Abstract

This experiment was done with the purpose of studying the heat and mass transfer
as well as the mass energy balance in a closed system using a cooling tower.In our
experiment, water stream is introduced at the top of the cooling tower which then falls
over packing material(to increase the surface area of contact for water to cool it) and is
exposed to air that is flowing upwards through the tower. During contact between gas
li!uid interface, the water evaporates into the air stream."ere latent heat of evaporation is
carried into the bulk air by the water vapour. This lowers the temperature of outlet water
below that of air.This is why cooling tower is used as opposed to a heat exchanger
because in a heat exchanger, the temperature of the outlet cooled water cannot be lowered
below the temperature of the cooling air. The theory behind the operation of the cooling
tower is the #irst $aw of Thermodynamics which is the conservation of energy.In simple
terms, it describe that energy that enters the system must exit the system% energy can
neither be created nor destroyed,it &ust transforms from one form to another.In our
cooling tower experiment, the energy that enters the system is the hot water.The hot
water was cooled by the air in the form of forced convection.In the experiment,there are
several parameters which can be ad&usted to find out its effect on the evaporation rate of
water.This include increasing the blower airflow rate to maximum and also ad&usting the
water flowrate of the pump. 'e can deduce that an increase in airflow rate from blower
increases the evaporation rate of water.
Objective
(. To study the heat and mass transfer in a closed system
). To study the mass and energy balance
*. To determine the effect of various parameters such as feed flow rate,airflow rate
on the performance of the cooling towers
Apparatus and material
(. 'ater
). +ooling tower unit
Introduction
The cooling tower experiment was done to study the principles of a cooling tower
operation and show the heat and mass transfer as well as the mass and energy balance in
a closed system. ,any chemical processes re!uires utility cooling to lower the
temperature of the process stream. -s it passes through a heat exchanger, the temperature
of the cooling water is increased. .efore this water can be reused to cool the process
stream,its temperature must first be lowered.The most common unit used is a cooling
tower. In our experiment,the industrial process load(heat from process stream) is
provided by the water heater which heats up the water.The laboratory cooling tower
allows the speed of the fan(blower) to be controlled for cooling the warm return water
and the pump used to return the cooled water to the water heater. This experiment was
conducted to show the mass energy balance in a closed system as well as study how the
ad&ustment of one or more parameters can affect the amount of heat removed from the
water. The remainder of this report explain the theory behind the operation and workings
of a cooling tower and how the laboratory cooling tower is operated.
In a counter current cooling tower, the water stream is introduced at the top of the
tower and falls over packing material which functions to increase the surface area for heat
transfer and this water stream is exposed to air that is flowing upwards through the tower.
/nce in contact, at the gasli!uid interface the water evaporates into the air stream. "ere
latent heat of evaporation is carried into the bulk air by the water vapour. Thus, heat is
carried away from the water and its temperature decreases. - cooling tower is used as
opposed to a heat exchanger because in a heat exchanger, the outlet cooled water cannot
be cooled below the temperature of the inlet air.
In the experiment, the various thermocouple e!uipped on the tall tower can
measure the temperature of the water and dry and wet bulb temperature of the air at
specific heights of the column which will be needed to calculate the change in enthalpies
of both the water and air to determine the mass energy balance of the system.In the water
circuit, the flow of water is regulated by a gate valve and is monitored by a flow
meter.The water is pumped from a load tank to the distribution cap where the temperature
of the water is taken and the water is evenly distributed over the packing using a rotating
showerhead. This water flows over the packing material to increase the surface area
exposed to the cooling air stream. The water is then cooled by evaporation into the air
stream.-t the bottom of the tank, the water falls through one last thermometer and into
the load tank where it is reheated and recirculated through the column.
In the air circuit, the air is pulled from the atmosphere by a fan blower and passes
through a fan into the column. - switch is used to control the speed of the fan to vary the
flow rate of air through the tower column. The wet and dry bulb temperature of the air are
taken at various points along the length of the column. The air then pass by a droplet
arrestor and its temperature is taken again before exiting to the atmosphere through a
orifice.The pressure drop through the orifice can be used to estimate the air flow rate.
In a cooling tower, the theory behind the whole operation of the unit is the #irst
$aw of Thermodynamics which is the conservation of energy.In simpler terms,energy
entering the system must exit the system% energy can neither be destroyed nor created,it
&ust transform from one form to another. 0nergy enters the cooling tower in the form of
hot water. This hot water was cooled from an initial temperature of T( to a temperature
of T). The water is cooled by the upward moving air stream through forced convection
with ambient air at T( which then gets heated and exits at some temperature of T). .oth
enter and exit temperature of water and air is recorded.-n energy balance can then be
calculated for the system once the data is recorded.
-n energy balance is a form of bookkeeping account for the energy entering and
leaving the system to study the #irst $aw of Thermodynamics at work in the system.'e
define the enthalpy which is the main component of energy balance as1
" 2 3 4 56 .(()
'here " is the enthalpy,3 is internal energy, 5 is pressure and 6 is volume.
The combined term of 3 4 56 is enthalpy which means heat.
'e can determine the enthalpy by referencing from the tables of value for the fluid being
used.The fluid used in the cooling tower is air and water,whose enthalpy value can be
obtained from a thermodynamic book.7ince both initial and final temperature of the inlet
water and the outlet cool water were measured, the temperature of water in can be
referenced and the enthalpy can be determined.The enthalpy of the outlet cooled water
can also be referenced and an energy balance can be calculated for water.
The e!uation for the energy balance is as below1
in
2
out
where " 2 "
in
"
out
. 'e employ a similar method to calculate the energy balance for
air entering and leaving the system.#or air,there are two methods to determine the change
in enthalpy of air. .ecause the air is at low pressure,it can be treated as an ideal gas and
the enthalpy change can be calculated through the use of the e!uation as below1
" 2 +
p T
'here " is the change in enthalpy, T is the change in temperature and +p is the
specific heat with respect to constant pressure. - psychrometric chart can be used to
determine the enthalpy change between inlet air and outlet air. This re!uires some
information about the input and output air. This information needed to reference the
psychrometric chart is the dry bulb and wet bulb temperature of the inlet and outlet
air./nce the wet and dry bulb temperature temperature of the inlet and outlet air have
been measured,the enthalpies can be obtained from referencing from the psychrometric
chart.
The layout of the system is as shown from the picture below1
5rocedure
(. The $7(89(9+T +ooling tower is placed on a leveled table.The ad&ustable foot
is ad&usted to make sure the unit is upright.
). The 5acked column - is selected and installed on the system
*. The hot water tank is filled with clean water until : full
;. Distilled water is pourted into the makeup tank.
<. The * pin plug of the unit is plugged onto the );96-+ mains power supply and
the power supply is turned /=.
>. The temperature correction for each of the thermocouple is determined
8. 'ater is pourted into the container of wet bulbs.
?. The water heater is switched /= and the temperature is set to ;< degree +elsius.
@. The pass valve is opened before the experiment is runned.
(9. The pump is turned once the water in the hot water tank reaches ;< degree
+elsius.
((. The water flow rate is regulated using the pass valve till we get the desired
flowrate.
(). The air blower is turned on using the fan /=A/ff 7witch.The air blowers speed is
regulated using the fan regulator switch.
(*. The system is allowed to run for * minutes in order to let the packed column to
stabiliBe.
(;. The rate of makeup water from the makeup tank is recorded.
(<. -fter that,the values for all the temperature points is recorded at every interval of
five minutes.
(>. /nce the test is finished, the heater is switched off.
(8. The ,ains power supply is switched off.
(?. The above steps are repeated with different waterAair flow rate(low,maximum)
Cesults
#low Cate 1 *).? $Am
Inclined manometer 1 Initial 2 *9.<mm #inal 2 <?mm
Time(minutes
)
T,hot
water (C) T1 (C) T2 (C) T3 (C) T4 (C) T5 (C) T6 (C) T7 (C) T8 (C)
0 43.3 40.8 33.0 32.8 28.0 37.0 36.6 34.4 36.7
5 44.4 40.9 33.0 33.1 28.3 38.1 36.6 34.3 36.9
10 44.5 41.0 33.0 33.4 28.4 37.1 37.0 34.2 36.8
15 43.1 40.9 33.3 33.1 28.5 37.2 36.8 34.3 37.3
20 45.4 41.3 33.7 33.5 28.5 37.6 37.3 33.7 36.9
#low rate 1 )<.9 $Am
Inclined manometer 1 Initial 2 *9mm , #inal 2 <?mm
Time(minutes
)
T,hot
water (C) T1 (C) T2 (C) T3 (C) T4 (C) T5 (C) T6 (C) T7 (C) T8 (C)
0 45.1 41.6 33.3 33.7 28.5 36.4 36.6 32.9 36.2
5 43.6 41.7 33.6 33.8 28.7 36.5 36.7 33.9 36.8
10 44.6 41.6 33.6 33.2 28.7 36.4 36.4 33.5 34.0
15 44.8 41.7 33.5 33.9 28.9 36.5 36.7 33.4 34.4
20 44.1 42.1 33.4 34.2 28.9 36.7 36.9 34.1 36.7
#low rate1 )<.9 $Am
Inclined manometer1 #inal 2 >*.<mm
Time(minutes
)
T,hot
water
(C) T1 (C) T2 (C) T3 (C) T4 (C) T5 (C) T6 (C) T7 (C) T8 (C)
0 45.4 42.0 34.0 34.4 29.1 36.5 36.6 32.3 36.3
5 43.8 42.0 34.4 34.6 29.1 36.6 36.6 32.7 36.0
10 45.3 41.8 34.4 34.5 29.1 36.6 36.6 33.3 36.2
15 44.6 41.7 34.0 34.4 29.3 36.5 36.5 33.8 35.9
20 43.0 41.6 33.8 34.8 29.5 36.4 36.5 33.9 35.9
+alculations for ,ass 0nergy .alance
1)Experiment done with maximum flowrate and moderate fan speed
In order to calculate the airflow rate,we find the difference in reading between the final
inclined manometer reading with the initial manometer reading.
Difference in manometer reading 2 #inal reading Initial reading
2 <?.9mm *9.<mm
2 )8.< mm
3sing the appendix table, we can find the airflow rate is 9.(?8;9 m*As
Dry air mass balance
,a
(
2 ,a
)
2 ,a 2 (airflowrate x (.(>;) DgAs
2 (9.(?8;9 x (.(>;) DgAs
2 9.)(? kgAs
To determine the mass flow rate of water,we assume that ( $itre of water has a weight of
( Dg.Thus,utilising the water flow rate per minute,we can find the mass flow of water per
second.
-t ,aximum water flowrate,we recorded a reading of *).? $ A minute.
Thus, in order to convert it to DgAs,we use this formula1
,
*
2 (*).? $ A minute ) x ((.>8) x((9E
;
) x(density of water) 2 <.;88 DF A second
,
;
2 <.;88 DgAs
#rom psychrometric chart,

(
2 mixing humidity ratio

(
2 )* g ")9 A DF of dry air


(
2 9.9)* Dg ")9 A DF of dry air
and

! "1#$ % &

' ( )% of dry air

! '#'"1$ *% &

' ( )% of dry air

+ater mass balance
,
-
4 ,a
(

(
2 ,a
)

#or water and air going into system
<.;88 DgAs 4 (9.)(? DgAs) ( 9.9)* Dg &

' A kg dry air) 2 <.;8) kgAs

#or water and air going out of system
<.;88 DgAs 4 (9.)(? DgAs) ( 9.9;(< kg &

' ( kg dry air) 2 <.;?> kg As

It can be deduced that the water mass balance going into the system is not the same with
that going out of the system.
Ener%y .alance
/or water
GH
water
! GH
water out
0 GH
water in
3sing linear interpolation
GH
water out

-' 0 1$#1"
--#1 0 x
-$ 0 1"2#2"
3x 0 1$#1") ( 31"2#2" 4 1$#1") ! 3--#1 4 -') ( 3-$ 4 -')
x ! 1"1#'2 *5(*%
GH
water in

"'#' 0 121#$-
"1#- 0 x
"$#' 0 166#""
3x 0 121#$-) ( 3166#"" 4 121#$-) ! 3"1#-0"'#') ( 3"$ 4 "')
x ! 11#721 *5(*%
GH
water
! 1"1#'2 *5(*% 0 11#721 *5(*%
! 0 -1#12 *5(*%
The 0nthalpy of water,GH
water
! 3mass flow rate) x 3 enthalpy)
! 3 '#$"1 )%(s ) x 3 0-1#12 *5(*%)
! 0 11#-1- *5(s
/or air
GH
air
! GH
air out
0 GH
air in
8sin% psychrometric chart
GH
air out
2 (;* kHAkg
GH
air in
! 7" *5(*%
GH
air
! 1"- *5(*% 0 7" *5(*%
! "7 *5(*%
'e can determine the mass flow rate of air using the formula1
6olumetric #low Cate 2 ,ass #low rate A Density of air
9.(?8;9 m*As x (.) Dg A m* 2 ,ass #low Cate
,ass flow rate, DgAs 2 9.))< DgAs
0nthalpy of air, GH
air
2 ,ass flow rate x 0nthalpy change of air
2 9.))< DgAs x ;@ D&Akg
2 ((.9(@ kHAs
Thus it can be deduced that the change in enthalpy for water is not e!ual to the change in
enthalpy for air. The enthalpy change for air is lower than the enthalpy change for
water.This means that there is a energy loss from the water to the surrounding as this is
not an ideal system.
) /or experiment with minimum flowrate and moderate fan speed
In order to calculate the airflow rate,we find the difference in reading between the final
inclined manometer reading with the initial manometer reading.
Difference in manometer reading 2 #inal reading Initial reading
2 <?.9mm *9.<mm
2 )8.< mm
3sing the appendix table, we can find the airflow rate is 9.(?8;9 m*As
Dry air mass balance
,a
(
2 ,a
)
2 ,a 2 (airflow rate x (.(>;) kgAs
2 9.)(? DgAs
To determine the mass flow rate of water,we use the formula below to covert volumetric
flow rate to mass flow rate per second.
-t ,aximum water flowrate,we recorded a reading of )<.9 $ A minute.
Thus, it can be converted to mass flow rate using this formula1
,
*
2 ()<.9 $ A minute ) x ((.>8 x (9E
;
) x ((999 kgAm*) 2 ;.(8< DF A second
,
;
2 ;.(8< DgAs
#rom psychrometric chart,

(
2 mixing humidity ratio

(
2 )*.) g ")9 A DF of dry air


(
2 9.9)*) Dg ")9 A DF of dry air
and

! "'#$ % &

' ( )% of dry air

! '#'"'$ *% &

' ( )% of dry air

+ater mass balance
,
-
4 ,a
(

(
2 ,a
)

#or water and air going into system
;.(8< DgAs 4 (9.)(? DgAs) ( 9.9)* Dg &

' A kg dry air) 2 ;.(?9 kgAs

#or water and air going out of system
;.(8< DgAs 4 (9.)(? DgAs) ( 9.9;9< kg &

' ( kg dry air) 2 ;.(?; kg As

It can be deduced that the water mass balance going into the system is not the same with
that going out of the system.
Ener%y .alance
/or water
GH
water
! GH
water out
0 GH
water in
3sing linear interpolation
GH
water out

-' 0 1$#1"
--#" 0 x
-$ 0 1"2#2"
3x 0 1$#1") ( 31"2#2" 4 1$#1") ! 3--#" 4 -') ( 3-$ 4 -')
x ! 1-7#7$ *5(*%
GH
water in

"'#' 0 121#$-
"#1 0 x
"$#' 0 166#""
3x 0 121#$-) ( 3166#"" 4 121#$-) ! 3"#10"'#') ( 3"$ 4 "')
x ! 112#-1 *5(*%
GH
water
! 1-7#7$ *5(*% 0 112#-1 *5(*%
! 0 -2#-2 *5(*%
The 0nthalpy of water,GH
water
! 3mass flow rate) x 3 enthalpy)
! 3 '#"11 )%(s ) x 3 0-2#-2 *5(*%)
! 0 1$#12 *5(s
/or air
GH
air
! GH
air out
0 GH
air in
8sin% psychrometric chart
GH
air out
2 (;( kHAkg
GH
air in
! 7" *5(*%
GH
air
! 1"1 *5(*% 0 7" *5(*%
! "1 *5(*%
'e can determine the mass flow rate of air using the formula1
6olumetric #low Cate 2 ,ass #low rate A Density of air
9.(?8;9 m*As x (.) Dg A m* 2 ,ass #low Cate
,ass flow rate, DgAs 2 9.))< DgAs
0nthalpy of air, GH
air
2 ,ass flow rate x 0nthalpy change of air
2 9.))< DgAs x ;8 D&Akg
2 (9.<8< kHAs
Thus it can be deduced that the change in enthalpy for water is not e!ual to the change in
enthalpy for air. The enthalpy change for air is lower than the enthalpy change for
water.This means that there is a energy loss from the water to the surrounding as this is
not an ideal system.
-) /or experiment with minimum flowrate and maximum fan speed
In order to calculate the airflow rate,we find the difference in reading between the final
inclined manometer reading with the initial manometer reading.
Difference in manometer reading 2 #inal reading Initial reading
2 >*.<<mm *9.<mm
2 **.9< mm
3sing the appendix table, we can find the airflow rate is 9.)(* m*As
Dry air mass balance
,a
(
2 ,a
)
2 ,a 2 (airflow rate x (.(>;)
2 9.);? DgAs
To determine the mass flow rate of water,we can convert volumetric flow rate to mass
flow rate using the e!uation below1
-t ,aximum water flowrate,we recorded a reading of )<.9 $ A minute.
,
*
2 ()<.9 $ A minute ) x ((.>8 x (9E
;
) x( (999 DgAm*) 2 ;.(8< DF A second
,
;
2 ;.(8< DgAs
#rom psychrometric chart,

(
2 mixing humidity ratio

(
2 );.) g ")9 A DF of dry air


(
2 9.9);) Dg ")9 A DF of dry air
and

! -7#1 % &

' ( )% of dry air

! '#'-71 *% &

' ( )% of dry air

+ater mass balance
,
-
4 ,a
(

(
2 ,a
)

#or water and air going into system
;.(8< DgAs 4 (9.);? Dg As) ( 9.9);) Dg &

' A kg dry air) 2 ;.(?( kgAs

#or water and air going out of system
;.(8< DgAs 4 (9.);? DgAs) ( 9.9*@8 kg &

' ( kg dry air) 2 ;.(?< kg As

It can be deduced that the water mass balance going into the system is not the same with
that going out of the system.This is because we assume the same amount of water flows
back into the heater tank but in reality, some of the water is lost through evaporation to
the air.Thus the weight of water going back to the heater tank should be lower.
Ener%y .alance
/or water
GH
water
! GH
water out
0 GH
water in
3sing linear interpolation
GH
water out

-' 0 1$#1"
--#6 0 x
-$ 0 1"2#2"
3x 0 1$#1") ( 31"2#2" 4 1$#1") ! 3--#6 4 -') ( 3-$ 4 -')
x ! 1"1#2" *5(*%
GH
water in

"'#' 0 121#$-
"1#2 0 x
"$#' 0 166#""
3x 0 121#$-) ( 3166#"" 4 121#$-) ! 3"1#2 0 "'#') ( 3"$ 4 "')
x ! 11"#' *5(*%
GH
water
! 1"1#2" 0 11"#' *5(*%
! 0 -#2' *5(*%
The 0nthalpy of water,GH
water
! 3mass flow rate) x 3 enthalpy)
! 3 '#"11 )%(s ) x 3 0-#2' *5(*%)
! 0 1-#$7" *5(s
/or air
GH
air
! GH
air out
0 GH
air in
8sin% psychrometric chart
GH
air out
2 (*@ kHAkg
GH
air in
! 71 *5(*%
GH
air
! 1-7 *5(*% 0 71 *5(*%
! " *5(*%
'e can determine the mass flow rate of air using the formula1
6olumetric #low Cate 2 ,ass #low rate A Density of air
9.)(* m*As x (.) Dg A m* 2 ,ass #low Cate
,ass flow rate, DgAs 2 9.)<> DgAs
0nthalpy of air, GH
air
2 ,ass flow rate x 0nthalpy change of air
2 9.)<> DgAs x ;) D&Akg
2 (9.8<) kHAs
Thus it can be deduced that the change in enthalpy for water is not e!ual to the change in
enthalpy for air. The enthalpy change for air is higher than the enthalpy change for
water.This means that there is a energy loss from the water to the surrounding as this is
not an ideal system.
Discussion
7ome of the parameters tested in this system include changing the water flowrate
and the airflow rate.#rom the enthalpies of water and air obtained using the result from
table ( and table ) where we test the effect of different water flowrate on the cooling
tower system. The enthalpy for air and water using values from table ( with a water
flowrate of *).? $Am and airflow rate of 9.(?8;9 m*As, we obtained enthalpy of air 2
((.9(@ kHAs and enthalpy of water 2 (8.*8* kHAs while the enthalpy for air and water
using values from table ) with a water flowrate of )< $Am and airflow rate of 9.(?8;9
m*As, we obtained an enthalpy of air 2 (9.<8< kHAs , and enthalpy of water 2 (<.(>)
kHAs. It can be observed that the difference in enthalpy between water and air for table ( is
slightly bigger than that for table ).'e can deduce that with a higher water flowrate,the
energy loss by water is greater and less energy is absorbed by the air. .ut this slight
difference can be due to other factors like inaccurate readings and calculation. #or the
enthalpy determined using table *, we obtained enthalpy change for air 2 (9.8<) kHAs and
water 2 (*.<@; kHAs. It can be observed that with a higher airflow rate,the difference
between the enthalpy of air and water is smaller.This can be due to more air being
channelled into the tower that allows it to absorb more energy from the water more
effectively.
The water going through a cooling tower loses energy. The enthalpy of the water
going into the tower can be determined using the enthalpy of saturated li!uid water in a
steam table. In table one,we determined the enthalpy of the water going into the system
and the water going out of system using linear interpolation as not all temperature reading
is given by the steam table. Then we find the change in enthalpy between the outlet water
and the inlet water.This enthalpy difference is then multiplied by the mass flow rate of
water which we determine by assuming that ( litre of is e!uivalent to a weight of ( Dg.
3sing this formula,we can thus determine the enthalpy of water.
GH
water
! GH
water out
0 GH
water in
The change in energy of air can be determined using a psychrometric chart but we will
need to know a few parameters in order to determine the enthalpy of dry air which we
assume to be an ideal gas. Thus, we measured the wet bulb and dry bulb temperature of
the inlet air and outlet air and from there,we can reference the enthalpy value from the
psychrometric chart.
GH
air
! GH
air out
0 GH
air in
3sing this formula,we found the change in enthalpy of air.'e multiply this enthalpy
change with the mass flow rate of air which we deterine using this formula below1
6olumetric #low Cate 2 ,ass #low rate A Density of air
,ass #low Cate 2 6olumetric #low rate x Density of air.
7ample calculation from table ( with
'ater flow rate 2 *).? $ A m
-irflow rate 2 9.(?8;9 m*As
Ener%y .alance
/or water
GH
water
! GH
water out
0 GH
water in
3sing linear interpolation
GH
water out

-' 0 1$#1"
--#1 0 x
-$ 0 1"2#2"
3x 0 1$#1") ( 31"2#2" 4 1$#1") ! 3--#1 4 -') ( 3-$ 4 -')
x ! 1"1#'2 *5(*%
GH
water in

"'#' 0 121#$-
"1#- 0 x
"$#' 0 166#""
3x 0 121#$-) ( 3166#"" 4 121#$-) ! 3"1#-0"'#') ( 3"$ 4 "')
x ! 11#721 *5(*%
GH
water
! 1"1#'2 *5(*% 0 11#721 *5(*%
! 0 -1#12 *5(*%
The 0nthalpy of water,GH
water
! 3mass flow rate) x 3 enthalpy)
! 3 '#$"1 )%(s ) x 3 0-1#12 *5(*%)
! 0 11#-1- *5(s
/or air
GH
air
! GH
air out
0 GH
air in
8sin% psychrometric chart
GH
air out
2 (;* kHAkg
GH
air in
! 7" *5(*%
GH
air
! 1"- *5(*% 0 7" *5(*%
! "7 *5(*%
'e can determine the mass flow rate of air using the formula1
6olumetric #low Cate 2 ,ass #low rate A Density of air
9.(?8;9 m*As x (.) Dg A m* 2 ,ass #low Cate
,ass flow rate, DgAs 2 9.))< DgAs
0nthalpy of air, GH
air
2 ,ass flow rate x 0nthalpy change of air
2 9.))< DgAs x ;@ D&Akg
2 ((.9(@ kHAs
#rom here,it can be deduced that the enthalpy change for water is not e!ual to the
enthalpy change for air. The negative enthalpy for water denotes that water loses energy
which is true because as the water flows through the cooling tower,it loses heat and is
cooled by the air. The difference between the enthalpy change of water and the enthalpy
change for air is due to a) the cooling tower is not an ideal system,thus there are factors
that will affect the end result like external stimuli such as changes in humidity of air itself
, b) there is energy loss from the system as the water flows through the system,heat is
dissipated to the channels,tubes and etc and not all the energy is transffered to the air
, c) the temperature reading of the thermocouple may not be accurate thus leading to
false result. The difference in enthalpy change for air and water is *<I.
Initially,water from the water heater flows through a hose that is operated by a
water pump to the cooling tower.#rom here,it is collected by a rotating sparger which
sprays the water evenly over the area of tower. The water flows down the tower over a
series of packing plates designed to increase the surface area for heat exchange.-mbient
air is blown through a duct that is perpendicular to the flow of water by a large blower
fan. This air will interact with the water at the gasli!uid interface resulting latent heat of
evaporation between the water and air. The cooled water then flows into a reservior
which provides makeup water to replenish that lost to evaporation. The reservoir is
connected by a hose to the water pipe of the laboratory.There are several temperature
sensors located throughout the whole system and they are marked with numbers.
Temperature points1
T( 2 Temperature of hot water inlet
T) 2 Temperature of cooled water outlet
T* 2 Drybulb of the air inlet (bottom)
T; 2 'etbulb of the air inlet (bottom)
T< 2 Drybulb of the air outlet (top)
T> 2 'etbulb of the air outlet (top)
T8 2 5acked +olumn 5oint -
T? 2 5acked +olumn 5oint .
T@ 2 Temperature of hot water
+ooling towers are divided into two main subdivisions1 natural draft and
mechanical draft. =atural draft designs use very large concrete chimneys to introduce air
through the media.This are normally used in power stations to minimise energy usage
because the air convection is provided naturally without the use of fans. Due to the
tremendous siBe of these towers (<99 ft high and ;99 ft in diameter at the base) they are
generally used for water flowrates above )99,999 galAmin. ,echanical draft cooling
towers on the other hand are much more widely used due to their much smaller and
compact siBe.These towers uses large fans to force air through circulated water thus its
name forced draught. The water falls downward over fill surfaces which help increase
the contact time between the water and the air. This helps maximiBe heat transfer
between the two.
,echanical draft cooling tower
-nother way we categorise the type of cooling tower is by their flow design.There
are two different type of flow design namely +ross#low and +ounterflow.+rossflow is a
design in which the air flow is directed perpendicular to the water flow (see diagram
below). -ir flow enters one or more vertical faces of the cooling tower to meet the fill
material. 'ater 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 area.
- distribution or hot water basin consisting of a deep pan with holes or nozzles in the
bottom is utiliBed in a crossflow tower. Fravity distributes the water through the noBBles
uniformly across the fill material.
There are several recomendation which can be deduced from the experiences with
the cooling tower. The first recommendation is that the auxiliary heaters always be used
during experiments in order to increase the temperature difference between the return
water from the water heater and the cool supply water. This increase in temperature
difference allows for a larger enthalpy difference and will decrease the possibility of the
enthalpy difference being negligible which is what we are facing now. -nother
recommendation is that only a few experiments be run because of the time needed for the
system to reach steady state (approximately *9 minutes) and not all the experiment prove
to be reliable to produce the desired result. 'e were able to finish most of the experiment
involving different condition like waterflow rate and airflow rate but not all of it produce
a desirable result that is usable.