14 - A Critical Investigation Into +++

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 48 (2005) 765777
www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhmt
A critical investigation into the heat and mass transfer analysis

of counterow wet-cooling towers
a,* b
J.C. Kloppers , D.G. Kroger
a
Sasol Technology (Pty) Ltd., Private Bag X1034, Secunda 2302, South Africa
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa
Received 6 January 2004

Available online 6 November 2004
Abstract
This study gives a detailed derivation of the heat and mass transfer equations of evaporative cooling in wet-cooling
towers. The governing equations of the rigorous Poppe method of analysis are derived from rst principles. The method
of Poppe is well suited for the analysis of hybrid cooling towers as the state of the outlet air is accurately predicted. The
governing equations of the Merkel method of analysis are subsequently derived after some simplifying assumptions are
made. The equations of the eectiveness-NTU method applied to wet-cooling towers are also presented. The governing
equations of the Poppe method are extended to give a more detailed representation of the Merkel number. The dier-
ences in the heat and mass transfer analyses and solution techniques of the Merkel and Poppe methods are described
with the aid of enthalpy diagrams and psychrometric charts. The psychrometric chart is extended to accommodate air
in the supersaturated state.
2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction represent the physics of the heat and mass transfer proc-
ess in the cooling tower ll.
The governing equations for heat and mass transfer The critical simplifying assumptions of the Merkel
in the ll of a counterow cooling tower are derived in method are [4]:
this paper. The governing equations for the Merkel [1],
Poppe and Rogener [2] and e-NTU [3] methods are pre- The Lewis factor relating heat and mass transfer is
sented. The Merkel method, developed in the 1920s, re- equal to 1. This assumption has a small inuence
lies on several critical assumptions to reduce the solution but aects results at low ambient temperatures.
to a simple hand calculation. Because of these assump- The air exiting the tower is saturated with water
tions, however, the Merkel method does not accurately vapor and it is characterized only by its enthalpy.
This assumption regarding saturation has a negligible
inuence above an ambient temperature of 20 C but
is of importance at lower temperatures.
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +27 17 6192739; fax: +27 11 The reduction of water ow rate by evaporation is
5220599. neglected in the energy balance. This energy balance
E-mail addresses: chris.kloppers@sasol.com (J.C. Klop- simplication has a greater inuence at elevated
pers), dgk@sun.ac.za (D.G. Kroger). ambient temperatures.
0017-9310/$ - see front matter 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2004.09.004
766 J.C. Kloppers, D.G. Kroger / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 48 (2005) 765777
Nomenclature
A area, m2 Subscripts
a surface area per unit volume, m1 a air
C heat capacity rate mcp, W/K, or uid capac- c convection heat transfer, or cold
ity rate ratio , Cmin/Cmax, e e-NTU method
cp specic heat at constant pressure, J/kg K ll
e eectiveness h hot
G mass velocity, kg/m2s i inlet
h heat transfer coecient, W/m2 K M Merkel method
hd mass transfer coecient, kg/m2s m mean, or mass transfer
i enthalpy, J/kg max maximum
ifg latent heat, J/kg min minimum
Lef Lewis factor, h/(cphd) o outlet
m mass ow rate, kg/s P Poppe method
Me Merkel number, hdaL/Gw s saturation
NTU number of transfer units ss supersaturated
p pressure, N/m2, or Pa v vapor
Q heat transfer rate, W w water
T temperature, C or K wb wetbulb
U overall heat transfer coecient, W/m2 K
w humidity ratio, kg water vapor/kg dry air
z coordinate, or elevation, m
Bourillot [4] stated that the Merkel method is simple tions, according to the Poppe method, the Merkel meth-
to use and can correctly predict cold water temperature od assumptions take eect to simplify the solution of the
when an appropriate value of the coecient of evapora- equations considerably. The e-NTU method, which is
tion is used. In contrast, it is insucient for the estima- based on the same simplifying assumptions as the Mer-
tion of the characteristics of the warm air leaving the ll kel method, is presented in Section 4. The discussion on
and for the calculation of changes in the water ow rate the dierences between the methods and the conclusion
due to evaporation. These quantities are important to are presented in Sections 5 and 6 respectively.
estimate water consumption and to predict the behavior
of plumes exiting the cooling tower.
Jaber and Webb [3] developed the equations neces- 2. Poppe method
sary to apply the e-NTU method directly to counterow
or crossow cooling towers. This approach is particu- The following two subsections where the governing
larly useful in the latter case and simplies the method equations of the evaporative cooling process are derived
of solution when compared to a more conventional according to the Poppe method of analysis, are adapted
numerical procedure. The e-NTU method is based on from Bourillot [5], Poppe and Rogener [2], Kroger [7]
the same simplifying assumptions as the Merkel method. and Baard [8]. The procedure to calculate the Merkel
The method of Poppe, developed in the 1970s, does number, according to the Poppe method, is extended in
not make the simplifying assumptions of Merkel. Predic- the current derivation to give a more detailed representa-
tions from the Poppe formulation result in values of tion of the integration of the Merkel number in the count-
evaporated water ow rate that are in good agreement erow transfer region. The governing equations that
with full scale cooling tower test results. In addition, follow can be solved by the fourth order RungeKutta
the Poppe method predicts the water content of the exit- method. Refer to Appendix B for the procedure to solve
ing air accurately [4,5]. The fact that the Poppe method the governing equations by the RungeKutta method.
predicts the water content of the exiting air accurately is
a very important consideration in the design of hybrid 2.1. Governing equations for heat and mass transfer in
cooling towers [6]. ll for unsaturated air
Section 2 gives the detailed derivation of the govern-
ing equations according to the Poppe method. The Mer- Fig. 1 shows a control volume in the ll of a counter-
kel method is discussed in Section 3. Section 3 also ow wet-cooling tower. Fig. 2 shows an airside control
shows where in the derivation of the governing equa- volume of the ll illustrated in Fig. 1.
J.C. Kloppers, D.G. Kroger / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 48 (2005) 765777 767
where dQm is the enthalpy transfer due to dierence in

vapor concentration between the saturated air at the
interface and the mean stream air and dQc is the sensible
heat transfer due to the dierence in temperature. The
mass transfer at the interface is expressed by
dmw hd wsw wdA 5
The corresponding enthalpy transfer for the mass

transfer in Eq. (5) is
dQm iv dmw iv hd wsw wdA 6
The enthalpy of the water vapor, iv, at the bulk water

temperature, Tw, is given by
Fig. 1. Control volume of counterow ll.

iv ifgwo cpv T w 7
The convective heat transfer from Fig. 2 is given by

dQc hT w T a dA 8
The temperature dierential in Eq. (8) can be
replaced by an enthalpy dierential. The enthalpy of sat-
urated air evaluated at the local bulk water temperature
is given by
imasw cpa T w wsw ifgwo cpv T w 9
Substitute Eq. (7) into Eq. (9), rearrange and nd

imasw cpa T w wiv wsw wiv 10
The enthalpy of the airwater vapor mixture per unit
mass of dry air which, according to Eq. (A.1), is ex-
pressed by
ima cpa T a wifgwo cpv T a 11

Fig. 2. Air side control volume of the ll.
Subtract Eq. (11) from (10). The resultant equation

can be simplied if the small dierences in specic heats,
A mass balance for the control volume in Fig. 1 which are evaluated at dierent temperatures, are
yields ignored.
dmw ma dw 1 imasw ima wsw wiv
Tw Ta 12
The energy balance for the control volume of the ll cpma
in Fig. 1 is as follows:
where cpma is given by Eq. (A.5).
ma dima mw diw iw dmw 0 2
Substitute Eq. (12) into Eq. (8). Substitute the result-
where ima is the enthalpy of the airvapor mixture ex- ant equation and Eq. (6) into Eq. (4) to nd after
pressed by Eq. (A.1). rearrangement,
Substitute Eq. (1) into Eq. (2) to nd upon
rearrangement, h
dQ hd imasw ima
cpma hd
ma 1
dT w dima T w dw 3 h
mw cpw 1 iv wsw w dA 13
cpma hd
Consider the interface between the water and the air
h/cpmahd in Eq. (13) is known as the Lewis factor Lef and
in Fig. 2. An energy balance at the interface yields
is an indication of the relative rates of heat and mass
dQ dQm dQc 4 transfer in an evaporative process. Bosnjakovic [9]
developed an empirical relation for the Lewis factor Lef dima hd afi Afr
Lef imasw ima 1 Lef iv wsw w
for airwater vapor systems. The Lewis factor for dz ma
unsaturated air, according to Bosnjakovic [9] is given by 17

0:667 wsw 0:622 wsw 0:622 Substitute Eqs. (5) and (15) into Eq. (2), rearrange
Lef 0:865 1 ln
w 0:622 w 0:622 and nd,
14 mw diw hd dAimasw ima Lef 1imasw ima
wsw wiv wsw wcpw T w 18
Refer to Kloppers [10] for a discussion on the deriva-
tion and development of Eq. (14). Other equations, gi-
Find upon rearrangement of Eq. (3)
ven by Kloppers [10], can be employed to express the
Lewis factor. He shows that it is very important to em- dw 1 dima 1 mw
or
ploy the same equation or denition for the Lewis factor dT w cpw T w dT w T w ma
in the ll performance analysis and in the subsequent
dw dima 1 mw
cooling tower performance analysis if the water outlet 19
dT w T w diw T w ma
temperature is to be calculated accurately. The water
evaporation rate, however, is a function of the actual Substitute Eqs. (15) and (18) into Eq. (19) and nd,
dw cpw mmwa wsw w

20
dT w imasw ima Lef 1imasw ima wsw wiv wsw wcpw T w
Substitute Eq. (20) into Eq. (19) and nd,

dima mw cpw wsw wcpw T w
1 21
dT w ma imasw ima Lef 1imasw ima wsw wiv wsw wcpw T w
value of the Lewis factor, especially when the ambient From Eqs. (1) and (5) nd
air is relatively warm.
ma dw
The enthalpy transfer to the air stream from Eq. (13) hd dA 22
is wsw w
Divide both sides by mw and introduce dTw/dTw to

1
dima dQ the right hand side of Eq. (22) and integrate to nd
ma
Z Z
hd dA hd ma dw=dT w
Lef imasw ima 1 Lef iv wsw w dA dT w 23
ma mw mw wsw w
15
From Eq. (23) nd
Z
For a one-dimensional model of the cooling tower hd A ma dw=dT w
ll, where the available area for heat and mass transfer dT w 24
mw mw wsw w
is the same at any horizontal section through the ll,
the transfer area for a section dz is usually expressed as Eq. (24) is dened as the Merkel number according to
the Poppe method i.e.
dA afi Afr dz 16 Z
ma dw=dT w
MeP dT w 25
mw wsw w
where a is the area density of the ll, i.e. the wetted area
divided by the corresponding volume of the ll and Afr is Upon substitution of Eq. (20) into Eq. (25) and
the corresponding frontal area or face area. Substitute dierentiation of the latter with respect to the water
Eq. (16) into Eq. (15) and nd temperature, nd
MeP cpw
26
dT w imasw ima Lef 1imasw ima wsw wiv wsw wcpw T w
The ratio of the mass ow rates mw/ma changes as the iss cpa T a wsa ifgwo cpv T a w wsa cpw T a 29
air moves towards the top of the ll. The change in the
where wsa is the humidity ratio of saturated air at tem-
mass ow rate is determined by considering the control
perature Ta.
volume of a portion of the ll illustrated in Fig. 3.
Assume that the heat and mass transfer coecients
The varying water mass ow rate can be determined
for supersaturated and unsaturated air are the same as
from the known inlet water mass ow rate, mwi. From
proposed by Bourillot [5] and Poppe and Rogener [2].
the control volume in Fig. 3 a mass balance will yield,
The driving potential for mass transfer is the humidity
mwi mw ma wo w 27 ratio dierence between the saturated air at the air
water interface and the saturated free stream air, thus
After rearrangement of Eq. (27) nd,
dmw hd wsw wsa dA 30
mw mwi ma
1 wo w 28
ma ma mwi The enthalpy driving potential for supersaturated air
can be obtained by subtracting Eq. (29) from Eq. (10).
From Eqs. (14), (20), (21) and (28) the air outlet con-
By introducing,
ditions in terms of enthalpy and humidity ratio can be
calculated. The value for wo in Eq. (28) is not known a w wsa cpw T w w wsa cpw T w wsa cpv T w wsa cpv T w
priori and the equations must therefore be solved by
an iterative procedure. which adds up to zero into the resultant enthalpy dier-
The preceding system of equations is only applicable ential, the temperature dierential can be obtained by
for unsaturated air. In some cases, the air can become manipulation
saturated before it leaves the ll [7]. Because the water imasw iss wsw wsa iv w wsa cpw T w
temperature is still higher than the temperature of the Tw Ta
cpmas
air, the potential for heat and mass transfer still exists.
31
Under these conditions, the excess water vapor will con-
dense as a mist. where cpmas is the specic heat of supersaturated air per
unit mass and dened as
2.2. Governing equations for heat and mass transfer in cpmas cpa wsa cpv w wsa cpw 32
ll for supersaturated air
Proceeding along the same lines as in the case of
The control volumes in Figs. 1 and 2 are also appli- unsaturated air, using Eqs. (30) and (31) instead of
cable if the air is supersaturated. Since the excess water Eqs. (5) and (12) nd for supersaturated air
vapor will condense as a mist, the enthalpy of supersatu- hd dA
rated air is expressed by dima Lef fimasw iss wsw wsa iv
ma
w wsa cpw T w g wsw wsa iv 33
where the Lewis factor, Lef, is equal to h/hdcpmas. Poppe
employed the empirical relation of Bosnjakovic [9] to
calculate the Lewis factor, which for supersaturated air
is given by

0:667 wsw 0:622 wsw 0:622
Lef 0:865 1 ln
wsa 0:622 wsa 0:622
34
Substitute Eqs. (30) and (33) into Eq. (2) and nd
after rearrangement
mw diw mw cpw dT w hd dA

Lef fimasw iss wsw wsa iv w wsa cpw T w g

wsw wsa iv wsw wsa cpw T w

Fig. 3. Control volume of the ll. 35
Z Z
By introducing hd ma dw=dT w
dA dT w 41
imasw iss wsw wsa iv w wsa cpw T w mw mw wsw wsa
imasw iss wsw wsa iv w wsa cpw T w Eq. (41) is dened as the Merkel number according to
the Poppe method i.e.
into the main parenthesis on right hand side of Eq. (35)
the following equation yields after rearrangement: Z
hd A ma dw=dT w
mw diw mw cpw dT w hd dA Mep dT w 42
2 mw mw wsw wsa
3
imasw iss wsw wsa iv
6 imasw iss Lef 1 7

4 w wsa cpw T w 5 Upon substitution of Eq. (38) into Eq. (42) and dif-
w wsw cpw T w ferentiation of the latter with respect to water tempera-
ture, nd
36
dMep cpw

dT w imasw iss wsw wsa iv 43
imasw iss Lef 1 w wsw cpw T w
w wsa cpw T w
Substitute Eq. (30) into Eq. (1) and nd, From Eqs. (28), (34), (38) and (39), the air outlet con-
ditions in terms of enthalpy and humidity ratio can be
ma dw calculated.
hd dA 37
wsw wsa The fourth order RungeKutta method is employed
to solve the system of equations. Refer to Appendix B
Substitute Eq. (37) into Eq. (36) and nd,
dw cpw mmwa wsw wsa

dT w imasw iss wsw wsa iv 38
w wsa cpw T w
Substitute Eq. (38) into Eq. (19) and nd upon for the implementation of the RungeKutta method to
rearrangement, solve the governing equations of the Poppe method.
0 1
dima mw B
B cpw T w wsw wsa C
C
cpw B1 C 39
dT w ma @ imasw iss wsw wsa iv A
w wsa cpw T w
From Eqs. (1) and (30) nd Refer to Kloppers [10] for detailed sample calculations
to solve the governing equations according to the Poppe
ma d w method.
hd dA 40
wsw wsa
3. Merkel method
Divide both sides of Eq. (40) by mw, introduce dTw/
dTw to the right hand side of Eq. (40) and integrate to To simplify the analysis of an evaporative cooling
nd process Merkel [1] assumed that the evaporative loss is
negligible, i.e. dw = 0 from Eq. (3), and that the Lewis which Fig. 4 is generated, are given in Kroger [7]. The
factor is equal to one. Eqs. (17) and (3) of the counter- ima curve i.e. the enthalpy of the air as it moves through
ow evaporative process simplify respectively to the ll, shown in Fig. 4, is linear due to the linear nature
dima hd afi Afr of Eq. (47). The imasw curve is the saturation curve of the
imasw ima 44 air at the water interface temperature. The potential for
dz ma
heat and mass transfer at a particular water temperature
and by dividing Eq. (3) by dz on both sides of Eq. (3) to is the dierence between imasw and ima. The Merkel num-
dT w ma 1 dima ber, MeM, of Eq. (46), is a function of the area under the
45 1/(imasw ima) curve as shown in Fig. 4.
dz mw cpw dz
The integral in Eq. (46) needs to be evaluated by
Eqs. (44) and (45) describe respectively the change in numerical integration techniques. The British Standard
the enthalpy of the airwater vapor mixture and the [13] and the Cooling Tower Institute [14,15] recommend
change in water temperature as the air travel distance that the four-point Chebyshev integration technique be
changes. Eqs. (44) and (45) can be combined to yield employed. A discussion of the Chebyshev integration
upon integration the Merkel equation technique can also be found in Oosthuizen [16] and
hd A hd afi Afr Lfi hd afi Lfi Mohiuddin and Kant [17]. Kelly [18] states that the
MeM Chebyshev procedure lacks accuracy when the approach
mw mw Gw
Z T wi (i.e. the dierence between the water outlet temperature
cpw dT w
46 and the air inlet wetbulb temperature) is small (down
T wo imasw ima to 0.56 C). Any integration technique can be employed
where MeM is the Merkel number according to the Mer- to solve Eq. (46) but it is strongly recommended that
kel method. In the literature the notation frequently the same integration technique be employed in the ll
used for the Merkel number is KaV/L where K = hd, performance analysis and the subsequent cooling tower
a = a and L = mw. It is not possible to calculate the performance analysis. The four-point Chebyshev
state of the air leaving the ll according to Eq. (46). integration technique essentially uses four intervals for
Merkel assumed that the air leaving the ll is saturated the determination of the integral. Li and Priddy [19]
with water vapor. This assumption enables the approxi- and Mills [20] use thirteen and seven intervals respec-
mate air temperature leaving the ll to be calculated. tively for numerical integration to determine the change
Eq. (46) is not self-sucient so it does not lend itself of water and air enthalpy through the ll for a cooling
to direct mathematical solution [11,12]. The usual proce- range of approximately 14 C. Li and Priddy [19] eec-
dure is to integrate it in conjunction with an energy bal- tively employ a Riemann sum [21] to determine the inte-
ance expressed by gral while Mills [20] employs the composite trapezoidal
rule [22]. It was found by the authors that the Chebyshev
mw cpwm dT w ma dima 47
procedure is generally very accurate when compared to
Fig. 4 shows the enthalpy curves of the air in a count- the composite Simpson rule with 100 intervals which
erow wet-cooling tower. The ll test results, from has an error of the fourth order [23].
170000 1.6x10-5
1/(i masw - i ma )
140000 1.5x10-5
1/(i masw - i ma ), kg/J
Enthalpy, J/kg
110000 1.4x10-5
i masw
80000 1.3x10-5
50000 1.2x10-5
i ma
20000 1.1x10-5
300 302 304 306 308 310 312 314
Water temperature, K
Fig. 4. Enthalpy diagram of the Merkel method.

As already mentioned, the driving potential in wet- The eectiveness is given by

cooling towers is the dierence between the enthalpies Q mw cpw T wi T wo
imasw and ima as shown in Fig. 4. The ima curve is ob- e 52
Qmax C min imaswi k imai
tained from Eq. (47) that ignores the change in water
ow rate due to evaporation. The eect of evaporation where k is a correction factor, according to Berman [25],
on the energy balance is thus ignored for a second time. to improve the approximation of the imasw versus Tw curve
It was rst ignored when Eq. (46) was derived. Baker as a straight line. The correction factor, k, is given by
and Shryock [11] investigated the eect of this second in- k imaswo imaswi 2imaswm =4 53
stance where the evaporation is ignored in the energy
balance. They considered three dierent cases and found where imaswm denotes the enthalpy of saturated air at the
that the Merkel number increases with the more accu- mean water temperature. The number of transfer units
rate representations of the energy balance. The Merkel for counterow cooling towers is given by
number, however, does not increase as much for the 1 1 eC
most accurate case investigated as for the second most NTU ln 54
1C 1e
accurate case. The maximum increase in the Merkel
If ma is greater than mwcpw/(dimasw/dTw) the Merkel
number is 4.4%. Again, it is stressed that the same en-
number according to the e-NTU method is given by
ergy balance be employed in the ll performance analy-
sis and the subsequent cooling tower performance cpw
Mee NTU 55
analysis. dimasw =dT w
Curves are published in the literature to determine If ma is less than mwcpw/(dimasw/dTw) the Merkel
the Merkel number in Eq. (46) by graphical means from number according to the e-NTU method is given by
known air and water temperatures and air and water
ma
mass ow rates. Curves to determine the tower charac- Mee NTU 56
mw
teristic for counterow towers, are given by the CTI
[24]. Since the advent of high speed digital computers,
these curves are less frequently used.
5. Discussion
It is expected that the Poppe method will lead to

4. e-NTU method
more accurate results than those obtained by employing
the Merkel and e-NTU methods, as it is the more rigor-
Jaber and Webb [3] developed the equations neces-
ous method. The results of the Merkel and e-NTU meth-
sary to apply the e-NTU method directly to counterow
ods of analysis are generally very close to each other as
or crossow cooling towers. Kroger [7] gives a detailed
these methods are based on the same simplifying
derivation and implementation of the e-NTU method
assumptions. The comparison between the Poppe and
applied to evaporative airwater systems.
Merkel methods is shown on the psychrometric charts
It can be shown according to Jaber and Webb [3] that
in Figs. 5 and 6. The conventional psychrometric chart

dimasw ima dimasw =dT w 1 is extended to accommodate air that is in the supersatu-
hd dA 48 rated state. The enthalpy of supersaturated air on the
imasw ima mw cpw ma
psychrometric chart is given by Eq. (29).
Eq. (48) corresponds to the heat exchanger e-NTU Fig. 5 shows the heating path of the state of the air in
equation a wet-cooling tower for relatively cold inlet air which is
saturated with water vapor in this particular example.
dT h T c 1 1 The path of the air according to the Merkel method is
U dA 49
T h T c mh cph mc cpc shown as a broken straight line in Fig. 5. The line for
the Merkel method is presented as a broken line because
Two possible cases of Eq. (48) can be considered
straight lines can only be used on psychrometric charts if
where ma is greater or less than mwcpw/(dimasw/dTw).
the temperature of the water surface is constant. The line
The maximum of ma and mwcpw/(dimasw/dTw) is denoted
according to the Merkel method is presented as a
by Cmax and the minimum by Cmin. The gradient of the
straight line because no other information is given by
saturated air enthalpytemperature curve is
the Merkel method about the humidity of the air except
dimasw imaswi imaswo that it is saturated at the air outlet side. That is why the
50
dT w T wi T wo air at the outlet of the cooling tower is assumed to be on
the saturation line as shown in Fig. 5.
The uid capacity rate ratio is dened as
The Poppe method, on the other hand, gives the state
C C min =C max 51 of the air for the entire evaporative process. Since the
Fig. 5. Path of air in a wet-cooling tower indicated on a supersaturated psychrometric chart.
constant air enthalpy in the supersaturated region are

very close to vertical. Therefore, it does not matter
how much water vapor and mist are present in the super-
saturated air, for a specic air enthalpy, the air temper-
ature will be approximately constant. The dierence in
the air temperatures at point 2a and 2b in Fig. 5, for
the Merkel and Poppe methods, respectively, can be re-
duced by improving the energy balance employed by the
Merkel method where the approximate loss of water
due to evaporation in the energy balance is neglected.
Refer to Kloppers and Kroger [26] where the loss of
water due to evaporation is accounted for in the energy
balance.
Fig. 6. Psychrometric chart of a water cooling process when the Fig. 6 shows the heating path of the air in the cooling
inlet ambient air is hot and very dry. tower for hot inlet air which is virtually void of water va-
por. Point 1 in Fig. 6 shows the state of the inlet air on a
inlet air is saturated with water vapor, indicated by psychrometric chart. Point 2b in Fig. 6 shows the state
point 1 in Fig. 5, it immediately becomes supersaturated, of the air at the outlet of the heat and mass transfer re-
according to the Poppe method, as it enters the ll. As gion of the cooling tower according to the Poppe meth-
the air is heated and the humidity ratio increases, due od. The outlet air is colder than the inlet air. Point 2a
to the latent heat transfer from the water, it follows shows the outlet air state according to the Merkel
the saturation curve very closely. This is because as the method.
air is heated, it can contain more water vapor before it Fig. 6 shows that the outlet air is saturated according
reaches the point of saturation. to the Merkel method. The outlet air temperatures,
Point 2b in Fig. 5 shows the state of the air at the out- according to the Merkel and Poppe analyses, are not
let of the heat and mass transfer area or ll in the cool- very close to each other. The outlet air temperatures pre-
ing tower according to the Poppe method. Point 2a in dicted by the Merkel and Poppe analyses lie approxi-
Fig. 5 shows the outlet air state according to the Merkel mately on the same constant enthalpy line in Fig. 6 as
method. It shows that the air is saturated at the outlet was the case in Fig. 5 when the outlet air was supersatu-
according to Merkel. The outlet air temperatures rated according to the Poppe method. In the unsatu-
according to the Merkel and Poppe analyses are rela- rated region, however, the lines of constant enthalpy
tively close to each other in Fig. 5. The assumption of are far from vertical and therefore the large discrepancy
Merkel that the outlet air is saturated is, therefore, a in the temperatures. The assumption of Merkel that the
very good assumption if the actual outlet air tempera- outlet air is saturated with water vapor is not as accurate
ture is supersaturated. if the actual outlet air is unsaturated as when it is
The degree of supersaturation does not have a great supersaturated.
inuence on the relative dierence between the outlet Fig. 4 shows the enthalpy diagram for the particular
air temperatures predicted by the Merkel and Poppe example according to the Merkel method while Fig. 7
analyses. This is because, as seen in Fig. 5, the lines of shows the dierences in the enthalpy diagrams between
170000 1.6x10-5
1/(imas w - ima)
140000 1.5x10-5
1/(imasw - ima), kg/J

Enthalpy, J/kg
Merkel
110000 1.4x10-5
Poppe
imas w
80000 1.3x10-5
50000 1.2x10-5
ima
20000 1.1x10-5
300 302 304 306 308 310 312 314
Water temperature, K
Fig. 7. Enthalpy diagram of the Merkel and Poppe methods.
the Merkel and Poppe methods. The imasw curves of the standing of the implications of the assumptions made by
two methods fall on top of each other. There is a small Merkel. The Merkel and e-NTU methods of analysis
discrepancy in the ima curves of the two dierent meth- give approximately identical results as it is based on
ods, especially at the hot water side. It can be seen that the same simplifying assumptions. It is clear from the
the Poppe method predicts an approximately linear var- discussion that the same method of analysis must be em-
iation of the air enthalpy for this specic case but the ployed in the ll performance test and the subsequent
gradient is dierent from that predicted by the Merkel cooling tower performance analysis. The psychrometric
method. The 1/(imasw ima) curve of the Poppe method chart is expanded to accommodate air that is in the
lies above the 1/(imasw ima) curve of the Merkel meth- supersaturated state.
od. As the transfer characteristic, or Merkel number, is a
function of the area under the 1/(imasw ima) curve, the
Appendix A. Thermophysical properties
Merkel number according to the Poppe method will be
greater than the Merkel number predicted by the Merkel
The thermophysical properties summarized here are
method. It is therefore very important that the same
presented in Kroger [7]. Refer to Kroger [7] for the
method of method (i.e. Merkel, Poppe or e-NTU) be em-
ranges of applicability of the following equations of
ployed in the ll performance test and the subsequent
the thermophysical properties. All the temperatures are
cooling tower performance method.
expressed in Kelvin.
The results of the Merkel, Poppe and e-NTU analyses
The enthalpy of the airwater vapor mixture is given
presented in this study, applied to the evaluation of cool-
by
ing tower performance, are given in Kloppers and Kro-
ger [26].
ima cpa T 273:15
wifgwo cpv T 273:15 J=kg dry air A:1
6. Conclusion where the specic heats, cpa and cpv, are evaluated at
(T + 273.15)/2 by Eqs. (A.2) and (A.4) respectively.
The governing equations according to the Poppe, The latent heat ifgwo, is evaluated at 273.15 K according
Merkel and e-NTU methods of method are derived to Eq. (A.8).
and presented. The governing equations of the Poppe The specic heat of dry air is given by
method are expanded to give a more accurate represen-
tation of the calculation of the Merkel number. A de- cpa 1:045356
103 3:161783
101 T
tailed procedure is presented of how to solve the
governing equations with its unique requirements. The 7:083814
104 T 2 2:705209
Poppe method is especially suited to be employed in
107 T 3 J=kg K A:2
the analysis of hybrid cooling towers as the state of
the outlet air is accurately determined. The dierences The vapor pressure of saturated water vapor is given
between the Merkel and Poppe methods of analysis of by
evaporative cooling are explained by enthalpy diagrams
and psychrometric charts which leads to a better under- pv 10z N=m2 A:3
where DT w T wi T wo =Number of intervals B:1

z 10:795861 273:16=T 5:02808log10 273:16=T
1:50474
104 1 108:29692fT =273:161g 4:2873 Fig. B.1 shows an example where the ll is divided
into ve intervals. It is necessary to divide the ll into

104 104:769551273:16=T 1 2:786118312 more than one interval to capture, as accurately as pos-
The specic heat of saturated water vapor is given by sible, the point at which the air becomes supersaturated.
This is because a dierent set of equations is applicable
cpv 1:3605
103 2:31334T 2:46784
1010 T 5 for supersaturated air. Approximately ve intervals are
5:91332
1013 T 6 J=kg K A:4 generally sucient to obtain accurate results. It was
The specic heat of mixtures of air and water vapor is mentioned that the value of wo is not known a priori.
given by A value of wo is guessed and a new value of wo is subse-
quently determined. The equations are solved until the
cpma cpa wcpv J=K kg dry air A:5
value of wo converges. Only a few of these iterations
The humidity ratio is given by are generally necessary to obtain convergence.

2501:6 2:3263T wb 273:15 0:62509pvwb
w
2501:6 1:8577T 273:15 4:184T wb 273:15 pa 1:005pvwb

1:00416T T wb

A:6
2501:6 1:8577T 273:15 4:184T wb 273:15
where pvwb is the vapor pressure from Eq. (A.3) eval- The equations are solved across one interval at a time
uated at the wetbulb temperature. by the RungeKutta method, which is explained in Sec-
The specic heat of water is given by tion B.2. The air, which is generally unsaturated, enters
the ll at Level (0) in Fig. B.1 with wi, imai, ma known.
cpw 8:15599
103 2:80627
10T 5:11283 The values of w(1) and ima(1) are then determined by
the RungeKutta method with the set of equations for

102 T 2 2:17582
1013 T 6 J=kg K A:7
unsaturated air. ma remains constant. It is then deter-
mined whether the air is still unsaturated or if it is super-
The latent heat of water is given by saturated at the outlet of the rst interval (i.e. at level (1)
ifgw 3:4831814
106 5:8627703
103 T in Fig. B.1). If the air is supersaturated, the set of equa-
tions for supersaturated air must be solved across the
12:139568T 2 1:40290431 next interval. If the air is supersaturated it will generally

102 T 3 J=K A:8
ifgwo is obtained from Eq. (A.8) where T = 273.15.
Appendix B. Solving the system of dierential equations
B.1. Solving procedure
The fourth order RungeKutta method [5,22,23] is

employed to solve the system of dierential equations
for unsaturated and supersaturated air. The system of
equations for unsaturated air (including saturated air)
is represented by Eqs. (20), (21) and (26). The system
of equations for supersaturated air is represented by
Eqs. (38), (39) and (43). In the equations that follow,
ima must be replaced by iss for supersaturated air.
The rst step in the solution process is to divide the
ll into a number of intervals where the water tempera-
ture dierence is equal across each interval, i.e. Fig. B.1. Counterow ll divided into ve intervals.
remain in the supersaturated state through the rest of the ln1;1 DT w hT wn ; iman ; wn B:10
ll.
The following procedure can be followed to deter- jn1;2 DT w
mine whether the air at the outlet of an interval, as indi-
DT w k n1;1 jn1;1
cated in Fig. B.1, is unsaturated or supersaturated: f T wn ; iman ; wn
2 2 2
assume that the air at level (1), for example, is unsatu-
rated and determine Ta(1) from Eq. (A.1) by iterative B:11
means with w(1) and ima(1) known. Then assume that
k n1;2 DT w
the air is saturated and determine the wetbulb tempera-
ture, Twb(1) from Eq. (A.6). T = Twb in Eq. (A.6) when DT w k n1;1 jn1;1
g T wn ; iman ; wn
the air is saturated. If Ta(1) > Twb(1) then the assumption 2 2 2
that the air is unsaturated is correct. If Twb(1) > Ta(1), B:12
which is impossible, the air is supersaturated. The actual
value of the wetbulb temperature is then Twb(1) = Ta(1). ln1;2 DT w

DT w k n1;1 jn1;1
B.2. Implementation of the fourth order RungeKutta h T wn ; iman ; wn
method 2 2 2
B:13
Eqs. (20), (21) and (26) for unsaturated and saturated
air or Eqs. (38), (39) and (43) for supersaturated air can jn1;3 DT w

be respectively written as DT w k n1;2 jn1;2
f T wn ; iman ; wn
2 2 2
dw
f w; ima ; T w B:2 B:14
dT w
dima k n1;3 DT w
gw; ima ; T w B:3
dT w DT w k n1;2 jn1;2
g T wn ; iman ; wn
2 2 2
dMeP
hw; ima ; T w B:4 B:15
dT w
ln1;3 DT w
Refer to Fig. B.1. The cooling tower ll is divided
into one or more intervals with the same water temper- DT w k n1;2 jn1;2
h T wn ; iman ; wn
ature dierence across each interval. In addition to the 2 2 2
intervals, levels are specied (a level is an imaginary hor- B:16
izontal plane through the ll at the top and bottom of
the ll and between two ll intervals). Initial values of jn1;4 DT w
the variables w, ima and Tw are required on a particular
level, say level (n). The values of the variables can then f T wn DT w ; iman k n1;3 ; wn jn1;3
be determined at level (n + 1) with the aid of Eqs. B:17
(B.5)(B.7).
k n1;4 DT w
wn1 wn jn1;1 2jn1;2 2jn1;3 jn1;4 =6
B:5 g T wn DT w ; iman k n1;3 ; wn jn1;3
B:18
iman1 iman k n1;1 2k n1;2 2k n1;3 k n1;4 =6
B:6 ln1;4 DT w

MePn1 MePn ln1;1 2ln1;2 2ln1;3 ln1;4 =6 h T wn DT w ; iman k n1;3 ; wn jn1;3
B:7 B:19
where The four variables in the RungeKutta method are

Tw, w, iss or ima and MeP from the left-hand side of
jn1;1 DT w f T wn ; iman ; wn B:8 Eqs. (20), (21) and (26) for unsaturated air and Eqs.
(38), (39) and (43) for supersaturated air. For this reason
k n1;1 DT w gT wn ; iman ; wn B:9 Eqs. (B.2)(B.4) are functions of only w, ima or iss and
Tw. Most of the other variables are functions of these IAHR Cooling Tower Workshop, Hungary, 1215 Octo-
variables. Eqs. (B.2)(B.4) are not functions of MeP be- ber, 1982.
cause dMeP/dTw is a function of dw/dTw as can be seen [13] British Standard 4485, Water cooling towers, Part 2:
from Eq. (42). Thus, Eqs. (20) and (21) for unsaturated methods for performance testing, 1988.
[14] Cooling Tower Institute, CTI Code Tower, Standard
air, or Eqs. (38) and (39) for supersaturated air can be
specications, acceptance test for water-cooling towers,
solved without Eq. (26) or Eq. (43) respectively. Part I, Part II and Part III, CTI Code ATC-105, Revised,
February 1990.
[15] Cooling Tower Institute, CTI Code Tower, Standard
References specications, acceptance test code for water-cooling
towers, vol. 1, CTI Code ATC-105(97), Revised, February
[1] F. Merkel, Verdunstungskuhlung, VDI-Zeitchrift 70 (1925) 1997.
123128. [16] P.C. Oosthuizen, Performance characteristics of hybrid
[2] M. Poppe, H. Rogener, Berechnung von Ruckkuhlwerken, cooling towers, M. Eng. thesis, University of Stellenbosch,
VDI-Warmeatlas (1991) Mi 1Mi 15. Stellenbosch, South Africa, 1995.
[3] H. Jaber, R.L. Webb, Design of cooling towers by the [17] A.K.M. Mohiuddin, K. Kant, Knowledge base for the
eectiveness-NTU method, J. Heat Transfer 111 (1989) systematic design of wet cooling towers. part I: selection
837843. and tower characteristics, Int. J. Refrigeration 19 (1) (1996)
[4] C. Bourillot, On the hypothesis of calculating the water 4351.
owrate evaporated in a wet cooling tower, EPRI Report [18] N.W. Kelly, A blueprint for the preparation of cross ow
CS-3144-SR, August 1983. cooling tower characteristic curves, Paper presented before
[5] C. Bourillot, TEFERI, Numerical model for calculating the Cooling Tower Institute Annual Meeting, January,
the performance of an evaporative cooling tower, EPRI 1976.
Report CS-3212-SR, August 1983. [19] K.W. Li, A.P. Priddy, Power Plant System Design, John
[6] M. Roth, Fundamentals of heat and mass transfer in wet Wiley & Sons, 1985.
cooling towers. All well known or are further developments [20] A.F. Mills, Basic Heat and Mass Transfer, Irwin, Chicago,
necessary? in: Proceedings of the 12th IAHR Symposium 1995.
in Cooling Towers and Heat Exchangers, UTS, Sydney, [21] R. Ellis, D. Gulick, Calculus with Analytic Geometry,
Australia, November, 2001, pp. 100107. fourth ed., Harcourt Brace Jovanovic College Publishers,
[7] D.G. Kroger, Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers and Cooling Fort Worth, 1990.
Towers, PennWell Corp., Tulsa, Oklahoma, 2004. [22] R.L. Burden, J.D. Faires, Numerical Analysis, Sixth ed.,
[8] T.W. Baard, Performance characteristics of expanded Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1997.
metal cooling tower ll, M. Eng thesis, University of [23] J.H. Mathews, Numerical Methods for Mathematics,
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 1998. Science, and Engineering, Second ed., Prentice-Hall Inter-
[9] F. Bosnjakovic, Technische Thermodinamik, Theodor national, Inc, 1992.
Steinkopf, Dresden, 1965. [24] CTI, Cooling tower performance curves, The Cooling
[10] J.C. Kloppers, A critical evaluation and renement of the Tower Institute, Houston, 1967.
performance prediction of wet-cooling towers, Ph.D. thesis, [25] L.D. Berman, in: H. Sawistowski (Ed.), Evaporative
University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2003. Cooling of Circulating Water, Chapter 2 (Translated from
[11] D.R. Baker, H.A. Shryock, A comprehensive approach to Russian by R. Hardbottle), second ed., Pergamon Press,
the analysis of cooling tower performance, Trans. ASME, New York, 1961, pp. 9499.
J. Heat Transfer (1961) 339350. [26] J.C. Kloppers, D.G. Kroger, Cooling tower performance
[12] J. Missimer, K. Wilber, Examination and comparison of evaluationMerkel, Poppe and e-NTU methods of analy-
cooling tower component heat transfer characteristics, sis, Trans. ASME: J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power, in press.

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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 48 (2005) 765777

A critical investigation into the heat and mass transfer analysis

Received 6 January 2004

where dQm is the enthalpy transfer due to dierence in

dmw hd wsw wdA 5

The corresponding enthalpy transfer for the mass

dQm iv dmw iv hd wsw wdA 6

The enthalpy of the water vapor, iv, at the bulk water

Fig. 1. Control volume of counterow ll.

The convective heat transfer from Fig. 2 is given by

imasw cpa T w wsw ifgwo cpv T w 9

Substitute Eq. (7) into Eq. (9), rearrange and nd

ima cpa T a wifgwo cpv T a 11

Subtract Eq. (11) from (10). The resultant equation

dw cpw mmwa wsw w

Substitute Eq. (20) into Eq. (19) and nd,

Divide both sides by mw and introduce dTw/dTw to

wsw wsa iv wsw wsa cpw T w

dw cpw mmwa wsw wsa

Fig. 4. Enthalpy diagram of the Merkel method.

As already mentioned, the driving potential in wet- The eectiveness is given by

It is expected that the Poppe method will lead to

Fig. 5. Path of air in a wet-cooling tower indicated on a supersaturated psychrometric chart.

constant air enthalpy in the supersaturated region are

1/(imasw - ima), kg/J

Fig. 7. Enthalpy diagram of the Merkel and Poppe methods.

where DT w T wi T wo =Number of intervals B:1

ifgwo is obtained from Eq. (A.8) where T = 273.15.

Appendix B. Solving the system of dierential equations

B.1. Solving procedure

The fourth order RungeKutta method [5,22,23] is

where The four variables in the RungeKutta method are

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