A PROJECT REPORT ON

COOLING TOWER
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the award of the degree
B-TECH ENGINEERING
IN
____________________________________ ENGINEERING
SUBMITTED BY
-------------------- (--------------)
--------------------- (---------------)
--------------------- (---------------)

DEPARTMENT OF _______________________ ENGINEERING

__________COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
AFFILIATED TO ___________ UNIVERSITY

1
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation work entitled

COOLING TOWER
Is the work done by
_______________________________________________submitted in partial
fulfillment for the award of BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING in
__________________________Engineering from______________ College of
Engineering affiliated to _________ University,

________________ ____________
(Head of the department, GEC) (Assistant Professor)

( )
EXTERNAL EXAMINER

2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany the successful completion of any
task would be incomplete without the mentioning of the people whose constant
guidance and encouragement made it possible. We take pleasure in presenting
before you, our project, which is result of studied blend of both research and
knowledge.

We express our earnest gratitude to our internal guide, Assistant Professor

______________, Department of Mechanical, our project guide, for his constant
support, encouragement and guidance. We are grateful for his cooperation and his
valuable suggestions.

Finally, we express our gratitude to all other members who are involved either
directly or indirectly for the completion of this project.

3
DECLARATION

We, the undersigned, declare that the project entitled COOLING TOWER,
being submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of Engineering Degree in
MECHANICAL Engineering, affiliated to _________ University, is the work
carried out by us.

__________ _________ _________

4
INDEX

CONTENTS

1 Abstract
2 Introduction
3 Literature Review
4 Classification
5 Schematic Description
6 Working Principle
7 Component Description
8. Conclusion
9. Bibliography

5
List of Figures Page
Figure1.1 Barnard's fan less self-cooling tower

Figure1.2 HVAC Cooling Tower

Figure1.3 Industrial cooling Tower

Figure1.4 Package type cooling Tower

Figure1.5 Field erected type cooling tower

Figure1.6 Natural draft cooling Tower

Figure1.7 Induced draft cooling tower

Figure1.8 Forced draft Cooling Tower

Figure1.9 Range & approach schematic

Figure2.0 Range & Approach relationship

Figure2.1 Corrosion cell

Figure2.2 Cross flow cooling tower

Figure2.3 Counter flow cooling Tower

Figure2.4 Fan-induced draft, counter-flow cooling tower

6
Abstract:
Cooling towers are one of the most important industrial utilities used to dissipate
the unwanted process heat to the atmosphere through the cooling water in the heat
exchangers across the plant site.

Cooling tower is one of the most expensive utility in terms of power consumption
and water circulation. Maintaining water quality in the circulation loops is one of
the major challenges in process optimization for most efficient performance.
To identify the key performance parameters with respect to perspective of the
operations team, the water chemistry is the most crucial level and demands proper
understanding to maintain complete control over the variations.

Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to
the atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove
process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or, in
the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers, rely solely on air to cool the working
fluid to near the dry-bulb air temperature. In our project we use forced draft type
of mechanical cooling tower.

Forced draft is a mechanical draft tower with a blower type fan at the intake. The
fan forces air into the tower, creating high entering and low exiting air velocities.
The low exiting velocity is much more susceptible to recirculation. With the fan on
the air intake, the fan is more susceptible to complications due to freezing
conditions

Key Words: Perforated body, submersible pump, water collecting tray, digital
sensor etc

7
Introduction:

Cooling towers are a very important part of many chemical plants. The primary
task of a cooling tower is to reject heat into the atmosphere. They represent a
relatively inexpensive and dependable means of removing low-grade heat from
cooling water. The make-up water source is used to replenish water lost
to evaporation.

Hot water from heat exchangers is sent to the cooling tower. The water exits the
cooling tower and is sent back to the exchangers or to other units for further
cooling. Cooling towers are able to lower the water temperatures more than
devices that use only air to reject heat, like the radiator in a car, and are therefore
more cost-effective and energy efficient.

Cooling towers vary in size from small roof-top units to very large hyperboloid
structures that can be up to 200 meters tall and 100 meters in diameter, or
rectangular structures that can be over 40 meters tall and 80 meters long.

The hyperboloid cooling towers are often associated with nuclear power plants,
although they are also used to some extent in some large chemical and other
industrial plants. Although these large towers are very prominent, the vast majority
of cooling towers are much smaller, including many units installed on or near
buildings to discharge heat from air conditioning.

Cooled water is needed for, for example, air conditioners, manufacturing processes
or power generation. A cooling tower is an equipment used to reduce the
temperature of a water stream by extracting heat from water and emitting it to the
atmosphere.
8
Cooling towers make use of evaporation whereby some of the water is evaporated
into a moving air stream and subsequently discharged into the atmosphere. As a
result, the remainder of the water is cooled down significantly .Cooling towers are
able to lower the water temperatures more than devices that use only air to reject
heat, like the radiator in a car, and are therefore more cost-effective and energy
efficient.

Common applications include cooling the circulating water used in oil

refineries, petrochemical and other chemical plants, thermal power
stations and HVAC systems for cooling buildings.

The main types of cooling towers are natural draft and induced draft cooling
towers. The classification is based on the type of air induction into the tower.
The scope of cooling tower knowledge was recognized as being too broad to
permit complete coverage in a single publication.

As a consequence, treatment of the subject matter appearing in that book may have
raised more questions than it gave answers. And, such was its intentto provide a
level of basic knowledge which will facilitate dialogue, and understanding,
between user and manufacturer. In short, it was designed to permit questions to
spring from a solid foundationand to give the user a basis for proper evaluation
of the answers received.

9
Literature Review

Cooling towers originated out of the development in the 19th century

of condensers for use with the steam engine. Condensers use relatively cool water,
via various means, to condense the steam coming out of the pistons or turbines.

This reduces the back pressure, which in turn reduces the steam consumption, and
thus the fuel consumption, while at the same time increasing power and recycling
boiler-water. However the condensers require an ample supply of cooling water,
without which they are impracticalthe cost of the water exceeds the savings on
fuel. While this was not an issue with marine engines, it formed a significant
limitation for many land-based systems.

By the turn of the 20th century, several evaporative methods of recycling cooling
water were in use in areas without a suitable water supply, such as urban locations
relying on municipal water mains. In areas with available land, the systems took
the form of cooling ponds; in areas with limited land, such as in cities, it took the
form of cooling towers.

These early towers were positioned either on the rooftops of buildings or as free-
standing structures, supplied with air by fans or relying on natural airflow.

An American engineering textbook from 1911 described one design as "a circular
or rectangular shell of light plate in effect, a chimney stack much shortened
vertically (20 to 40 ft. high) and very much enlarged laterally.

At the top is a set of distributing troughs, to which the water from the condenser
must be pumped; from these it trickles down over "mats" made of wooden slats or
woven wire screens, which fill the space within the tower."
10
A hyperboloid cooling tower was patented by the Dutch engineers Frederik van
Iterson and Gerard Kuypers in 1918.The first hyperboloid cooling towers were
built in 1918 near Heerlen. The first ones in the United Kingdom were built prior
to 1930 in Liverpool, England to cool water used at a coal-fired electrical power
station.

In this day and age the principle of the transmission of the heat is used in a more
refined way from the methodical and technical point of view in the heat exchanger
and in the cooling towers, that are always in function thanks to the due
maintenance, taking advantage of the evaporative mass transferal, so that water
gives part of its energy to the air, as a result lowering its temperature.

Calidariums and tepidariums of the Roman thermal baths used the principle of the
heat exchange in the suspensura, which were pilasters on which the floor was
founded on; the floor was heated by the hot air that circulated thanks to the space
created by the suspensura and that was produced by an oven, the praefurnium.

Therefore, the suspensura was a, ancestor of the modern heat exchangers, from
which the air exchangers come; in the case of the suspensura built in the Roman
thermal baths and in some palaces, the exchangers regeneration was simply
determined by the alimentation of the oven that was used to make the air necessary
to generate the heating mechanism hot.

To allow the air circulating freely in the modern exchangers it is necessary to make
a regular cleaning: the pipes must be free from any residual not to limit the passing
of the air that, circulating, allows the exchange of heat energy.

11
The cooling towers are heat exchangers as well: their functioning follows the
principle of the heat exchange between gases and liquids, so the water that enters at
a temperature will modify it after having met the gas (that can be water vapor),
reaching the exit with a lower temperature.

The exchange happens thanks to the use of fans, that push the air towards the
water, even though this can happen even without fans, in the bigger cooling towers,
which can exploit the water evaporation thus saving energy, but the physical
conformation of the towers will have to allow it: this means that they will have to
be vertical so that gases and liquids can meet following their natural directions.

To be able to work properly, cooling towers need the air not to be saturated in
water vapor, for example, they can have some difficulties in a rainy day, because
the air is saturated, hence the exchange between gas and liquids is not possible.

Everything goes around the state of the air, which the drier it is the more it can
exchange heat with the water, thus making it lose temperature; the cooling towers
are an example of the exploiting of the physics law in the products used in industry
to reach the aim, just like many others in fact: just think, for example, of the
heaters, that use the heat exchange from inside the pipe towards the outside.

The cold water, in fact, gets hot at the base and when it reaches the temperature it
goes up, just like the water boiling in a pot: it gets hot at the basis, near the fire, it
goes up, it cools and goes down again, circulating again like this as long as the fire
burns.

12
 Fig-1.1

A 1902 engraving of "Barnard's fan less self-cooling tower", an early large evaporative
cooling tower that relied on-natural draft and open sides rather than a fan; water to be cooled
was sprayed from the top onto the radial pattern of vertical wire-mesh mats.

Modern water cooling towers were invented during the industrial age to dissipate
waste heat from industrial processes when natural cooling water sources were
unavailable. By the early 20th century, advances in cooling towers were fuelled by
the rapidly growing electric power industry.

The cooling loads created by the generation of electric power led to the
development of large, custom-built structures typically constructed of wood.

13
Cooling tower development continued to be based on the needs of these power-
and-process users until the emergence of the commercial air conditioning market,
which led the development of the modular, independently certified cooling towers
of today.

The development of the commercial air conditioning industry defined new criteria
for cooling tower development. Contrary to process cooling towers, equipment
intended for air conditioning applications had to be compact enough to fit in the
restricted spaces available on commercial buildings. Cooling towers also had to
meet the construction schedules of the rapidly growing demand for air conditioned
buildings that characterized post-World War II America.

With most air conditioning installations located in heavily populated urban areas,
sound became a very important application consideration, and many municipal
building or fire codes discouraged the use of combustible materials, including
wood, in cooling tower construction. The above criteria could not be easily met by
many cooling tower designs of the day that traced their origins to industrial
applications.

By the late 1950s, factory-assembled cooling towers, incorporating quiet

centrifugal fans and constructed of galvanized steel, were developed for
commercial air conditioning projects. Innovations during the 1960s combined the
cold water basin and fan sections of these factory-assembled, forced-draft cooling
towers into one piece.

This design innovation reduced space requirements and operating weights,

facilitated cleaning of the cold water basin, provided protection for mechanical
components, and simplified access to the fan-drive system. By the 1970s, the
application of these cooling towers on commercial air conditioning systems
accounted for approximately half of the HVAC cooling tower installations.

14
The energy crisis of the mid-1970s placed increased awareness on energy
efficiency in all aspects of American life, including commercial air conditioning
systems.

The operating characteristics of the centrifugal fan cooling tower began giving way
to the energy reduction offered by the propeller fan units of industrial-style cross
flow cooling towers. In the ensuing years, design strategies focused on
incorporating the HVAC cooling tower characteristics into the propeller fan,
industrial cross flow cooling tower.

As development progressed into the 1980s and 90s, designs continued to

concentrate on increasing thermal efficiency, simplifying maintenance, and
reducing installation costs.

The development of new, high-efficiency film fills, produced from lightweight,

flame-retardant PVC, reduced the size and weight of cross flow cooling towers.
Propeller fans, originally selected solely on air-handling considerations,
incorporated sound characteristics as important selection criteria.

New, belt-driven fan-drive systems were developed to provide reliable unit

operation and reduce maintenance costs associated with the gear-driven systems of
industrial-style units. Internal piping systems that reduced field piping
requirements and allowed service personnel to perform routine maintenance of the
water distribution system without mounting the fan deck were developed for
crossflow cooling towers.

Today, factory-assembled, crossflow cooling towers are considered to be the

preferred configuration for air conditioning applications for their dependable, year-
round operating reliability, accessible maintenance features, and low installation
costs.

15
A significant milestone of the 1980s was the resurgence of a certification standard
for the independent verification of cooling tower thermal performance.

It had long been recognized that the thermal processes involved with cooling tower
performance were not well understood, making the accurate prediction of thermal
capabilities very difficult. Con-sequently, thermal ratings published by cooling
tower manufacturers were only as reliable as the manufacturers best available
technology.

In 1981, the Cooling Tower Institute (currently the Cooling Technology Institute or
CTI) updated and revised its certification standard STD-201. STD-201 established
a procedure for manufacturers to voluntarily obtain independent verification that a
line of cooling towers performs in accordance with the manufacturers published
thermal performance ratings.

CTI certification ensures that owners and operators receive full value for their
investment because the cooling tower performs at full-rated capacity. Furthermore,
it eliminates the potential for years of excessive operating costs due to deficient
equipment, and can actually reduce first cost by eliminating the need to oversize
equipment or to perform a field acceptance test to verify performance.

In 1996, STD-201 was expanded to include closed-circuit, as well as traditional

open-circuit, cooling towers. Today, many manufacturers actively participate in the
CTI Certification Program by voluntarily submitting their open- and closed-circuit
cooling tower lines to the scrutiny of the certification process.

By the 1950s, galvanized steel had become the principal material of construction
for factory-assembled cooling towers. The protective zinc layer of galvanized steel
provided effective corrosion protection from the naturally corrosive environment
found in service.

16
Combined with an effective water treatment program, galvanized steel cooling
towers are designed to provide exceptionally long service life for evaporative
cooling equipment.

In the 1970s, EPA regulations restricted the use of chromates, a widely used, highly
reliable corrosion inhibitor in many cooling systems, including HVAC systems.
The resultant changes in water treatment programs were less effective at
controlling corrosion rates, thereby increasing maintenance costs and potentially
impacting the life of galvanized steel evaporative-cooling equipment.

By the 1950s, galvanized steel had become the principal material of construction
for factory-assembled cooling towers. The protective zinc layer of galvanized steel
provided effective corrosion protection from the naturally corrosive environment
found in service.

Combined with an effective water treatment program, galvanized steel cooling

towers are designed to provide exceptionally long service life for evaporative
cooling equipment.

In the 1970s, EPA regulations restricted the use of chromates, a widely used, highly
reliable corrosion inhibitor in many cooling systems, including HVAC systems.
The resultant changes in water treatment programs were less effective at
controlling corrosion rates, thereby increasing maintenance costs and potentially
impacting the life of galvanized steel evaporative-cooling equipment.

17
Classification Of Cooling Tower By Use:

HVAC:
An HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) cooling tower is used
to dispose of ("reject") unwanted heat from a chiller. Water-cooled chillers
are normally more energy efficient than air-cooled chillers due to heat
rejection to tower water at or near wet-bulb temperatures. Air-cooled chillers
must reject heat at the higher dry-bulb temperature, and thus have a lower
average reverse-Carnot cycle effectiveness.

Large office buildings, hospitals, and schools typically use one or more
cooling towers as part of their air conditioning systems. Generally, industrial
cooling towers are much larger than HVAC towers.

HVAC use of a cooling tower pairs the cooling tower with a water-cooled
chiller or water-cooled condenser. A ton of air-conditioning is defined as the
removal of 12,000 Btu/hour (3500 W). The equivalent ton on the cooling
tower side actually rejects about 15,000 Btu/hour (4400 W) due to the
additional waste heat-equivalent of the energy needed to drive the chiller's
compressor.

This equivalent ton is defined as the heat rejection in cooling 3 US

gallons/minute (1,500 pound/hour) of water 10 F (6 C), which amounts to
15,000 Btu/hour, assuming a chiller coefficient of performance (COP) of
4.0. This COP is equivalent to an energy efficiency ratio (EER) of
14.Cooling towers are also used in HVAC systems that have multiple water
source heat pumps that share a common piping water loop.
In this type of system, the water circulating inside the water loop removes
heat from the condenser of the heat pumps whenever the heat pumps are
working in the cooling mode, then the externally mounted cooling tower is
used to remove heat from the water loop and reject it to the atmosphere.

18
 By contrast, when the heat pumps are working in heating mode, the
condensers draw heat out of the loop water and reject it into the space to be
heated.
When the water loop is being used primarily to supply heat to the building,
the cooling tower is normally shut down (and may be drained or winterized
to prevent freeze damage), and heat is supplied by other means, usually from
separate boilers.

Fig-1.2 HVAC Cooling Tower

Industrial cooling towers:

Industrial cooling towers can be used to remove heat from various sources such as
machinery or heated process material. The primary use of large, industrial cooling
towers is to remove the heat absorbed in the circulating cooling water systems used
in power plants, refineries, petrochemical plants, natural gas processing plants,
food processing plants, semi-conductor plants, and for other industrial facilities
such as in condensers of distillation columns, for cooling liquid in crystallization,
etc.

The circulation rate of cooling water in a typical 700 MW coal-fired power

plant with a cooling tower amounts to about 71,600 cubic meters an hour (315,000
U.S. gallons per minute) and the circulating water requires a supply water make-up
rate of perhaps 5 percent (i.e., 3,600 cubic meters an hour).

If that same plant had no cooling tower and used once-through cooling water, it
would require about 100,000 cubic meters an hour and that amount of water would
have to be continuously returned to the ocean, lake or river from which it was
obtained and continuously re-supplied to the plant.
19
Furthermore, discharging large amounts of hot water may raise the temperature of
the receiving river or lake to an unacceptable level for the local ecosystem.
Elevated water temperatures can kill fish and other aquatic organisms.

A cooling tower serves to dissipate the heat into the atmosphere instead and wind
and air diffusion spreads the heat over a much larger area than hot water can
distribute heat in a body of water. Some coal-fired and nuclear power
plants located in coastal areas do make use of once-through ocean water. But even
there, the offshore discharge water outlet requires very careful design to avoid
environmental problems.

Fig-1.3 Industrial Cooling Tower

Classification Of Cooling Tower By Build

20
 Package type
This type of cooling towers are factory preassembled, and can be simply
transported on trucks as they are compact machines. The capacity of package type
towers is limited and for that reason, they are usually preferred by facilities with
low heat rejection requirements such as food processing plants, textile plants, some
chemical processing plants, or buildings like hospitals, hotels, malls, automotive
factories etc.

Due to their frequent use in or near residential areas, sound level control is a
relatively more important issue for package type cooling towers.

Fig-1.4 Package Type Cooling Tower

Field erected type

Facilities such as power plants, steel processing plants, petroleum refineries, or
petrochemical plants usually install field erected type cooling towers due to their
greater capacity for heat rejection. Field erected towers are usually much larger in
size compared to the package type cooling towers.

21
A typical field erected cooling tower has a pultruded fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP)
structure, FRP cladding a mechanical unit for air draft, drift eliminator, and fill.

Fig-1.5 Field erected types

Classification Of Cooling Tower By Air flow generation

Natural draft

Utilizes buoyancy via a tall chimney. 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 tower.

The natural draft or hyperbolic cooling tower makes use of the difference in
temperature between the ambient air and the hotter air inside the tower. As hot air
moves upwards through the tower (because hot air rises), fresh cool air is drawn
into the tower through an air inlet at the bottom.

Due to the layout of the tower, no fan is required and there is almost no circulation
of hot air that could affect the performance. Concrete is used for the tower shell
with a height of up to 200 m. These cooling towers are mostly only for large heat
duties because large concrete structures are expensive.

22
 Fig- 1.6 Natural draft cooling tower

Mechanical draft Uses power-driven fan motors to force or draw air through
the tower. Mechanical draft towers have large fans to force or draw air through
circulated water.
The water falls downwards over fill surfaces, which help increase the contact time
between the water and the air - this helps maximize heat transfer between the two.
Cooling rates of mechanical draft towers depend upon various parameters such as
fan diameter and speed of operation, fills for system resistance etc.

Induced draft A mechanical draft tower with a fan at the discharge

(at the top) which pulls air up through the tower. The fan induces hot moist
air out the discharge. This produces low entering and high exiting air
velocities, reducing the possibility of recirculation in which discharged air
flows back into the air intake. This fan/fin arrangement is also known
as draw-through.

Forced draft A mechanical draft tower with a blower type fan at

the intake. The fan forces air into the tower, creating high entering and low
exiting air velocities. The low exiting velocity is much more susceptible to
recirculation. With the fan on the air intake, the fan is more susceptible to
complications due to freezing conditions. Another disadvantage is that a
forced draft design typically requires more motor horsepower than an
23
 equivalent induced draft design. The benefit of the forced draft design is its
ability to work with high static pressure. Such setups can be installed in
more-confined spaces and even in some indoor situations. This fan/fill
geometry is also known as blow-through.

Fan assisted natural draft A hybrid type that appears like a natural draft
setup, though airflow is assisted by a fan

Fig-1.7 Schematic Of Induced draft Cooling tower

Ideas On Forced Draft Cooling Tower:

Here The fan forces air into the tower, creating high entering and low exiting air
velocities. The low exiting velocity is much more susceptible to recirculation. With
the fan on the air intake, the fan is more susceptible to complications due to
freezing conditions. Another disadvantage is that a forced draft design typically
requires more motor horsepower than an equivalent induced draft design.

24
 Fig 1.8 Forced Draft System

Components Of Forced Draft Cooling tower:

The basic components of a cooling tower include the frame and casing, fill, cold-
water basin, drift eliminators, air inlet, louvers, nozzles and fans. These are
described below.

Frame and casing:

Most towers have structural frames that support the exterior enclosures (casings),
motors, fans, and other components. With some smaller designs, such as some
glass fibre units, the casing may essentially be the frame.

Fill:
Most towers employ fills (made of plastic or wood) to facilitate heat transfer by
maximizing water and air contact. There are two types of fill

Splash fill:
Water falls over successive layers of horizontal splash bars, continuously breaking
into smaller droplets, while also wetting the fill surface. Plastic splash fills promote
better heat transfer than wood splash fills.

Film fill:

25
consists of thin, closely spaced plastic surfaces over which the water
spreads,forming a thin film in contact with the air. These surfaces may be flat,
corrugated, honeycombed, or other patterns. The film type of fill is the more
efficient and provides same heat transfer in a smaller volume than the splash fill.

Cold-water basin:
The cold-water basin is located at or near the bottom of the tower, and it receives
the cooled water that flows down through the tower and fill. The basin usually has
a sump or low point for the cold-water discharge connection. In many tower
designs, the coldwater basin is beneath the entire fill.
In some forced draft counter flow design, however, the water at the bottom of the
fill is channeled to a perimeter trough that functions as the coldwater basin.
Propeller fans are mounted beneath the fill to blow the air up through the tower.
With this design, the tower is mounted on legs, providing easy access to the fans
and their motors.

Drift eliminators:
These capture water droplets entrapped in the air stream that otherwise would be
lost to the atmosphere.

Air inlet:
This is the point of entry for the air entering a tower. The inlet may take up an
entire side of a tower (cross-flow design) or be located low on the side or the
bottom of the tower (counter-flow design).

Louvers:
Generally, cross-flow towers have inlet louvers. The purpose of louvers is to
equalize air flow into the fill and retain the water within the tower. Many counter
flow tower designs do not require louvers.

Nozzles:
These spray water to wet the fill. Uniform water distribution at the top of the fill is
essential to achieve proper wetting of the entire fill surface. Nozzles can either be
fixed and spray in a round or square patterns, or they can be part of a rotating
assembly as found in some circular cross0section towers.

26
 Fans:
Both axial (propeller type) and centrifugal fans are used in towers. Generally,
propeller fans are used in induced draft towers and both propeller and centrifugal
fans are found in forced draft towers.
Depending upon their size, the type of propeller fans used is either fixed or
variable pitch. A fan with non-automatic adjustable pitch blades can be used over a
wide kW range because the fan can be adjusted to deliver the desired air flow at the
lowest power consumption.
Automatic variable pitch blades can vary air flow in response to changing load
conditions.

Performance

27
 Fig-1.9 Range & Approach schematic

Range.

This is the difference between the cooling tower water inlet and outlet
temperature.A high CT Range means that the cooling tower has been able to reduce
the water temperature effectively, and is thus performing well.

Approach.

This is the difference between the cooling tower outlet coldwater temperature and
ambient wet bulb temperature. The lower the approach the better the cooling tower
performance; although, both range and approach should be monitored, the
`Approach is a better indicator of cooling tower performance.

Effectiveness.

This is the ratio between the range and the ideal range (in percentage), i.e.
difference between cooling water inlet temperature and ambient wet bulb

28
temperature, or in other words it is = Range / (Range + Approach). The higher this
ratio, the higher the cooling tower effectiveness.

Cooling capacity.

This is the heat rejected in kCal/hr or TR, given as product of mass flow rate of
water, specific heat and temperature difference.

Evaporation loss.

This is the water quantity evaporated for cooling duty. Theoretically the
evaporation quantity works out to 1.8 m3 for every 1,000,000 kCal heat rejected.

Cycles of concentration

This is the ratio of dissolved solids in circulating water to the dissolved solids in
makeup water.

Liquid/Gas (L/G) ratio

The L/G ratio of a cooling tower is the ratio between the water and the air mass
flow rates. Cooling towers have certain design values, but seasonal variations
require adjustment and tuning of water and air flow rates to get the best cooling
tower effectiveness.
Adjustments can be made by water box loading changes or blade angle
adjustments. Thermodynamic rules also dictate that the heat removed from the
water must be equal to the heat absorbed by the surrounding air.

Assessment on Cooling Tower:

The performance of cooling towers is evaluated to assess present levels of
approach and range against their design values, identify areas of energy wastage
and to suggest improvements.During the performance evaluation, portable
monitoring instruments are used to measure the following parameters:

29
 Wet bulb temperature of air

Dry bulb temperature of air

Cooling tower inlet water temperature

Cooling tower outlet water temperature

Exhaust air temperature

Electrical readings of pump and fan motors

Fig 2.0 Range and approach of cooling towers

These measured parameters and then used to determine the cooling tower
performance in several ways. (Note: CT = cooling tower; CW = cooling water).
These are:
a) Range :This is the difference between the cooling tower water inlet and
outlet temperature. A high CT Range means that the cooling tower has been able to

30
reduce the water temperature effectively, and is thus performing well. The formula
is:
CT Range (C) = [CW inlet temp (C) CW outlet temp (C)]

b) Approach :This is the difference between the cooling tower outlet coldwater
temperature and ambient wet bulb temperature. The lower the approach the better
the cooling tower performance. Although, both range and approach should be
monitored, the `Approach is a better indicator of cooling tower performance.
CT Approach (C) = [CW outlet temp (C) Wet bulb temp (C)]

c) Effectiveness. This is the ratio between the range and the ideal range (in
percentage), i.e.difference between cooling water inlet temperature and ambient
wet bulb temperature, or in other words it is = Range / (Range + Approach). The
higher this ratio, the higher the cooling tower effectiveness.
CT Effectiveness (%) = 100 x (CW temp CW out temp) / (CW in temp WB
temp)

d) Cooling capacity. This is the heat rejected in kCal/hr or TR, given as product of
mass flow rate of water, specific heat and temperature difference.

e) Evaporation loss. This is the water quantity evaporated for cooling duty.
Theoretically the evaporation quantity works out to 1.8 m3 for every 1,000,000
kCal heat rejected. The following formula can be used (Perry):
Evaporation loss (m3/hr) = 0.00085 x 1.8 x circulation rate (m3/hr) x (T1-T2)
T1 - T2 = temperature difference between inlet and outlet water

f) Cycles of concentration (C.O.C). This is the ratio of dissolved solids in

circulating water to the dissolved solids in make up water.

g) Blow down losses depend upon cycles of concentration and the evaporation
losses and is given by formula:
Blow down = Evaporation loss / (C.O.C. 1)

h) Liquid/Gas (L/G) ratio. The L/G ratio of a cooling tower is the ratio between
the water and the air mass flow rates. Cooling towers have certain design values,
but seasonal variations require adjustment and tuning of water and air flow rates to
get the best cooling tower effectiveness. Adjustments can be made by water box
loading changes or blade angle adjustments. Thermodynamic rules also dictate that
31
the heat removed from the water must be equal to the heat absorbed by the
surrounding air. Therefore the following formulae can be used:
L(T1 T2) = G(h2 h1)
L/G = (h2 h1) / (T1 T2)
Where:
L/G = liquid to gas mass flow ratio (kg/kg)
T1 = hot water temperature (0C)
T2 = cold-water temperature (0C)

h2 = enthalpy of air-water vapor mixture at exhaust wet-bulb temperature (same

units as above)

h1 = enthalpy of air-water vapor mixture at inlet wet-bulb temperature (same units

as above)

Cooling water Chemistry

Cooling towers are dynamic systems because of the nature of their operation and
the environment they function within. Tower systems sit outside, open to the
elements, which makes them susceptible to dirt and debris carried by the wind.
Their structure is also popular for birds and bugs to live in or around, because of
the warm, wet environment. These factors present a wide range of operational
concerns that must be understood and managed to ensure optimal thermal
performance and asset reliability.
Below is a brief discussion on the four primary cooling system treatment concerns
encountered in most open re-circulating cooling systems.

Corrosion:

Corrosion is an electrochemical or chemical process that leads to the destruction of

the system metallurgy. Figure illustrates the nature of a corrosion cell that may be
encountered throughout the cooling system metallurgy. Metal is lost at the anode
and deposited at the cathode. The process is enhanced by elevated dissolved
mineral content in the water and the presence of oxygen, both of which are typical
of most cooling tower systems.

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 Fig-2.1 Corrosion Cell

There are different types of corrosion encountered in cooling tower systems

including pitting, galvanic, microbiologically influenced and erosion corrosion
Loss of system metallurgy, if pervasive enough, can result in failed heat
exchangers, piping, or portions of the cooling tower itself.

Scaling:
Scaling is the precipitation of dissolved minerals components that have become
saturated in solution. Factors that contribute to scaling tendencies include water
quality, pH, and temperature.
Scale formation reduces the heat exchange ability of the system because of the
insulating properties of scale, making the entire system work harder to meet the
cooling demand. Deposits typically consist of mineral scales corrosion products

Microbial Growth:

Microbiological activity is microorganisms that live and grow in the cooling tower
and cooling system. Cooling towers present the perfect environment for biological
activity due to the warm, moist environment. There are two distinct categories of
biological activity in the tower system.

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The first being plank tonic, which is bioactivity suspended, or floating in solution.
The other is sessile bio-growth, which is the category given to all biological
activity, bio films, or bio-fouling that stick to a surface in the cooling system. Bio
films are problematic for multiple reasons.They have strong insulating properties,
they contribute to fouling and corrosion, and the bi-products they create that
contribute to further micro-biological activity.

They can be found in and around the tower structure, or they can be found in
chiller bundles, on heat exchangers surfaces, and in the system piping.
Additionally, bio films and algae mats are problematic because they are difficult to
kill. Careful monitoring of biocide treatments, along with routine measurements of
biological activity are important to ensure bio-activity is controlled and limited
throughout the cooling system.

Cross-flow air Movement

Cross-flow is a design in which the air flow is directed perpendicular to the water
flow (see diagram below). Air flow enters one or more vertical faces of the cooling
tower to meet the fill material. Water flows (perpendicular to the air) through the
fill by gravity. The air continues through the fill and thus past the water flow into
an open plenum volume. Lastly, a fan forces the air out into the atmosphere.

A distribution or hot water basin consisting of a deep pan with holes or nozzles in
its bottom is located near the top of a cross-flow tower. Gravity distributes the
water through the nozzles uniformly across the fill material.

Advantages of the cross-flow design:

Gravity water distribution allows smaller pumps and maintenance while in

use.

Non-pressurized spray simplifies variable flow.

Typically lower initial and long-term cost, mostly due to pump requirements.

Disadvantages of the cross-flow design:

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 More prone to freezing than counter-flow designs.

Variable flow is useless in some conditions.

Fig 2.2 Cross Flow Cooling Tower

Counter Flow:
In a counter flow design, the air flow is directly opposite to the water flow (see
diagram below). Air flow first enters an open area beneath the fill media, and is
then drawn up vertically. The water is sprayed through pressurized nozzles near the
top of the tower, and then flows downward through the fill, opposite to the air flow.

Advantages of the counter flow design:

Spray water distribution makes the tower more freeze-resistant.

Breakup of water in spray makes heat transfer more efficient.

Disadvantages of the counter flow design:

Typically higher initial and long-term cost, primarily due to pump

requirements.

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 Difficult to use variable water flow, as spray characteristics may be
negatively affected.

Fig 2.3 Counter Flow Cooling Tower

Cooling Tower Material balance:

Quantitatively, the material balance around a wet, evaporative cooling tower
system is governed by the operational variables of make-up flow
rate, evaporation and windage losses, draw-off rate, and the concentration cycles.

In the adjacent diagram, water pumped from the tower basin is the cooling water
routed through the process coolers and condensers in an industrial facility. The
cool water absorbs heat from the hot process streams which need to be cooled or
condensed, and the absorbed heat warms the circulating water (C).

The warm water returns to the top of the cooling tower and trickles downward over
the fill material inside the tower. As it trickles down, it contacts ambient air rising
up through the tower either by natural draft or by forced draft using large fans in
the tower.

36
That contact causes a small amount of the water to be lost as windage/drift (W) and
some of the water (E) to evaporate. The heat required to evaporate the water is
derived from the water itself, which cools the water back to the original basin
water temperature and the water is then ready to recirculate.

The evaporated water leaves its dissolved salts behind in the bulk of the water
which has not been evaporated, thus raising the salt concentration in the circulating
cooling water. To prevent the salt concentration of the water from becoming too
high, a portion of the water is drawn off/blown down (D) for disposal. Fresh water
make-up (M) is supplied to the tower basin to compensate for the loss of
evaporated water, the windage loss water and the draw-off water.

Fig 2.4 Fan-induced draft, counter-flow cooling tower

Using these flow rates and concentration dimensional units:

M = Make-up water in m/h

C = Circulating water in m/h

D = Draw-off water in m/h

37
E = Evaporated water in m/h

W = Windage loss of water in m/h

= Concentration in ppmw (of any completely soluble salts ... usually

X
chlorides)

XM = Concentration of chlorides in make-up water (M), in ppmw

XC = Concentration of chlorides in circulating water (C), in ppmw

Cycles = Cycles of concentration = XC / XM (dimensionless)

ppmw = parts per million by weight

A water balance around the entire system is then:

M=E+D+W

Since the evaporated water (E) has no salts, a chloride balance around the
system is:

and, therefore:

From a simplified heat balance around the cooling tower:

where:

HV = latent heat of vaporization of water = 2260 kJ / kg

T = water temperature difference from tower top to tower bottom, in C

38
 cp = specific heat of water = 4.184 kJ / (kg C)

Windage (or drift) losses (W) is the amount of total tower water flow
that is evaporated into the atmosphere. From large-scale industrial
cooling towers, in the absence of manufacturer's data, it may be
assumed to be:

W = 0.3 to 1.0 percent of C for a natural draft cooling tower without

windage drift eliminators
W = 0.1 to 0.3 percent of C for an induced draft cooling tower without
windage drift eliminators
W = about 0.005 percent of C (or less) if the cooling tower has windage drift
eliminators
W = about 0.0005 percent of C (or less) if the cooling tower has windage
drift eliminators and uses sea water as make-up water.

Cycles of concentration
Cycles of concentration represents the accumulation of dissolved minerals in the
recirculation cooling water. Draw-off (or blow down) is used principally to control
the buildup of these minerals.

The chemistry of the make-up water including the amount of dissolved minerals
can vary widely. Make-up waters low in dissolved minerals such as those from
surface water supplies (lakes, rivers etc.) tend to be aggressive to metals
(corrosive). Make-up waters from ground water supplies (wells) are usually higher
in minerals and tend to be scaling (deposit minerals). Increasing the amount of
minerals present in the water by cycling can make water less aggressive to piping
however excessive levels of minerals can cause scaling problems.

As the cycles of concentration increase, the water may not be able to hold the
minerals in solution. When the solubility of these minerals have been exceeded
they can precipitate out as mineral solids and cause fouling and heat exchange
problems in the cooling tower or the heat exchangers. The temperatures of the re

39
circulating water, piping and heat exchange surfaces determine if and where
minerals will precipitate from the re circulating water.

Often a professional water treatment consultant will evaluate the make-up water
and the operating conditions of the cooling tower and recommend an appropriate
range for the cycles of concentration. The use of water treatment chemicals,
pretreatment such as water softening, pH adjustment, and other techniques can
affect the acceptable range of cycles of concentration.

Concentration cycles in the majority of cooling towers usually range from 3 to 7.

In the United States, many water supplies are well waters and have significant
levels of dissolved solids. On the other hand, one of the largest water supplies, for
New York City, has a surface rainwater source quite low in minerals; thus cooling
towers in that city are often allowed to concentrate to 7 or more cycles of
concentration.

Operation Of Cooling Tower In Freezing Condition

Some cooling towers (such as smaller building air conditioning systems) are shut
down seasonally, drained, and winterized to prevent freeze damage.

During the winter, other sites continuously operate cooling towers with 40 F
(4 C) water leaving the tower. Basin heaters, tower drain down, and other freeze
protection methods are often employed in cold climates. Operational cooling
towers with malfunctions can freeze during very cold weather. Typically, freezing
starts at the corners of a cooling tower with a reduced or absent heat load. Severe
freezing conditions can create growing volumes of ice, resulting in increased
structural loads which can cause structural damage or collapse.

To prevent freezing, the following procedures are used:

Do not operate the tower unattended. Remote sensors and alarms may be
installed to monitor tower conditions.

Do not operate the tower without a heat load. Basin heaters may be used to
keep the water in the tower pan at an above-freezing temperature. Heat trace

40
 ("heating tape") is a resistive heating element that is installed along water
pipes to prevent freezing in cold climates.

Maintain design water flow rate over the tower fill.

Manipulate or reduce airflow to maintain water temperature above freezing

point.

COMPONENTS OF COOLING TOWER:

1. BODY:
The body is made up of GP sheet with specification of 24 gauge. The body is
generally used for the drift movement of water droplets.

2. WATER COLLECTING TRAY:

The water collecting tray is made up of GP sheet of 24 gauge. The tray is generally used
to store cold water. From the tray, water is pumped to the top and passes through the body
to release the heat.

3. SUBMERSIBLE PUMP:
The pump is used to pump water from collecting tray to the top of tower. The volatage of
the pump is 16-220 v and operates in 50 Hz frequency. It consumes power of 19watt and
the output rate is 11lph(litre per hr)
4. FAN:
The fan used in the project is axial AC and mainly used to remove hot air from inside of
the cooling tower. In our project the dimension of the fan is 120*120*3.8MM. The
voltage supply to the fan is 220/240 V and operates in 50 Hz frequency. The current
consumption by the fan is 0.14A and total power consumption is 25 Watt.

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 5. COPPER PIPE:
In our project the copper pipe is used to circulate water from water collecting tray to the
top and from top of the tower to different parts of the top of the body. The size of the
copper tube is 12mm and size of the copper tube for heating element is 3/8 inch.

6. INSULATING MATTERIAL:
For insulation purpose, teflon tape and ceramic wool is used. The insulation matterial is
used not to transfer heat to outside.

7. DIGITAL SENSOR:
The digital sensor is used to read the temperature. The reading is much useful to calculate
different parameter of the cooling tower.

DIMENSION:
Tray dimension = 18 inch

Length of the tower = 24 inch

Length from tower base to fan = 6 inch

CALCULATION:
T1 = Inlet water temperature
T2 = Outlet water temperature
T3 = Middle tower temperature during drifting
T4 = Fan temperature
T5 = Wet bulb temperature of ambient

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Raise(X):
This is the difference between the cooling tower water inlet and outlet temperature.

Raise =T1-T2
Approach(Y):

This is the difference between the cooling tower outlet coldwater temperature and
ambient wet bulb temperature

Approach = T2- T5

Effectiveness
This is the ratio between the range and the ideal range (in percentage), i.e.
difference between cooling water inlet temperature and ambient wet bulb
temperature, or in other words it is = Range / (Range + Approach).

Effectiveness = X/(X+Y)

COSTING:

SR NO MATTERIAL NAME AMOUNT

1. Water collecting tray+ cooling 8000

tower body+ top part
2. Sensors, pump, fan 5000
3. Copper piping, heater, electrical
Digital meter, switch 8000
4. Travelling, labor charge and other 5000

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 Miscellaneous

WORK DISTRIBUTION:

A: A has done the set up of cooling tower body. He has made the
cooling tower body, tray and upper part through the help of a skilled
labor. All the design part is made by him taking care of proper drift of
water droplets for high efficiency.

B: B has done the job of all electrical connections and connection of

sensors.
C: C has done the job of connection of copper pipe, bending and brazing
of copper pipe.

D: D has done assembling all parts of cooling tower.

E: Assesment, reading and calculation of different parameters.

Application:

It has got application in HVAC & R application.

Future Implication:

44
If any thermal power plant coal or nuclear needs to be sited inland,
the availability of cooling water is a key factor in location. Where cooling
water is limited, the importance of high thermal efficiency is great,
though any advantage of, say, supercritical coal over nuclear is likely to
be greatly diminished due to water requirements for FGD.

Even if water is so limited that it cannot be used for cooling, then the
plant can be sited away from the load demand and where there is
sufficient water for efficient cooling (accepting some losses and extra
cost for transmission.

Considerations of limiting greenhouse gas emissions will, of course, be

superimposed upon the above. US DOE figures show that CO2 capture
will add 50-90% to water use in coal and gas-fired plants, making the
former more water-intensive than nuclear.

A further implication relates to cogeneration, using the waste heat from a

nuclear plant on a coastline for MSF desalination. A lot of desalination in
the Middle East and North Africa already uses waste heat from oil- and
gas-fired power plants, and in future a number of countries are expecting
to use nuclear power for this cogeneration role.

Option Check List:

This section lists the most important options to improve energy efficiency of
cooling towers.
Follow manufacturers recommended clearances around cooling towers and
relocate or modify structures that interfere with the air intake or exhaust

Optimize cooling tower fan blade angle on a seasonal and/or load basis

45
 Correct excessive and/or uneven fan blade tip clearance and poor fan balance

In old counter-flow cooling towers, replace old spray type nozzles with new
square spray nozzles that do not clog

Replace splash bars with self-extinguishing PVC cellular film fill

Install nozzles that spray in a more uniform water pattern

Clean plugged cooling tower distribution nozzles regularly

Balance flow to cooling tower hot water basins

Cover hot water basins to minimize algae growth that contributes to fouling

Optimize the blow down flow rate, taking into account the cycles of
Concentration (COC) limit

Replace slat type drift eliminators with low-pressure drop, self-extinguishing

PVC cellular units

Restrict flows through large loads to design values

Keep the cooling water temperature to a minimum level by (a) segregating high
heat loads like furnaces, air compressors, DG sets and (b) isolating cooling towers
from sensitive applications like A/C plants, condensers of captive power plant etc.
cooling water temperature increase may increase the A/C compressor electricity
consumption by 2.7%. A 1oC drop in cooling water temperature can give a heat
rate saving of 5 kCal/kWh in a thermal power plant

Monitor approach, effectiveness and cooling capacity to continuously optimize

the cooling tower performance, but consider seasonal variations and side variations

Monitor liquid to gas ratio and cooling water flow rates and amend these
depending on the design values and seasonal variations. For example: increase
water loads during summer and times when approach is high and increase air flow
during monsoon times and when approach is low.

Consider COC improvement measures for water savings

46
 Consider energy efficient fibre reinforced plastic blade adoption for fan energy
savings

Control cooling tower fans based on exit water temperatures especially in small
units

Check cooling water pumps regularly to maximize their efficiency

Conclusion:
From our above project we study the assigned project, it is recommended to reduce
the water leakages in the tower by overcoming the construction flaws of the
project. Further it also recommended tour sue the options for water and chemical
conservation opportunities in cooling tower operation.

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Bibliography:
1. A text Book on cooling tower by J.K. Autreton
2. Optimizing Cooling Tower Performance by Nelson
3. Cooling Tower Wikipedia
4. Clayton Cooling Tower
5. Cooling Tower,Chemistry & Performance Improvement By Osama Hasan
6. Heat Exchangers By Ahemad Hussain

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