CoolingTowerBasicsandCommonMisconceptions

Introduction
Incomparisonwithmostotherindustrialequipments,thewatercoolingtowerisasimpledevice, basedonthedirectcontactoftwooftheearthsmostcommonsubstances:airandwater;yeta surprisingnumberofmisconceptionsonitsdesign,operationandbehaviorprevail. Coolingbasicsandimportantmisconceptionsarediscussedherein,withthegoalofhelpingto achievethemosteconomicalandbeneficialapplication,design,andoperationofthisimportantheat transferdevice. CoolingTowerFundamentals HeatTransfer:Thebasicprincipleofthecoolingtoweroperationisthatofevaporativecondensationand exchangeofsensibleheat.Theairandwatermixturereleaseslatentheatofvaporizationwhichhasa coolingeffectonwaterbyturningacertainamountofliquidintoitsgaseousstatetherebyreleasingthe latentheatofvaporization. Thisismoreeffectivelydemonstratedbywettingthebackofyourhandwithwaterandblowing onit.Thiseffectiswhathappensinsidethecoolingtower.Theairstreamreleaseslatentheatof vaporizationtherebydroppingthetemperatureofthewateronyourskin.Theliquidchangingtoits vaporousstateconsumesheatwhichistakenfromthewaterremaining,thusloweringitstemperature. Thereisapenaltyinvolved,andthatislossofwaterwhichgoesuptothecoolingtowerandis dischargedintotheatmosphereashotmoistvapor.Undernormaloperatingconditions,thisamounts toapproximately1.2%foreach10oFcoolingrange. Sensibleheatthatchangestemperatureisalsoresponsibleforpartofthecoolingtowers operation.Whenwateriswarmerthattheair,thereisatendencyfortheairtocoolthewater.Theair thengetshotterasitgainsthesensibleheatofthewaterandthewateriscooledasitssensibleheatis transferredtotheair. Approximately25%ofthesensibleheattransferoccursinthetowerwhilethebalanceofthe 75%coolingisduetotheevaporativeeffectoflatentheatofvaporization. DryBulbTemperature[DBT],WetBulbTemperature[WBT]andRelativeHumidity[RH]: ThetemperatureofairasreadontheordinarythermometeriscalledDBT.WBTisthereadingwhen thebulbofathermometeriscoveredwithawetcloth,andtheinstrumentiswhirledaroundinasling. RHistheratioofthequantityofwatervaporpresentinacubicfeetofairtothegreatestamountof vaporwhichthataircouldholdatagiventemperature. Whentherelativehumidityis100%,theaircannotholdanymorewaterandtherefore,water willnotevaporatein100%humidair.WhentheRHis100%theWBTisthesameastheDBT,because thewatercannotevaporateanymore.ButwhentheRHislessthan100%,theWBTwillbelessthanthe DBTandwaterwillevaporate. Thecapabilityofthecoolingtowerisameasureofhowclosethetowercanbringthewater temperaturetotheWBToftheenteringair.Alargercoolingtower[i.e.,moreairand/ormorefill]will produceacloserapproach[colderleavingwater]foragivenheatload,flowrateandenteringair condition.ThelowertheWBT,whichindicateseithercoolair,lowhumidityoracombinationofthe two,thelowercanthecoolingtowercancoolthewater.Thethermalperformanceofthecoolingtower isthusaffectedbytheenteringWBT;theenteringairDBThasaninsignificanteffectonthermal performance. Inactualpractice,thefinalcoldwatertemperaturewillalwaysbeatleastafewdegreesabove WBT,dependingondesignconditions.Itisnotcustomaryinthecoolingtowerindustrytoguarantee anyapproachlessthan5oF.
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CoolingTower[CounterFlow]TheoryMerkelEquation Figure1illustratesadropofwaterfallingthroughan upstreamofunsaturatedairatawetbulbtemperatureof WBTwithenthalpyhA,inacounterflowcoolingtower.The dropofwaterisassumedtobesurroundedbyafilmof saturatedairatthewatertemperatureWTwithsaturation enthalpyhW.Asthedroptravelsdownward,heatandmass transfertakesplacefromtheinterfaceairfilmtotheup streamair,therebycoolingthewaterfromHWTtoCWT. Thiscoolingprocesscanbestbeexplainedona PsychometricChart.The processisshowninfigure2 knownastheDrivingForce Diagram.Theairfilmisrepre sentedbytheWaterOperating LineontheSaturationCurve. Themainairisrepresentedby theAirOperatingLine,the slopeofwhichistheWater/Air [L/G]ratio.Thecoolingcharac teristic,adegreeofdifficulty tocoolingisrepresentedbythe MerkelEquation:
140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 50

SATURATED AIR FILM, Enthalpy: hW

AIR, Enthalpy: hA

WATER DROPLET

AIR, Enthalpy: hA FIG. 1

Water Operating Line, hw Enthalpy Driving Force: hw - hA Air Operating Line, hA Saturation Curve

ENTHALPY [Btu/ ENTHALPY [Btu/lb]

Tan = L/G WBT CWT HWT

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55

60

65

70

0.225 TheMerkelEquationprimarily 0.200 saysthatatanypointinthe 0.175 tower,heatandwatervaporare 0.150 transferredintotheairdue 0.125 [approximately]tothedifferen 0.100 Performance ceintheenthalpyoftheairat Demand [KaV/L] is 0.075 thesurfaceofthewaterandthe area under curve. 0.050 mainstreamoftheair.Thus, 0.025 thedrivingforceatanypointis theverticaldistancebetween 0.000 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 thetwooperatinglines.And FIG. 3 TEMPERATURE [F] therefore,theperformance demandedfromthecooling toweristheinverseofthisdifference.ThesolutionoftheMerkelEquationcanberepresentedbythe PerformanceDemandDiagramshowninfigure3.TheKaV/Lvalueisequaltotheareaunderthe curve. AnincreaseintheenteringWBTmovestheAirOperatingLinetowardstherightandupward toestablishequilibrium.BoththeCWTandHWTincreases,whiletheapproachdecreases.The curvatureofthesaturationlineissuchthattheapproachdecreasesataprogressivelyslowerrateasthe WBTincreases. AnincreaseintheheatloadincreasesthecoolingrangesandincreasesthelengthoftheAir OperatingLine.Tomaintainequilibrium,thelineshiftstotherightincreasingtheHWT,CWT,and

dt KaV / L = hW hA CWT

HWT

0.250

75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 FIG. 2 TEMPERATURE [F]

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- Ha 1 / 1/[Hw [ hW h A]

approach.Theincreasecausesthehotwatertemperaturetoincreaseconsiderablyfasterthandoesthe coldwatertemperature. Inboththesecases,theKaV/Lshouldremainconstant.However,achangeinL/Gwillchange theKaV/Lvalue. CoolingTowerDesigning Onthebasisoftheabovediscussion,itisclearthattherearefiveparametersthatincombination dictateanddefinetheperformanceofacoolingtower:1.HotWaterTemperatureHWT,2.ColdWater TemperatureCWT,3.WetBulbTemperatureWBT,4.WaterFlowRateL,5.AirFlowRateG. Thefirstfourdataaretheones,whicharegivenbytheuser.Thefifthone[G],isselectedbythe coolingtowerdesigner.Oncethesefivedataareavailable,thetowercharacteristic[KaV/L],canbe calculatedthroughtheMerkelEquation. ThefirststepincoolingtowerdesigningisthegenerationofaDemandCurve.Inthiscurve,the KaV/LvaluesareplottedagainstvaryingtheL/Gratios.Thenextstepistosuperimposefill characteristicscurvesanddemandcurves.[CoolingTechnologyInstitutehastestedavarietyoffill configurationsandgeneratedfillcharacteristiccurvesforeachtype;CTIsTechnicalPaperTP8805can bereferredtointhisregard.] CoolingTowerdesigningisbasicallyaniterativeprocess.Thefactorsthateffecttheselectionof designL/Gandconsequentlythefillheightare:celldimensions,waterloading,airvelocitiesacross variouscoolingtowersectionsandpressuredrops,andfanselection. Pleaserefertofigure5below,whichisascreenprintofJalalEngineeringscoolingtower designingprogram.
COOLING TOWER DESIGNI NG
GPM -US 4250 W BT- oF 89.6 32
o

HW T- oF 122.0 50 CW T- oF 95.0 35
o

R -oF A-oF

27.0 5.4

2.5 Design Point Demand Curve 4FT/ 700FPM 4FT/ 500FPM 4FT/ 300FPM 2FT/ 700FPM 2FT/ 500FPM 2FT/ 300FPM

C 4,781.3 3 16S

Heat Load -Ton[R] Number of Cells: Cell Model:

GPM / Cell: Cell Area-sft.: Water Loading-GPM/sft:

1417 256.0 5.5 1.564 11800.8 36 775.2

2.0

L/G: L -lb/min: [per Cell] Louver Height -ft Free Area-% CFM / Cell:

KaV/L: 1.00 11,800.8 G -lb/min: [per Cell] 6.5 97.0 Louver Length-ft Louver Velocity-FPM 181,978 699.1 3 4 1.3 KaV/L per ft.:

1.5

Air Velocity Across Fill -FPM: Fill Height Required -ft: Fill Height to be Installed -ft: Fill Safety Factor

0.52
0.5 0.5 1.0

Fill Designation M19060

KaV/L
1.0

L/G

1.5

2.0

2.5

Fill Charac teristic Lines of Veloc ity [M19060/ M-Nozz.(B&C)] v s. D emand Curv e at D esign Approac h

QU ICK Fill Ht. -ft.: CH E CK Air FPM:

3.01 660

L/G: Rain:

1.00 Fill F./ft.: 5.5 GPM:

0.52 1419.8

No. of Fans per Cell: CFM per Fan: Fan Diameter -ft: Hub Seal Diameter -ft:

1 181,978 12 5 0.40 0.204 75 23.08 23.8 25.9

Gear Eff.-% Motor Eff. -%

JALAL

JalalEngineering
oshuja@cyber.net.pk Cus to me r N a me : OMV Pakistan Ltd.

A ir Pro p e rtie s Enthalpy-Btu/lb Specific Volume-ft /lb Wet-Bulb Temp.- F

CT Designing Standard:
o 3

Inle t 55.36 14.91 89.6

Outle t 82.36 15.42 105.49 Macro OK

CT Static Press. -in. WC CT Vel. Press. -in. WC Fan Efficiency -% Fan Shaft Power -HP Motor Shaft Power -HP: Input Power -HP:

[w/ o vel. recovery]

R un D a te :

97 92

CTI Technical Paper TP88-05

FIG. 4

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CommonMisconceptions MyTowerisCoolingtheWater20Manypeoplehavebeenguiltyatonetimeoranotherofdefining whatacoolingtowerisdoingintermsofrange(HWTCWT).Often,thisisacceptedasalevelof performanceofthecoolingtower.Nothingcouldbefurtherfromthetruth.Theequationforheatload isasfollows: HeatLoad[Btu/hr]=500xWaterFlowRate[GPM]xRange[oF] Now,heatload,ofcourse,issuppliedbytheunitbeingservedbythecoolingtower.Thetoweritselfis neitheraheatsourcenoraheatsink.Intheusualcirculatingsystemtheheatloadisindependentof thecoolingtower.Thenumber500isaconstant,thereforeisindependentofthecoolingtower.The circulatingwaterflowisdeterminedbythenumberofpumpsrunningandthepressuredropinthe overallcirculatingwatersystem.Therefore,itlikewiseisindependentofthecoolingtower. Ifheatload,theconstant,andthecirculatingwaterflowareallindependentofthecooling tower,thenbymathematicaldeductiontherangeislikewisecompletelyindependentofthecooling tower.Therefore,therangeisthesamewhetherthereisatwocelltowerorafourcelltower.Therange wouldbethesameifthefanswereonfullspeed,halfspeed,orturnedoff.Consequently,sucha statementasMytowerisnotperformingbecauseIboughtittocool20,anditisonlycoolingthe water10hasnovaliditywhatsoever.Likewise,theconverseistrue.Someonewhohasacooling towerwhichiscoolingthewater30whereasitwasonlydesignedtocool20,maynotbeinsucha fortunatepositionashemightthink. Boththesecasesshownoindicationwhatsoeverofactualthermalcapabilityofthecooling tower.Whatthenisameasureofthethermalcapabilityofthecoolingtower?Itisnottheamountof heatbeingrejected,ratheritisthelevelatwhichthisheatisrejected.Themeasureofperformanceofthe coolingtoweristheresultantcoldwatertemperatureorevenmorespecifically,theapproach(CWTWBT)under givenconditions.Coldwatertemperatureistheprimarydependentvariable,andvividlyindicates coolingtowercapability. Approach ApproachisCWTminusWBT.Anothermisconceptionthatconstantlycropsupincoolingtowerwork isconcerningapproach.Onewillsay,Iboughtatowertomakea10approach,yetIhavea15 approachtoday.Therefore,thecoolingtowerisnotworkinginaccordancewithitsdesign. AstheWBTgoesdown,theCWTalsogoesdown.However,thisisnotaonetoone relationship.Itismorenearlyatwotoonerelationship.Thatis,foreach2FdropinWBT,theCWT willdropapproximately1F.Therefore,iftheWBTis10belowdesignWBT,thenbydefinitionthe approachwillbeincreased5abovethatspecifiedasdesign.Ofcourse,theconverseisalsotrue:aswet bulbincreasesabovedesign,thenthecoldwatertemperaturewillincreaseroughlyonedegreeforeach twodegreeincreaseinwetbulb.Theseareroughapproximationsandcanbechangedsomewhatby differentL/Gratios. Therefore,whenattemptingtodeterminewhetherornotperformanceappearstobesatisfactory atotherthandesignconditions,itiswisertoutilizethecoolingtowerperformancecurvesortheCTI BlueBook[withcoolingtowercharacteristiccurves]ratherthantojustcomparetheactualapproachto thedesign. DriftLoss Today,weseemoreandmoreinterestinlowdriftlosscoolingtowers.Thisincreasedinteresthasbeen broughtaboutbyseveralfactors.Themajorfactoriscontinualinsistencebytheregulatorybodiesthat driftlossbeminimizedtoreduceecologicaleffects. Asecondfactorisanattempttoreducewatercostsandtreatingcostsbyreducingwater
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consumption.However,letusnowlookatthebasicconceptreducingdriftlossreduceswater consumption.Waterislostoutofacoolingtowerinthefollowingways:drift,evaporation,blowdown andwindage. Driftlossisalossofwaterduetophysicalentrainmentofliquiddropletsintheairstream.This placeswater,withitsattendantdissolvedsolids,inliquidformintheatmosphere.Windageisofa similarnaturebutusuallymuchsmallerinquantity.Windageisthesometimeslossofwaterthrough thelouveredareaofthetowerduetowindblowingthroughthetower.Thisoccursmoreoftenwith operationofthefansathalfspeedoroff.Forthepurposesofthisdiscussion,wewillconsiderwindage aportionofdriftloss.Thefactthatdriftleavesthecoolingtowerasliquidwater,therebycontainingits proportionateshareofdissolvedsolids,istheimportantfactortoremember. Inordertomaintainapropertotaldissolvedsolidscontentlevelinacoolingtower,itis necessarytocontinuouslyblowdownorthrowawayaportionofcirculatingwater.Thisisdoneto preventthetowerfromaccumulatingexcessiveamountsoftotaldissolvedsolidswhichwouldcause severescaleand/orcorrosionproblems.Thislossofwaterfromthesystemisabsolutelyessentialand cannotbeavoidedforthesuccessfuloperationofthecoolingtower.Therefore,driftismoreproperly definedasinvoluntaryblowdown.Itnowbecomesreadilyapparentthatanydecreaseinthedriftloss fromthecoolingtowerwillresultinanequivalentincreasenecessaryintheblowdowninorderto preventexcessivesolidsbuildup.Whenviewedinthismanner,itisevidentthatloweringdriftloss doesnotreducewaterconsumptionandconsequentlydoesnotsaveanythinginbasicwatercostor chemicaltreatingcosts. Anothercommonmisconceptionoccurswhenlargecloudsoffogemanatefromcooling towersundercertainatmosphericconditions.Manypeopleassumethatdriftisamajorcontributing factor.However,thisfogisquitedifferentfromdriftasthiswaterleavesthesysteminthevaporstate andrecondensestosmallliquiddropletsafterencounteringtherelativelycolderambientair.Thefog itselfdoesnotcarrywithitthedissolvedsolidsandconsequentlydoesnotfitintothecategoryof involuntaryblowdown.Furthermore,itcannotbestoppedbyreducingdriftloss.Therefore,one shouldnotspecifymorestringentdriftlossrequirementstoreducefogging.Energyandmoneywould beexpendedforabsolutelynobenefit. Theonlyrealjustificationforreductionofdriftlossisbasedonthenatureoftheareawherethe driftfallsanditsaffectsonthemechanicalequipmentofthecoolingtower.Ifthedissolvedsolidsinthe driftarebeingdepositedonsensitiveareasthenitisimportanttokeepdriftlossaslowaspracticable. Ifacoolingtowerisofinduceddraftdesign,excessivedriftwillcertainlyerodethemechanical equipment.Therefore,oneshouldbecertainastothedesiredeffecttobeaccomplishedpriortomaking veryrestrictiveandcostlyrequirementsinreductionofdriftloss. Evaporation Themostcommonmisconceptionconcerningevaporationisthatcompetingtowermanufacturersand designscanaccomplishwidespreaddifferencesintheamountofwaterbeingevaporatedinacooling tower. Thetruthofthematteristhatthelargemajorityofheatexchangeinacoolingtoweris accomplishedbytheevaporationofaportionofthecirculatingwater.Thisremovesheatfromthe remainderofthecirculatingwaterbyremovingthelatentheatofvaporizationnecessarytoaccomplish thisphasechange.Inasmuchasevaporatingwateristhebasicfunctionofthecoolingtower,oneis misleadtobelievethatacoolingtowercanoperatesuccessfullywithouttheproperevaporation. Thereareafewdesignfeaturesthatcanhaveaminoreffectontheevaporationrate.For example,coolingtowerswithidenticalduties,butoperatingatdifferentL/Gratios,willhaveslightly differentevaporationrates.Thenormalruleofthumbfordeterminationofevaporationis0.1%1oF thecirculatingwaterflowforevery1.0Frange.
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TheMoreWaterSyndrome Themorewaterfallacyisimportantandworthyofinclusionhere.Thissituationcommonlyoccursin anoperatingcoolingtowerwhen,intheheatofsummer,thetemperaturebeginstoriseon,say,ashell andtubeexchangerinarefineryunit.Operationcallsformorewaterinordertoholdthetemperature ofthecooledprocessstream.Additionalwaterispumpedoverthetower,andthisresultsinadecrease inthetowersperformancecapabilities,therebyraisingtheCWT.TheraisingoftheCWTgoingtothe exchangerinsomecasesmorethanoffsetstheeffectofincreasedheattransfercoefficientinthe exchangerduetoincreasedwaterflow.Therefore,thesituationbecomesworseandagainmorewater isdemanded.Ittakesawelltrainedoperatortorecognizethefactthat,whentroubleisoccurring temperaturewise,lesswaterratherthanmorewaterisoftennecessarytobringthetemperatures down. Ofcourse,situationscanexistwheretheincreaseinvelocitythroughanexchangeroccasionsa betteroverallheattransfer,eventhoughthetemperatureofthewaterthroughtheunitisrising.This tradeoffmustbelookedatverycarefullyratherthanjustassumingthatmorewateristhecureallto summertimeoperatingcoolingproblems. PowerConsiderations Oftentheeffectoffanpoweroncoolingtowerthermalcapabilityismisunderstood.Forinstance,itis quiteoftenthoughtthata10%increaseinpowerbyincreasingfanpitchwillaccomplisha10%increase inthecapacityofthecoolingtower.Aquickcheckofthefanlawswillrevealthatthisisfarfromthe truth. Ifweareneardesignfanpowerandareoperatingatanessentiallyconstantfanefficiency,air flowrate(andhence,coolingtowercapability),willincreaseinproportiontothecuberootofthe powerincrease.Forexample,ifthehorsepowerwereincreasedto110%ofitsoriginalvalue,theair flowandthermalperformancecapabilityofthetowerwouldonlybeincreasedapproximately3.2%. Conclusion Thisarticledemonstratesratherpointedlythatcoolingtowerperformanceandoperationarenotso straightforwardastheymanytimesarethoughttobe.Thesemisconceptionsandinadequate knowledgeofcoolingtowerdesigncancostyoumoneyinallphasesofdealingwithcoolingtowers. Purchaseofanewtowerwillcostmoreinthelongrunifplantoperationsdonotrunefficiently duetoanilldesignedcoolingtower.Toweroperation,intermsofenergycost,willbemoreexpensive ifutilizationoffanpowerismisunderstood.Upgradinganexistingtowermayturnouttobefutile becausetowerperformancewasviewedintermsofrange. Itisnecessarytohaveaworkingknowledgeoftheperformanceofcoolingtowers,without misconception,inordertopurchaseandoperatethemtothebestadvantageformaximumproduction atminimumcost.

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