
05 / 09
10 / 14
15 / 19
20 / 24
25 / 29
30 / 34
35 / 39
40 / 44
45 / 49
50 / 54
55 / 59
60 / 64
65 / 69
70 / 74
75 / 79
80 / 84
85 / 89
90 / 94
95 / 99
-26 / -30
-25 / -21
-20 / -16
-15 / -11
-10 / -06
-05 / -01

DBT range (deg F)

Figure 5: Frequency of Occurrence of each Dry Bulb Temperature and Mean Coincident
Wet Bulb (MCWB) Temperature.

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This kind of analysis is also important when optimizing a parallel condensing system (see
reference 4). In a parallel condensing system, the turbine exhaust steam is condensed in
both the steam surface condenser (SSC) and the ACC. The turbine back pressure can be
controlled by adjusting the capacity of the parallel condensing system, using both the
ACC and cooling tower fans. The cooling tower evaporation rate (water consumption)
can be controlled adjusting the wet cooling capacity. In a water savings mode of
operation, the ACC capacity should be set at its maximum and the heat load to the
cooling tower should be reduced as much as possible by turning off the cooling tower
fans whenever possible. The cooling tower make-up requirements have to be integrated
over the whole year (with the cooling tower operating at 100 % capacity during warm
weather and at reduced capacity during cold weather). The total make-up water
consumption must be monitored throughout the year to ensure that the actual use is below
the specified limit.

Natural draft (ND) towers differ from mechanical draft towers when it comes to
performance. The performance of the ND tower is dependent on the relative humidity as
well as the wet bulb temperature. The draft will increase at high-humidity conditions
because of the increase in available static pressure difference to promote air flow against
internal resistances. Thus the higher the humidity at a given wet bulb, the colder the
outlet water will be for a given set of conditions. This fundamental relationship has been
used to advantage in Germany, Southern/Eastern USA, parts of China, and in Great
Britain, where relative humidity’s are commonly 75 to 85 percent. Therefore, it is
important in the design stages to determine correctly and select the design values for the
wet bulb temperature and relative humidity. The performance relationship to humidity
conditions makes exact control of outlet-water temperature difficult to achieve with an
ND tower, especially when we are discussing lower ambient humidity’s, and thus, it is
very important to understand where in the world a tower will be located. It is extremely
important to specify a correct relative humidity, in addition to the wet bulb temperature,
for the design condition if an ND tower is expected to perform adequately at off-design
conditions.

2.3 Plume Abated Towers

Plume is a nuisance in populated areas because it can create dangerous fog and ice in cold
weather, especially under conditions of high relative humidity and low dry bulb
temperatures. If the cooling tower will be located near roads or neighborhoods, a plume
abated tower can be designed so that a visible plume only exists for limited periods of
time throughout the year. The CTI Acceptance Test Procedure for Wet-Dry Plume
Abatement Cooling Towers suggests that a realistic design point corresponds to a 15% to
20% plume visibility occurrence on a yearly basis5. The plume design point is specified
as a dry bulb and relative humidity (for example, 30°F / 85% RH). An appropriate plume
point can be selected by plotting the annual meteorological statistics of air relative
humidity versus ambient dry bulb temperatures together with the tower fogging
frequency curve on the same graph. The Fogging Frequency Curve separates visible
plume from non-visible plume conditions for a given tower design. Any points that lie on
the fogging frequency curve can be used to define the design point, but it is preferred that

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the plume point does not lie on the flat part of the fogging frequency curve where small
variances in the relative humidity selection will drastically affect the tower design.
The climatic design information from the ASHRAE handbook is not very useful for the
selection of the plume point. Hourly weather data containing dry bulb temperature and
relative humidity (or wet bulb temperature) are required. As an alternative, the
Engineering Weather Data (EWD) from the National Climatic Data Center can be used
which contains a frequency distribution of dry bulb temperatures and mean coincident
wet bulb temperatures. For a specific location, EWD lists a yearly summary of dry bulb
temperatures and mean coincident wet bulb temperatures (in number of hours per year a
temperature occurs).

110
WET-DRY 3
100 WET-DRY 2
WET-DRY 1
Air Relative Humidity (%)

90 WET
80

70

60

50
40

30

20
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Air Dry Bulb Temperature (deg C)

Figure 6: Fogging Frequency Curves for Plume Abated Towers with Increasing Size in
Dry Section.

3. Dry Cooling Systems

In a dry cooling system, heat is transferred from the process fluid (water or steam) to the
air using extended surfaces or fin tube bundles. The performance of dry cooling systems
is primarily dependent on the ambient dry bulb temperature (DBT) of the air and no
water is evaporated in the heat transfer process.

3.1 Classification of Dry Cooling Systems:

• Direct Dry Cooling - Air Cooled Condensers:

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Air Cooled Condensers (ACC’s) are the most commonly used direct dry cooling systems,
and have been installed and operated successfully all over the world, even in desert areas
with high ambient dry bulb temperatures during summer. The ACC tube bundles have a
relatively large tube side cross section and are usually arranged in an A-frame
configuration which results in a high heat exchange surface area to plot area ratio. For
large cooling systems, Fin Fan Coolers used in direct steam condensation are less adapted
because the tubes are relatively small in diameter (typically 1 inch) and are not designed
for steam condensation where a relative large tube side section surface area is required.

steam

air
condensate

Figure 7: Air Cooled Condenser as a Direct Cooling System for the Steam Cycle

• Indirect Dry Cooling – the Heller System:

The Heller system is an indirect dry cooling technology that needs a separate condenser
and circulating water pump as shown in figure 8 below.

Figure 8: Indirect Heller System with a DC Jet Condenser and Dry Cooling Tower.

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The Heller system has the following characteristics:

• Water to air heat exchanger (Forgo type: Aluminum tubes with Aluminum fins)
• Direct Contact (DC) Jet Condenser characterized by low TTD values
• Typically a natural draft configuration, although mechanical draft is also available
• Usually equipped with a peak cooling system that sprays water on the part of the heat
exchanger bundles during hot ambient conditions for peak shaving purposes.

Most of the references for Heller systems are located in regions with limited supplies of
make-up water like in Turkey (Gebze & Adapazari 3 x 777 MW Combined Cycle Power
Plant) and the Middle East. Since Heller systems are indirect, there is no need for a large
diameter steam duct between the steam turbine and condenser, which can be impractical
if natural draft dry towers are utilized. That is why Heller systems have the most potential
in power plants with a large cooling demand when used in natural draft mode, in
locations with low labor and materials costs, and where the visibility impact is not an
issue.

3.2 Dry Bulb Temperature and ITD

The performance and selection of a dry cooling system depends on the ambient dry bulb
temperature (DBT). For heat transfer to be possible between the process fluid (water or
steam in power plants) and the air, it is required that the process fluid temperature is
higher than the dry bulb temperature of the ambient air.

70
65
60
55
ITD (deg F)

50
45
40
35
30
TODAY: 30 F
25
20
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Figure 9: ITD Trend for Air Cooled Condensers

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In Air Cooled Condenser design jargon, the difference between the steam temperature
and ambient dry bulb temperature is called the Initial Temperature Difference, or ITD.
Low design values for the ITD result in large and costly ACCs, and although there is a
trend in decreasing ITD values over the years, a typical minimum value is 30 ºF.
Considering a minimum value of 30 ºF for the Initial Temperature Difference (ITD) for
an Air Cooled Condenser (ACC), the minimum value for the design back pressure (BP)
can be calculated as function of the Dry Bulb Temperature (DBT). If an ACC has to be
designed for a high ambient dry bulb temperature, for example 110 ºF, the minimum
design back pressure that can be selected will be around 6 inch HgA (see figure 10).

3.3 Selection of the Design Temperature for Dry Cooling

One important criterion is that under hot summer conditions, the steam turbine exhaust
pressure does not exceed the upper limit of the back pressure, which is the maximum
allowable exhaust pressure that is dictated by the steam turbine alarm/trip set point. The
ASHRAE handbook provides design values for the dry bulb temperature corresponding
to 0.4, 1.0 and 2 % monthly and annual cumulative frequency of occurrence with the
corresponding mean coincident wet bulb temperature.

7
Minimum BP (inch HgA)

0
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
DBT (deg F)

Figure 10: Minimum Design DBT as Function of the Required Turbine Back Pressure

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It is left to the designer to select a value for the dry bulb temperature based on an annual
or monthly basis. These data allow the designer to consider various operational peak
conditions and determine how many hours the design dry bulb temperature and related
steam turbine back pressure will be exceeded for an average year. The 2005 ASHRAE
Handbook also provides information about the extreme annual dry bulb temperature and
its 5-, 10-, 20-, and 50-year return period values. Extreme values of the dry bulb
temperature are generally not considered as design values, because it would lead to a dry
cooling system that would not be economically attractive.

3.4 Other Weather Data to Consider for Dry Cooling Systems

The relative humidity or wet bulb temperature does not have a significant impact on the
design and performance of dry cooling systems. For a given dry bulb temperature, the air
density will increase slightly if the relative humidity is reduced. The air density has an
impact on the air side pressure drop and the air mass flow rate.

A more important parameter to take into account is the wind speed. The wind can affect
the ACC performance in several ways: hot air recirculation and reduced fan performance.
Recirculation leads to an increase in air inlet temperature as part of the hot ACC outlet air
will be mixed with cool ambient air, leading to a reduction in ACC performance. The
recirculation effect is greater for increasing wind speeds, but in general the effect of the
wind on fan performance more severely affects ACC performance. High cross winds lead
to an increase in fan static pressure and reduce the fan airflow rate leading to a reduction
in ACC capacity. The wind effect on ACC performance is especially important on hot
summer days, and may lead to a steam turbine trip because of a too high steam turbine
exhaust pressure, unless the load is reduced. The 2005 ASHRAE handbook includes data
for the mean coincident wind speed corresponding to the 0.4 % dry bulb temperature and
prevailing wind direction so that the wind effect can be taken into account when
designing an ACC.

In winter, another possible issue is freezing of the condensate when operating under
partial load, and cold conditions should be considered for the design of the ACC. The
first thing to do to reduce the capacity of the ACC is to lower the airflow rate as much as
possible (by stopping all the fans). If this is not sufficient, part of the heat exchange area
has to be isolated by closing the steam isolation valves on the risers. To determine the
number of riser isolation valves needed in an ACC, the continuous minimum steam flow
rate should be known, in combination with the minimum ambient temperature. In most
cases it is not required to use the extreme annual minimum dry bulb temperature and it is
more realistic to use the dry bulb temperature corresponding to 99.5 % or 99 % annual
cumulative frequency of occurrence.

3.5 Use of Climatic Data

Weather conditions vary from year to year and to some extent from decade to decade
because of the inherent variability of climate. Moreover, the impact of global warming
should be considered although this effect is difficult to quantify at this point in time. As a

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consequence, there is always some uncertainty in using design conditions from one
period to represent another period. Typically, values of design dry bulb temperature vary
less than 2 °F from decade to decade, but larger variations can occur. It should also be
noted that most of the observed data were collected from airport observing sites, the
majority of which are flat, grassy and open areas. Temperatures recorded in these areas
may be significantly different (up to 10 °F lower) compared to areas where the design
conditions are applied, like in metropolitan areas or in the vicinity of large bodies of
water. Another important aspect of the use of climatic data is to know how many years of
data are needed to calculate reliable data. Based on the results of an ASHRAE research
project1, it was concluded that using a minimum of eight years of data would provide
reliable climatic design data for most locations.

4. Conclusions
Understanding the significance of climatic data is extremely important for the design of
cooling systems for power plants. The primary design parameters for dry and wet cooling
systems are the dry and wet bulb temperature, respectively. In the case of air cooled
condensers, a design dry bulb temperature should be selected in combination with an
appropriate value for the initial temperature difference (ITD). The selection of a certain
ITD will have an economical impact on the size and cost of the ACC. A high ITD value
leads to a low cost ACC and vice versa, but ITD values below 30 ºF are unrealistic from
an economical point of view. The ASHRAE handbook provides information about
possible design temperature for dry cooling (0.4 %, 1 % and 2 % dry bulb temperatures)
and the ITD relates the dry bulb temperature to the steam temperature in the condenser
which determines the steam turbine exhaust pressure and generator output. It is then the
role of the design engineer to develop the most appropriate technical and economical
solution, through an iterative process.

For evaporative cooling towers, a high summer ambient condition is usually selected as
well if the guarantee point is not specified. For the selection of the appropriate wet bulb
temperature, the ASHRAE handbook is once more a valuable source of information with
values for the 0.4 %, 1 % and 2 % wet bulb temperatures. For wet cooling towers, a
recirculation allowance is usually added to the ambient wet bulb temperature, which is a
function of the cooling water flow rate. The cooling tower should be oriented as function
of the prevailing summer wind direction, to minimize recirculation effects during warm
ambient conditions. In analogy with the ITD value for dry cooling systems, there are
limits for the cooling tower approach. A practical limit for the approach is 7 ºF; lower
values of the approach lead to cooling tower solutions that are ecomically unfeasible.

The relative humidity does not play an important role in the design of dry cooling
systems; however, the relative humidity must be considered when designing natural draft
cooling towers and to evaluate the evaporation rate of wet cooling systems. The design
value for the relative humidity should be carefully selected, to make sure that there is
enough make-up water available for the cooling tower under varying ambient conditions.

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When designing plume abated towers, the use of ASHRAE handbook data may not be
appropriate. Typically, engineering weather data is required with hourly values of the dry
bulb temperature and coincident wet bulb temperature (or relative humidity) so that these
data can be plotted together with the fogging frequency curve on the same chart to
determine how often the plume will be visible for an average year. A realistic design
point for a plume abated tower corresponds to a 15% to 20% plume visibility occurrence
on a yearly basis.

Finally, the significance of the influence of the wind should be recognized, which may
reduce the performance of cooling systems through recirculation and especially in the
case of air cooled condensers, the wind speed at hot summer should be considered since
wind speed has a significant impact on the fan performance.

References
1. 2005 ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, ASHRAE 2005.
2. CTI Bulletin PFM-110, Report on the Study of Recirculation, Technical Sub-
Committee #2, 1977
3. CTI Bulletin PFM-116, Recommended Recirculation Allowances, 1959
4. CTI Technical Paper No. TP03-01. Why every Air Cooled Steam Condenser needs a
Cooling Tower. Luc De Backer and Bill Wurtz, Feb 2003.
5. CTI Bulletin ATC-150, Acceptance Test Procedure for Wet-Dry Plume Abatement
Cooling Towers, 1999.
6. Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook, 7th Edition, Robert H. Perry & Don W.
Green, 1997.

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