BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING

AND TECHNOLOGY

Course Number: ME 310

Course Name: Heat Equipment Design Sessional

Project: Cooling Tower Design and Manufacture

Group Number: 04
Section: C2

Prepared By,
Md. Fazla Rabbi Jim Islam 1810167
Mohiuddin Ahmed 1810174
Shakir Al Mohimin 1810179
Nafis Iqbal Ornob 1810180
Table of Contents Page No.

Acknowledgement……………………………………………………………………….03
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………..04
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………05
Problem Statement…………………………………………………………………….....07
Objectives………………………………………………………………………………..08
Design Strategy/Methods………………………………………………………………...09
Solidworks Drawings…………………………………………………………………09
Structural Components……………………………………………………………09
Final Assembly of Components…………………………………………………..12
Sectional View of Assembly of Components…………………………………….13
Design Factors Considered…………………………………………………………...14
Design Calculation……………………………………………………………………14
Final Result for Design……………………………………………………………….16
Design Optimization………………………………………………………………….16
Manufacture Process……………………………………………………………………..16
Stages of Manufacture Process……………………………………………………….17
Final Cooling Tower View………………………………………………………………20
Thermal Performance Test……………………………………………………………….21
Overall Cost……………………………………………………………………………...22
Result Analysis…………………………………………………………………………..23
Design Limitations……………………………………………………………………….24
Further Improvement…………………………………………………………………….25
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….27

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Acknowledgement:
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Almighty Allah for guiding and
blessing us throughout the project. Our heartfelt appreciation goes to our teachers, Md.
Aminul Islam sir and Mussarrat Maakhnun Ma’am, for their invaluable guidance,
support, and encouragement throughout the project. Their continuous feedback and
advice helped us to overcome various challenges and enabled us to successfully complete
the project.
We would also like to extend our special thanks to Dr. A.K.M. Monjur Morshed Sir for
providing us with the basic understanding of cooling towers, which was essential for the
project's success. We are also grateful to our friend, Md. Ertiza Hossain Shopnil, for his
valuable insights and help in understanding the design calculations of the cooling tower.
Finally, we would like to thank each other for being a wonderful team and providing
continuous support and encouragement to one another throughout the project. Our team's
collaboration, hard work, and dedication made this project possible, and we are proud of
our achievements. We hope that this report will serve as a useful reference for others
interested in designing and constructing cooling towers.

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Abstract:
Cooling towers are essential components of many industrial processes that generate a
significant amount of heat. They provide an efficient means of dissipating this heat into
the environment and are used in a variety of industries such as power generation,
petrochemicals, and manufacturing.
The primary objective of this project was to design and construct a cooling tower that
would be cost-effective while providing efficient cooling for an industrial process. To
achieve this objective, we decided to use a dual-fill design consisting of splash fill and
film fill, which are two of the most commonly used fill types in cooling towers.
The project involved a comprehensive design process, which included the selection of
materials and components, analysis of cooling tower performance, and identification of
potential cost-saving measures. The construction phase involved assembling and
installing the cooling tower components, including the fills and fans.
Performance analysis of the cooling tower was carried out using various parameters such
as cooling tower approach, range, and effectiveness. The results showed that the cooling
tower was almost able to achieve the required cooling performance while also meeting
the cost objectives. The dual-fill design allowed for effective heat dissipation, which is
crucial in maintaining the desired process temperatures.
Overall, the project was successful in achieving its objectives of developing a cost-
effective cooling tower that provided efficient cooling for an industrial process. The use
of splash fill and film fill allowed for effective heat dissipation and helped to achieve the
desired cooling performance. The report provides a detailed overview of the project,
including the design, construction, and performance analysis, and highlights the benefits
of a dual-fill cooling tower design for cost optimization and improved performance.

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Introduction:
A cooling tower is basically a direct contact heat exchanger, which conducts its
fundamental operation of removing heat from a water-cooled system. It is, in general,
used in industrial settings to cool down process water that has been heated by industrial
processes, power plant operations or other machineries to a temperature near the wet-bulb
temperature of air. Cooling towers work on the principle of evaporative cooling, which
means that they use the evaporation of water to dissipate heat from the system. So,
cooling tower provides greater efficiency and effectiveness over devices using only air to
remove heat from a system, process or equipment.

The cooling tower generally consists of a large tower or a building-like structure with a
fan at the top to draw air through it. The outer structure or frame is the main body of the
cooling tower. Inside the tower, there are heat exchanger surfaces and different types of
fills associated with it. Fills in a cooling tower refer to the packing material used inside
the tower to increase the surface area of the water in contact with the air, which enhances
the heat transfer process. The fills are typically made of plastic or metal and are designed
to increase the wetted surface area of the water by creating a large number of small water
droplets or films, which increases the amount of water exposed to the air. The fills can be
of different types, such as splash fills or film fills, depending on the design and
application of the cooling tower. Splash fills consist of a series of horizontal grids or bars
that create a splash as the water flows through them, increasing the contact surface area
between the water and the air. Film fills, on the other hand, consist of thin sheets or
corrugated surfaces that create a large number of small water droplets, increasing the
surface area of the water exposed to the air. The selection of the fill type and material
depends on factors, such as the cooling tower's design, operating conditions, water
quality, and maintenance requirements. The use of the right type of fill is essential for
efficient cooling tower operation, as it directly affects the tower's heat transfer efficiency
and energy consumption. Cooling towers can also utilize drift eliminators, louvers and
spray nozzles according to necessity and efficiency requirement from the tower.

As the hot water from industrial processes or equipment is pumped into the cooling
tower, the water flows through these surfaces which are designed to increase the surface
area of the water in contact with the air. The fan at the top of the cooling tower draws in
large volumes of air from the surroundings and directs it towards the heat exchanger
surfaces. So the hot water is exposed to the air drawn in and as a result, some of the warm
water is conduced to evaporate. This evaporation process absorbs heat from the

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remaining water, thus cooling it down and the heat is transferred to the moving air. Then
the cooled water is collected at the bottom of the tower in a tray or a cold water basin,
and returned to the system so it can be reused for industrial processes or equipment. The
cooling tower continuously circulates water through the process to maintain the desired
temperature. Thus the cooling tower eliminates wastage of process heat and process
water in this respect.

Cooling towers can come in different sizes varying from few meters to few hundreds of
meters in its length and likewise dimensions in its diameter. Cooling towers can also
come in different types based on the type of air induction into the tower, such as natural
draft, mechanical draft, forced draft, induced draft (cross-flow, and counter-flow) etc.
Each type has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the application and
location. Moreover, cooling towers can be classified and differentiated according to the
process or industry it is associated with. Some of the benefits of using cooling towers
include reduced water usage, lower energy consumption, and increased efficiency of the
cooling process.

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Problem Statement:
Design a cooling tower that will be used to cool down process water from 420 C to 330 C
at 0.75L/min flow rate of water. Ambient air has a dry bulb temperature of 230 C at
a relative humidity of 75%. Take the base area of the cooling tower to be 2’ x 2’.
Calculate the required height of fill and height of diffusion unit.

Specific Requirement:
 One side of the cooling tower to be fully transparent.
 Two types of fill (Splash and Film) to be used.

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Objectives:
The objectives of our cooling tower project were as follows:
1. To design and construct a cooling tower using a dual-fill approach, consisting of
splash fill and film fill. Specifically, we aimed to use two sets of film fills and one
sets of splash fills, with one set located near the inlet pipe and the other set
placed above the film fill.
2. To gain a better understanding of the working principle of the cooling tower fills
by manufacturing the fills manually. This process allowed us to explore the
characteristics and performance of the fills in more detail and gain practical
experience in their construction.
3. To optimize the cost of the cooling tower by identifying cost-saving measures
throughout the design and construction process. We aimed to achieve a balance
between cost and performance, while still ensuring that the cooling tower met
the required performance specifications for our industrial process.
4. To construct the cooling tower with one side being transparent, in order to the
mechanism of the cooling tower being visible to our eyes.
Overall, our project aimed to develop a cost-effective cooling tower design that utilized
a dual-fill approach and allowed for a deeper understanding of the working principles of
the cooling tower fills. Through our efforts to optimize the cost of the project, we aimed
to provide a solution that was both efficient and affordable for our industrial process.

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Design strategy/Methods:
 SolidWorks Drawings:
Structural Components:
 Base:

 Head Part:

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 Inlet Pipe:

 Body Walls:

10
 Induced Draft Fan:

 Fill:

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 Final Assembly of Components:

12
 Sectional View of Assembly of Components:

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  Design Factor Considered:
i. Features and Dimensions:
Base: 2’ x 2’ 𝑓𝑡 2
Total height: 3 ft
ii. Design consideration:assumption

 Design Calculation:
Assumptions:
1. Steady condition has been achieved.
2. The primary mode heat transfer is mass diffusion.
Expected Inlet Temperature of water, Twi = 330 C = 91 ⋅ 40 F
Expected Outlet Temperature of water, Two = 420 C = 107. 60 F
Inlet Water’s volume flow rate, mw = 0.75 L/min
1.5 × 2.2 𝑙𝑏
Thus, liquid loading per unit ground area, L = 117 = 25.3
×4 𝑓𝑡 3 .ℎ𝑟
3600

Fan Specification:
Velocity of air at oulet, v =0.4 m/s = 4724 ft/hr
Diameter of fan, d = 8 inch = 0.67 ft
Taking density of air, 𝜌 = 0.072 lb/𝑓𝑡 3
𝜋
0.072× ×0.672 ×4724 𝑙𝑏
4
Air loading per unit ground area, G = = 29.636
4 𝑓𝑡 3 .ℎ𝑟

Dry bulb temperature of inlet air = 230 C = 840 F with a relative humidity of 75%
So, The enthalpy of inlet air is, H1 = 46.8 Btu/lb at 840 F
𝐿
Enthalpy of outlet air, H2 = H1 + (Two - Twi) =60.629 Btu/lb.
𝐺

We shall perform the following calculation in Kern’s method to find the required fill

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height. To calculate the NTU, we have to perform manual integration by following
process:

60.629−46.8 𝐵𝑡𝑢
Change of enthalpy of air for each 20 𝐹 interval, 𝛥𝑇= = 1.727 𝐵𝑡𝑢/ℎ𝑟
8 ℎ𝑟

We have used PVC as the fill material. The overall coefficient of mass transfer × area for
𝑙𝑏 𝑙𝑏
this material can be taken = 𝑘𝑥 a = 80 .
ℎ𝑟 𝑙𝑏

Temperature Enthalpy of Saturation H’-H (H’-H)avg 𝜟𝑻

of Air, T (𝟎 𝑭) Air, H Enthalpy of air, (𝑯′ − 𝑯)𝒂𝒗𝒈
(Btu/lb) H’(Btu/lb)

91 46.8 57.1 10.3

93 48.53 60.05 11.52 10.81 0.187
95 50.27 63.05 12.78 12.02 0.168
97 52.1 66.17 14.07 13.275 0.147
99 53.83 69.57 15.74 14.705 0.129
101 55.85 73.16 17.58 16.44 0.123
103 57.29 77.02 19.73 18.455 0.109
105 59.11 81.01 21.89 20.61 0.099
107 60.73 85.24 24.51 23.022 0.089
NTU 1.051

𝑧
𝑁𝑇𝑈 = 𝑘𝑥 a ×
𝐿
𝐿
⇒ 𝑧 = 𝑁𝑇𝑈 ×
𝑘𝑥 𝑎

25.3
⇒ 𝑧 = 1.051 × = 0.34 𝑓𝑡
80

=4.08 inch

So, height of fill should be used is = 4.08 inch (approximately)

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  Final Results for design:
Base of the tower: 2’ x 2’
Height of the tower: 3’
Height of fills: 4.08 inch (vertically)
Fan: Diameter: 8’’, Speed: 600 rpm, Motor Power: 30W

 Matlab code(Design optimization)

Manufacture Process:
Manufacturing of the cooling tower involved two primary steps. The first step was to
manufacture the outer portion of the cooling tower. And the second step was to fabricate
the filler material and other required supporting structures.
The primary material of the outer portion was mild steel. At first, the main skeleton for
firm support was build using mild steel standard ¾” box pipes. Then 0.6mm (20 gage)
mild steel sheet was used for making the side & upper covers and the outlet water
containing tray at the bottom. Sheet metal cutting, bending and welding operations were
required in the fabrication process. To make the inner fill material visible from outside,
one of the side covers was made of acrylic sheet of 6mm thickness.
The fill material that has been used was fabricated by cutting down PVC pipe of 2”
diameter. Long PVC pipes were cut down into 3.5” long small sections. Then they were
drilled accordingly and arranged into arrays to make the film fill portion the cooling
tower. The arrays are supported by galvanized iron wire or GI wire. Then these arrays are
placed on layers, made by GI nets, into the cooling tower. So the fill materials are easily
interchangeable. There is also a splash film portion of the tower made of small PVC
sheets kept on a layer in between the film fill layer and the water diffuser layer.
The water diffuser portion is made of flexible PVC pipe (1” diameter) with some small
holes at some regular distance on it. When water is supplied through the pipe, numerous
water jets are created from these small holes. These jets are again diffused with PVC
pipes with holes.

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An 8” dia. fan is placed on top the cooling tower which has a rated rotational speed of
600 rpm and power of 37 watt. This works as an induced draft fan that pulls the air out,
which at first entered from the gap on the bottom portion.
Water that has been supplied from top, being deflected by several layers of fill material is
collected at the bottom tray of the tower. The tray drains water through a 1” diameter
hole at the bottom.

 Stages of Manufacture Process:

 Making the structure:

 Cutting of hole at top:

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 Adding basin at the bottom:

 Addition of exhaust fan and acrylic glass:

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 Making Fills:

 Assembling fills in the structure:

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Final Cooling Tower view:

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Thermal Performance Test:
We have done a performance test on our cooling tower. For our designed cooling tower
we performed temperature test using a K Type thermocouple. The test results are: for an
inlet water temperature of 42.1°C (as mentioned in problem statement), we get an outlet
water temperature of 37.3°C, with a temperature drop of 5°C, which is a fairly good
result for a household size cooling tower.

Inlet hot water temperature Outlet cold water temperature

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Overall Cost:

Description Amount (৳)

Mild Steel Sheet (20 gauge) 2500
MS Box Pipe (28 ft) 1300
Exhaust fan 650
uPVC Pipe (20 ft) 480
uPVC Flexible Pipe (10 ft) 130
GI Wire (18/16 gauge) 110
Acrylic Glass Sheet 650
Additional Hardware 400
Manufacture Cost 2000

Total= 8220

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Result Analysis:
According to our theoretical calculation and MATLAB’s iteration, due to evaporation,
highest temperature fall should be 16.20 F .But our thermal analysis gives different value.
This can be explained by following ways.
1. During the construction of the cooling tower, we used GI wires to create the base
for the films. However, we did not initially consider the potential conduction
effect of these wires on the cooling tower's performance. As the water comes into
contact with the wire base, the conduction heat transfer by the wire may affect the
temperature difference and overall efficiency of the cooling tower. Although we
were able to identify and address this limitation, it is important to note that the
initial oversight may have had an impact on the results of the project.
2. We did not consider the forced convection effect of flowing air in our calculations.
While we recognized that the cooling tower's design would result in air flow over
the fills, we did not take into account the potential impact of this forced
convection on the cooling tower's performance. This limitation may have resulted
in an underestimation of the cooling tower's ability to dissipate heat, and it is
important to keep this in mind when interpreting the project's results.
3. It was challenging to maintain a constant water flow rate throughout the testing
period. While we aimed to keep the mass flow rate constant, fluctuations in the
water flow rate may have had an impact on the accuracy of our results. In
particular, it may have affected our ability to measure the cooling tower's
performance under different flow rates, which could have resulted in some
deviation in our results.
4. The cooling tower may be too small or the fill material might be not effective
enough to achieve evaporation of falling water. We have calculated a value of
required height of fill using Kern’s method. But this method assumes that the
primary mode of heat transfer is evaporation. When this condition is achieved,
only then the method would actually be able to predict the required fill height. In
other cases, we require complicated models to design cooling towers for a
particular condition.
In summary, although the project successfully achieved its primary objectives of
designing and constructing a cost-effective cooling tower with a dual-fill design and
of optimizing the project's cost, there were several limitations that may have impacted
the accuracy of our results. Specifically, we did not initially consider the conduction
effect of the GI wires, the forced convection effect of flowing air, and fluctuations in
the water flow rate. Also the theoretical analysis method is also obsolete as it only
takes mass diffusion into account. As such, it is important to interpret the project's

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 results with these limitations in mind and to consider further analysis or testing to
better understand the cooling tower's performance under varying conditions.

Design Limitations:
During the construction of our cooling tower, we encountered several design limitations
that impacted the overall efficiency of the tower. These limitations were due to several
factors, including project cost, time constraints, and the availability of resources. Below
are some of the limitations we faced during the design and construction of our cooling
tower:
1. Material Selection: We selected mild steel sheets and pipes for the construction of
our cooling tower due to their cost-effectiveness. However it is prone to corrosion
and requires measures to prevent it.
2. Fan Power: Our cooling tower's fan had lower power and wattage, which limited
the effective heat transfer between air and water.
3. Tower Dimensions: The base of our tower was 2 feet by 2 feet, and its height was
2 feet. The height of our fill was also less than the standard height. Due to these
limitations, the air-water contact area was reduced, and the heat transfer area was
insufficient. As a result, our cooling tower's thermal design calculations were off,
and the temperature drop was less than expected.
4. Fill Material: We used PVC pipes to create the fill manually, which was less
effective than using other materials such as wood or plastic. The use of PVC pipes
and manual manufacturing reduced the heat transfer area and flow area, and thus,
the cooling efficiency was limited.
These limitations impacted the overall efficiency of our cooling tower, and our calculated
thermal design's temperature drop was less than expected. However, we were able to
learn from these limitations and identify areas for improvement.

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Further Improvement:
There are some areas in design and manufacturing process where we can do further
modification to improve the overall efficiency of our cooling tower. Some of
modification areas are given below:
1. Upgrading the material: Using higher-quality materials, such as stainless steel or
aluminum, can improve the heat transfer efficiency of the cooling tower. While
these materials may be more expensive, they can result in long-term cost savings
through improved efficiency and reduced maintenance costs.
2. Increasing the fan power: We need to upgrade the fan used in the cooling tower to
one with higher power and wattage. This will help to increase the airflow rate and
improve the overall heat transfer performance.
3. Increasing tower size: Increasing the size of the cooling tower, including the base
area and height. This will increase the air-water contact area and improve the heat
transfer rate. However, this will require a larger space and increase the cost of
construction.
4. Increasing fill height: Increasing the height of the fill to provide more surface area
for contact between air and water. This will increase the heat transfer rate, but it
may require a larger tower height or additional fill material.
5. Using higher quality fill material and Industrial manufactured fill: We need to use
high-quality fill material, such as PVC fills or film fills with a larger surface area
and industrially manufactured. This can increase the contact area between air and
water and improve the overall heat transfer performance.
6. Improving water distribution: We need to ensure that the water distribution system
is efficient and effective, with a uniform distribution of water over the fill
material. This will help to increase the contact between air and water and improve
the heat transfer performance.
7. Using variable speed fan: It is better to use a variable speed fan that can adjust its
speed based on the cooling load. This can help to optimize the airflow rate and
reduce energy consumption, while maintaining the desired cooling performance.
8. Using a water treatment system: To better result it is needed to implement a water
treatment system to prevent scaling, fouling, and biological growth, which can
reduce the efficiency of the cooling tower. This can include chemical treatment,
filtration, or other methods to ensure that the water remains clean and free of
contaminants.it will increase our cost.

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 9. Install drift eliminators: Cooling towers release a significant amount of water
vapor into the atmosphere. This vapor can carry small droplets of water, called
drift, which can cause health and environmental concerns. Drift eliminators are
devices that capture these droplets and prevent them from escaping the tower.
Installing drift eliminators can reduce water loss, increase tower efficiency, and
improve air quality.
10. Optimize water distribution: The way water is distributed over the fills affects the
efficiency of the cooling tower. Improper water distribution can lead to dry spots
on the fills, reducing heat transfer. You can improve water distribution by using
proper nozzles or by installing a distribution system that ensures even water flow
across the fills.
We can improve our cooling tower’s efficiency by giving emphasis on these .but it will
increase our overall cost and our manufacturing would be lengthy and might require
complicated fabrication processes.

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Conclusion:
Our project was aimed at designing and constructing a cost-effective cooling tower using
two different types of fills. We utilized splash fill and film fill in a single cooling tower to
increase heat transfer efficiency. However, we encountered some design limitations, such
as the use of mild steel instead of aluminum or stainless steel, the low power of the fan,
and the small contact area between air and water. These limitations resulted in lower
temperature drops than we had predicted in our thermal design.

Despite these limitations, we were able to achieve our main objective of constructing a
cooling tower with two different types of fills while optimizing our costs. We also
learned several key concepts about cooling towers, such as the importance of fill type, air
and water contact area, and the effects of conduction heat transfer.

To improve the efficiency of our cooling tower, we recommend using a more efficient
material such as aluminum or stainless steel for the tower structure and pipes. We also
recommend increasing the power of the fan and optimizing the tower's design to increase
the air and water contact area. Furthermore, we suggest exploring different fill materials
and their impact on heat transfer efficiency.

In conclusion, our project provided us with a valuable learning experience in the design
and construction of a cooling tower. We hope that our findings and recommendations will
be useful for future cooling tower projects and research.

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