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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HWT

dt
KaV / L =
hW hA
CWT

140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

AIR,
Enthalpy: hA

AIR,
Enthalpy: hA

WATER
DROPLET

FIG. 1

Water Operating Line, hw

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

55

60

65

70

HWT

CWT

Tan = L/G

50

SATURATED AIR
FILM, Enthalpy: hW

WBT

PsychometricChart.The
processisshowninfigure2
knownastheDrivingForce
Diagram.Theairfilmisrepre
sentedbytheWaterOperating
LineontheSaturationCurve.
Themainairisrepresentedby
theAirOperatingLine,the
slopeofwhichistheWater/Air
[L/G]ratio.Thecoolingcharac
teristic,adegreeofdifficulty
tocoolingisrepresentedbythe
MerkelEquation:

ENTHALPY[Btu/lb]
[Btu/
ENTHALPY

CoolingTower[CounterFlow]TheoryMerkelEquation
Figure1illustratesadropofwaterfallingthroughan
upstreamofunsaturatedairatawetbulbtemperatureof
WBTwithenthalpyhA,inacounterflowcoolingtower.The
dropofwaterisassumedtobesurroundedbyafilmof
saturatedairatthewatertemperatureWTwithsaturation
enthalpyhW.Asthedroptravelsdownward,heatandmass
transfertakesplacefromtheinterfaceairfilmtotheup
streamair,therebycoolingthewaterfromHWTtoCWT.

Thiscoolingprocesscanbestbeexplainedona

75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120

FIG. 2
TEMPERATURE [F]

0.250

1 / 1/[Hw
[ hW h-AHa
]

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

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

R -oF

27.0

A-oF

5.4

4,781.3

Heat Load -Ton[R]

3
16S

Number of Cells:
Cell Model:

GPM / Cell:
Cell Area-sft.:

1417

KaV/L:
1.00
11,800.8 G -lb/min: [per Cell]
6.5
97.0

Louver Length-ft
Louver Velocity-FPM

5.5
1.564
11800.8
36
775.2

Air Velocity Across Fill -FPM:

Fill Height Required -ft:
Fill Height to be Installed -ft:
Fill Safety Factor

699.1
3

KaV/L
per ft.:

4
1.3

1.5

1.0

181,978

CFM / Cell:

2.0

256.0

Water Loading-GPM/sft:

Louver Height -ft

Free Area-%

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

L/G:
L -lb/min: [per Cell]

2.5

KaV/L

GPM -US
4250
W BT- oF 89.6 32

0.52

Fill Designation
M19060

0.5
0.5

L/G

1.0

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:

1.00 Fill F./ft.:

Rain:

5.5 GPM:

0.52
1419.8

No. of Fans per Cell:

CFM per Fan:
Fan Diameter -ft:
Hub Seal Diameter -ft:

A ir Pro p e rtie s

Inle t

Outle t

Enthalpy-Btu/lb

55.36
14.91

82.36
15.42

89.6

105.49

Specific Volume-ft /lb

o

Wet-Bulb Temp.- F
CT Designing Standard:

CTI Technical Paper TP88-05

CT Static Press. -in. WC

Macro

OK

JALAL

181,978

JalalEngineering
oshuja@cyber.net.pk

12
5

Cus to me r N a me :

0.40

CT Vel. Press. -in. WC

Fan Efficiency -%

0.204
75

Fan Shaft Power -HP

23.08

OMV Pakistan Ltd.

[w/ o vel. recovery]

Motor Shaft Power -HP:

23.8

Gear Eff.-%

97

Input Power -HP:

25.9

Motor Eff. -%

92

R un D a te :

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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