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Mel709 41
Mel709 41
Mel709 41
P M V Subbarao
Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
I I T Delhi
Mass Flow of Dry Air
ma
m a RuT
paV m a RaT
Ma
m v RuT
pvV m v RvT
Mv
M v pvV
M v pv
pv
RuT
0.622
M a paV M a pa
pa
RuT
Heat is transferred from water drops to the surrounding air by the transfer of sensible and latent heat
ma 1
dz
dz
dh
ha a dz
dz
mw
ma 1
Tw
ha
ma 1
dz
dz
dh
ha a dz
dz
~
h Tw Ta dA
mw
ma 1
Tw
ha
T1
kAV
dT
MeM
m w T2 hsa ha
where:
kAV/mw = tower characteristic
k= mass transfer coefficient
A = contact area/tower volume
V = active cooling volume/plan area
mw = water flow rate
T1 = hot water temperature
T2 = cold water temperature
T = bulk water temperature
hsa = enthalpy of saturated air-water vapor mixture at bulk water temperature
(J/kg dry air)
ha = enthalpy of air-water vapor mixture (J/kg dry air )
Tower Characteristics
Tower Characteristic (MeM or NTU) is a characteristic of
the tower that relates tower design and operating
characteristics to the amount of heat that can be
transferred.
For a given set of operating conditions, the design
constants that depend on the tower fill.
For a tower that is to be evaluated using the characteristic
curve method, the manufacturer will provide a tower
characteristic curve.
m w
NTU C
m a
MeM
m w
KAV
n
C uair
L
m a
ANOTHER METHOD
We can also map the demand curve foe
varying KAV/L values with varying L/G on
the manufacturers curves for tower
characteristics in order to find the L/G ratio
of the cooling tower.
After obtaining the L/G ratio all the steps to
be followed are same as the previous
method.
Loss of Water
Evaporation Rate is the fraction of the circulating water
that is evaporated in the cooling process.
A typical design evaporation rate is about 1% for every
12.5C range at typical design conditions.
It will vary with the season, since in colder weather there
is more sensible heat transfer from the water to the air, and
therefore less evaporation.
The evaporation rate has a direct impact on the cooling
tower makeup water requirements.
Drift is water that is carried away from the tower in the form
of droplets with the air discharged from the tower.
Most towers are equipped with drift eliminators to minimize
the amount of drift to a small fraction of a percent of the water
circulation rate.
Drift has a direct impact on the cooling tower makeup water
requirements.
Recirculation is warm, moist air discharged from the tower
that mixes with the incoming air and re-enters the tower.
This increases the wet bulb temperature of the entering air and
reduces the cooling capability of the tower.
During cold weather operation, recirculation may also lead to
icing of the air intake areas.