Energy 231 (2021) 120896

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Online optimization method of cooling water system based on the

heat transfer model for cooling tower
Keyan Ma, Mingsheng Liu, Jili Zhang*
Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116033, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The demand for the optimization of cooling water systems to reduce energy consumption is increasing
Received 8 March 2021 nowadays. Based on the heat transfer performance of a cooling tower, this paper proposed a heat transfer
Received in revised form model for cooling towers. To verify the accuracy of the model and to demonstrate the applicability of off-
28 April 2021
design conditions, an experimental system for evaluating the air/water heat transfer performance of
Accepted 6 May 2021
cooling towers was established. The experimental results showed that the proposed model for cooling
Available online 12 May 2021
towers had an ability of high-accuracy prediction and adaptability to off-design conditions. Based on the
proposed model for cooling towers, the mathematical model of cooling water system online optimization
Keywords:
Cooling tower
is established. The hybrid programming particle swarm optimization (HPePSO) algorithm to optimize
Cooling water system the operation of cooling water systems was proposed to solve the online optimization problem of
HP-PSO algorithm continuous variables and discrete variables in cooling water systems. The advantages of the HP-PSO
Online optimization method algorithm were verified by the simulation of a small data center. The simulation results showed that
Energy-saving the proposed online optimization method of cooling water systems can reduce energy consumption by
15.3% comparing with other method. This paper can provide an important reference for the operation
optimization of cooling water systems in practical engineering.
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction parameters of cooling towers involved are mutually constrained

A cooling water system is an important heat removal system
widely used in the fields of air conditioning in buildings, industrial
production, and cooling operation in data centers [1]. With the
development of the global economy, the scale of cooling water
systems is gradually increasing. Due to the lack of reasonable
optimization methods for energy-saving in cooling water systems,
energy consumption there is huge [2]. Cooling water systems are
usually designed under the most unfavorable condition while they
are normally operated under non-designed conditions. Therefore,
actual cooling water systems have significant potentials for energy-
saving.
In designing cooling water systems, the equipment model and
the parameters showing the relationship among the equipment are
fundamentals of the optimization model for cooling water systems.
Among them, a cooling tower is a piece of key equipment for the
heat transfer in cooling water systems and the operation
* Corresponding author. No.2 Linggong Road, Ganjingzi District, Dalian City,
Liaoning Province, 116024, China.
E-mail address: zjldlut@dlut.edu.cn (J. Zhang).
with those of chillers and water pumps. Therefore, the establish-
ment of the heat transfer model for cooling towers plays an
important role in the operation optimization of cooling water
systems.
In 1925, Merkel [3] combined the heat transfer equation with
the mass transfer equation for the water drop and derived the
enthalpy balance equation for cooling towers by setting the
enthalpy difference as the driving force. Sutherland [4] used the
four-points Gauss integral method to calculate the enthalpy dif-
ference accurately, which was more accurate than the approximate
integral of the enthalpy difference. Based on the Merkel's enthalpy
difference model, Jaber and Webb [5] applied the heat transfer
design theory to the heat transfer in cooling towers and proposed
the efficient heat exchange unit number (ε-NTU) model when the
Lewis number was 1. Braun [6] further modified the ε-NTU model
for cooling towers. So€ ylemez [7] used the ε-NTU method and the
numerical approximation to give a simple algebraic formula for
calculating the operating state point of a counter-flow wet cooling
tower with mechanical ventilation. Khamis Mansour [8] proposed a
performance prediction model for cooling towers based on the
improved correlation of the ε-NTU and the energy conservation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120896
0360-5442/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang
equation, which simplified the performance prediction of cooling
towers. In the 1970s, Rogener proposed the Popper model by
setting the Lewis number as a variable to accurately calculate the air
state at the outlet of cooling towers. But the calculation was rela-
tively complex and difficult to apply [9]. Since the 21st century,
some researchers have established some simplified heat transfer
models to predict the heat transfer performance of cooling towers.
Jin et al. [10] established a simplified calculation model for cooling
towers based on the number of ε-NTU model through the energy
balance and the heat and mass transfer analysis, and the experi-
mental data verified that the model can predict the performance of
cooling towers simply and accurately. Asvpoositkul [11] proposed a
simple model to describe the performance of cooling towers by the
mass evaporation rate equation. When the flow rate and the inlet
water temperature were closer to the design conditions, the accu-
racy of the model results was higher. Bornman et al. [12] proposed a
model based on the principle of energy balance to predict heat
transfer without iterative calculations. The results showed that the
average prediction error of the outlet water temperature was be-
tween 0.5
C and 0.7
C.
The Merkel model, the ε-NTU model, and other models have
good applicability in the design and calculation, but iteration is
needed to obtain the heat transfer model for cooling towers. The
calculation processes of these models are complex, and it is difficult
to apply to the online operation optimization of cooling water
systems. Although other simplified models have simple calculation
structures, they are only suitable for limited working conditions.
When the operation of cooling towers deviates from the design
conditions or the model regression conditions, it is difficult for the
performance model for cooling towers to be applied to the online
optimization control. Therefore, the cooling tower model suitable
for online operation optimization is still lacking, which needs to be
studied further.
The operation optimization of cooling water systems refers to
the reasonable adjustment of the regulating parameters in cooling
water systems to reduce energy consumption. The temperature
difference method is one of the most popular methods for opti-
mizing the operation of cooling water systems.
Nasrabadi et al. [13] studied two strategies, an increase in the
airflow rate of cooling towers and a reduction in the water flow
rate. The results showed that in a warm and humid temperate
climate, the assumption of 2K temperature difference was more
suitable for a wider range of weather conditions than 1K. Huang
et al. [14] adopted the predictive control method for the approach
temperature to optimize the set value of the condensate temper-
ature, which saved about 9.67% of energy consumption in chillers
and cooling towers. F. W. Yu et al. [15] studied the system optimi-
zation method for water-cooled chillers based on the speed regu-
lation of the cooling load. By adjusting the speed of fans and pumps
through cooling loads, the COP of the system could increase by
1.4e16.1% compared with the equivalent system with a fixed tem-
perature and flow rate. Cortinovis et al. [16] established the oper-
ation optimization model for cooling water systems including
cooling towers, pipeline networks, and heat exchangers. When a
low temperature was not required, the set value of the outlet
temperature in cooling towers was higher. When a low tempera-
ture was required, the flow rates of the cooling return water and air
in cooling towers increased. Marques et al. [17] proposed the split
range control strategy for the water temperature which can
improve the efficiency of open cooling towers. Chang et al. [18]
tried to reduce the number of fan start-up and stop times for
reducing energy consumption. They applied the temperature zone
method instead of the fan set value to control the outlet water
temperature of a cooling tower at 32
C and the online test
confirmed the energy-saving effect of this method.
2
Energy 231 (2021) 120896
Using the temperature optimization method to adjust the speed
of cooling water pumps and cooling tower fans can reduce the
energy consumption of cooling water systems to a certain extent.
However, the reduction in energy consumption of cooling water
systems is based on the temperature constraint which cannot
ensure the optimal operating state of cooling water systems. The
application of an optimization intelligent algorithm can conve-
niently optimize the operation of cooling water systems.
Chow et al. [19] proposed the method of combining a neural
network with a genetic algorithm (GA) to solve the global optimi-
zation of absorption chillers. Lu et al. [20] used an improved GA to
optimize the operation of a cooling water system for central air
conditioning, which greatly reduced the operation cost of this
cooling water system. Ma et al. [21] used a GA as a global optimi-
zation tool to search for the optimal control settings of model-
based central water chillers to save the daily energy consumption
of the system. Seo et al. [22] determined the optimal operation
mode of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems
by using the improved multi-island GA to minimize energy con-
sumption. Chang [23] and Ardakani et al. [24] used GA and the
particle swarm optimization respectively to solve the problem of
the optimization of chiller operation. Kusiak et al. [25] established
the nonlinear relationship among energy consumption, the control
parameters, and the state parameters in HVAC systems and used
the PSO algorithm to optimize the system. Beghi et al. [26] pro-
posed an efficient multi-unit management method based on the
particle swarm optimization for HVAC systems with medium and
high cooling capacities, which effectively solved this kind of
nonlinear constrained optimization problem. Lee et al. [27] used
the hybrid optimization algorithm of the particle swarm optimi-
zation and the Hooke Jeeves algorithm to determine the optimal
temperature setting for chilled water systems. Mu et al. [28] pro-
posed the multivariable Newton base optimization (ESC) method,
which took the total power of a cooling water system as the feed-
back signal to find the optimal output of the fan speed in a cooling
tower and the flow rate of the cooling water to achieve the goal of
the energy-saving. Singh et al. [29] proposed a feedback model
based on the constrained inverse parameter inversion, which took
the mass flow rates of air and water as control variables to control
the output performance of a cooling tower, so that the system could
meet the heat removal rate of the cooling tower and ensure the
minimum power consumption. Keshtkar et al. [30] adopted the
MCDM-TOPSIS method based on the Popper thermal calculation
model, and the results showed that the method could obtain the
minimum energy consumption of air and water flows and the op-
timum working conditions for the operation of cooling towers.
As the air conditioning refrigeration system operates under
variable conditions, the optimal value of the regulating variable will
change according to the working condition and generally shows a
nonlinear relationship. These intelligent optimization methods are
more suitable for the operation optimization of the system under
variable conditions so that the system can achieve maximum
energy-saving. However, the intelligent optimization algorithms
used in the existing researches have not been combined with the
characteristics of the optimization model for cooling water sys-
tems. Therefore, most of the optimization methods are blind, the
calculation processes are complex and time-consuming, and the
algorithms are not suitable for online applications. Also, the syn-
chronous optimization of discrete variables and continuous vari-
ables has been less considered in the existent algorithms for the
optimal operation of cooling water systems and there is a lack of
the optimized methods for the operating units of equipment in the
cooling water system.
To solve the above problems, this paper proposed a heat transfer
model of cooling towers which is suit for the online optimization,
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896

and the accuracy and the applicability of this heat transfer model Where kxv is the volumetric mass transfer coefficient (kg/m3/s), tw
for cooling towers was verified by experiments. Based on the heat is the water temperature (
C), A is the cross area of the packing
transfer model for cooling towers, the mathematical model to (m2), Z is the heigh of the packing (m), Dhm is the average enthalpy
optimize the operation of cooling water systems online was difference in the heat transfer process (kJ/kg), l is the air-water
established. Also, the HP-PSO algorithm was proposed to solve the mass ratio. Combining Eq. (1) with Eq. (5), Eq. (6) is obtained:
optimization problems of continuous variables and discrete vari-
pmpw1  
ables in the operation of cooling water systems. Through the sys-
Qc ¼
p1 h}wi  hai ¼ r , mm
w ,ma Dhm AZ
n
(6)
tem simulation method, the optimization of the algorithm was mw
verified, and the optimization results were analyzed in regards to 1 þ p2 ma
energy-saving. The optimization algorithm proposed in this paper
can provide a feasible reference for the practical engineering Thus Dhm can be simplified as follows:
application of cooling water systems. p
pmw1
  p m
p mw1 mm1  
AZrmm
w ma
1m

2. Mathematical model for equipment in cooling water

Dhm ¼
p1 h}wi  hai ¼
a p1 h}wi  hai
mw AZr
systems 1 þ p2 ma 1 þ p2 m w
ma

(7)
2.1. Heat transfer model for cooling towers
According to the Merkel enthalpy difference equation, the outlet
The establishment of the heat transfer model of cooling tower is water temperature of the cooling tower is only related to the air/
based on the following assumptions: water ratio in the cooling tower. Based on assumption 5), Dhm can
be shown as follows:
1) The heat and mass transfer processes in cooling towers are only
ð twi
along the direction of air and water flows;    
h}w  ha h}wi  hao þ h}wo  hai
2) The heat and mass transfer processes are steady; two
Dhm ¼ ¼ (8)
3) The heat and mass transfer processes from cooling towers to the Dtw 2
surrounding environment are ignored;
4) The sensible heat lost by air is equal to the latent heat required cw ðtwi  two Þ
for water evaporation; hao ¼ hai þ (9)
Kl
5) The average enthalpy difference of the cooling process is only
related to the temperature difference between the inlet and the
h}wo ¼ k,two þ b (10)
outlet water temperatures and the air/water ratio.
Where the subscripts i and o represent the inlet and the outlet of
According to the analysis of the internal convective heat transfer
the cooling towers, respectively. According to Eqs. (8)e(10), the
principle in the cooling tower, the heat transfer process in the
average enthalpy difference in the cooling tower Dhm has no rela-
cooling tower can be expressed as follows [10]:
tionship with a single air volume or water volume, but is only
pmpw1   related to the air/water ratio and the inlet enthalpy. By combining
Qc ¼
p1 h}wi  hai (1) Eq. (7) and Eq. (8), the dimensional equilibrium relation about mw is
1 þ p2 mma
w obtained, as shown in Eq. (11):

p1  m ¼ 1  m (11)
Where Qc is the heat transfer capacity of cooling towers (kW), ma
and mw are the mass flow rate of air and water (kg/s), h}wi is the Therefore, the value of p1 is equal to 1. After the above deriva-
tion, the heat transfer capacity of the cooling tower can be calcu-
saturated enthalpy of wet air corresponding to the inlet water
lated as follows:
temperature of the cooling towers (kJ/kg), hai is the enthalpy of the
inlet air of cooling towers (kJ/kg). p0, p1, and p2 are the parameters p0 mw
to be regressed in Eq. (1), which are related to cooling tower Qc ¼
 ðtwi  twb Þ (12)
specification, the inlet water temperature and the outdoor wet- 1 þ p2 m w
ma
bulb temperature of the cooling tower. Therefore, this model
needs to be improved. Where twb is the wet-bulb temperature of the air (
C). Although the
According to the Merkel enthalpy difference model, the rela- regression values of p0 and p2 change with the change in the out-
tionship between the Me number and the enthalpy is as follows: door environment temperature and the inlet water temperature of
tð
the cooling tower, the difference between them is always very
wi
kxv AZ cw dtw small. Therefore, assuming that the values of p0 and p2 are equal,
Me ¼ ¼ 00 (2) the heat transfer capacity of the cooling tower can be simplified as
mw K hw  ha
two follows:

p0 mw
kxv ¼ r,mm n
w ,ma (3) Qc ¼
 ðtwi  twb Þ (13)
1 þ p0 m w
ma


kxv AZ ma n
Me ¼ ¼ C,mm1 n
w ,ma ¼ C ¼ C ln (4) Among the regression values, p0 is a parameter related to the
mw mw
outdoor wet-bulb temperature and the inlet water temperature of
the cooling tower. Referring to the correction mode of the volu-
Qc ¼ kxv Dhm AZ ¼ r,mm
w ,ma Dhm AZ
n
(5)
metric mass transfer coefficient to the inlet water temperature, p0
can be expressed as follows:
3
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896


 the ratio of the shaft power Pe to the pump efficiency h as shown in

twi twb b c Eq. (22).
p0 ¼ t ,t (14)
twi0 twb0 wi wb
Pe
P¼ (22)
Where the subscript 0 represents the reference temperature. The h
experimental results showed that the selection condition of twi0
and twb0 is twi0,twb0 ¼ 460e465. Combining Eqs. (20)e(22), the power consumption of the pump
The unique combination of b and c can be obtained for different is calculated as follows:
inlet water temperatures and the outdoor wet-bulb temperatures
rgL  2  rgS rgDH
of the cooling tower without changing the air volume and the water P¼ SL þ DH ¼ L3 þ L (23)
volume. The values of b and c are only related to the cooling tower
h h h
body and the packing form, but not to the performance parameters. When the efficiency of the pump is constant, the relationship
The equations for calculating the heat transfer and the outlet between the pump power PP and the mass flow rate of the cooling
water temperature in the cooling tower are as follows: water can be expressed as Eq. (24).
pmw  
Qc ¼
 h}wi  hai (15) Pp ¼ am3w þ bmw (24)
1þp m w
ma By analogy with the pump power model, the relationship be-
tween the fan power Pf and the mass flow rate of air can be
p   expressed as Eq. (25).
two ¼ twi  
 h}wi  hai (16)
mw
cw 1 þ p ma Pf ¼ am3a þ bma (25)
In the subsequent optimization, one cooling tower was matched

b
c with one fan equipment by default.
twi twb
p¼ (17)
twi0 twb0
3. The experimental system for evaluating the heat transfer
performance of a cooling tower

2.2. Power model for chillers 3.1. Experimental system details

The GN model was used to predict the power consumption of a The schematic diagram of the experimental system for evalu-
chiller [31]. The COP of the chiller can be expressed as Eq. (18). The ating the heat transfer performance of a cooling tower is shown in
relationship between the input power and the cooling capacity of Fig. 1.
the chiller can be expressed as Eq. (19). The experimental system mainly includes the following parts:




1 tci 1 qc tci (1) Packing and other accessories
¼ 1þ þ  qe þ f (18)
COP teo Qe teo
The S-shaped corrugated plastic film which can increase the
t heat transfer and reduce the airflow resistance was selected as the
Pin ¼ ðQe þ qe Þ ci þ ðf  1ÞQe  qc (19) packing of the cooling tower. In Fig. 2(a), the size of each packing
teo
piece was 300  400  400 mm, and 3 pieces were used totally. The
Where Qe is the heat transfer capacity of the evaporator (kW), qe is height of the test packing was 0.9 m and the cross-sectional area of
the heat loss of the evaporator (kW), qc is the heat loss of the the packing body was 0.16 m2. To spray the cooling water evenly on
condenser (kW), f is the correction parameter of the pipeline the surface of the packing, the conical nozzles were selected and
fouling, tci is the inlet water temperature of the condenser (
C), teo is they were evenly arranged above the packing as shown in Fig. 2(b).
the outlet water temperature of the evaporator (
C). A wave-shaped drift eliminator was installed above each nozzle to
remove the droplets in the air as shown in Fig. 2(c).
2.3. Power model for cooling water pump and fan
(2) Water pumps, valves and collecting tank
The head of the cooling water pump was used to provide a
certain water flow rate and overcome the height difference. To realize the continuous regulation of the cooling water flow in
Therefore, the head of the cooling water pump can be expressed as the heat transfer process, the water pump installed on the inlet
follows: pipe of the cooling tower was a frequency-conversion water pump.
The water pump installed on the outlet pipe of the cooling tower
H ¼ SL2 þ DH (20) was a constant-frequency water pump as shown in Fig. 3(a). The
outlet water pipe of the cooling tower was equipped with an
In Eq. (20), H is the pump head (m), S is the pipe network electric regulating valve to ensure the cooling water circulation as
impedance of the cooling water system (s2/m5), L is the water shown in Fig. 3(b). A collecting tank of 800  800 mm square was
volume flow rate (m3/s), DH is the difference in height between the set under the packing to collect the cooling water after spraying as
cooling water outlet and the liquid level of the collecting tank (m). shown in Fig. 3(c). A water level gauge was set outside the col-
The shaft power Pe of the cooling water pump can be calculated lecting tank to control the water level.
according to Eq. (21).
(3) Axial flow fan and duct details
Pe ¼ rgLH (21)
The actual power consumption P of the pump is expressed by The flow of the air system adopted the way of upper air
4
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental system for evaluating the heat transfer performance of a cooling tower.
induction. A PPR pipe with DN300 was used as the air duct as
shown in Fig. 4(a). The axial flow fan was selected to supply the
airflow power at the end of the air duct as shown in Fig. 4(b).
(4) Thermostatic water tank and electric heaters
A constant-temperature water tank was used as the heat source.
The PID temperature controller was used to automatically adjust
the power output of the electric heaters to ensure the constant
water temperature at the outlet of the water tank. The water tank
and the electric heaters are shown in Fig. 5(a) and the PID tem-
perature controller is shown in Fig. 5(b).
(5) Measuring equipment
The temperature of the cooling water was measured by a ther-
mal resistance temperature measuring device (PT-100) and the air
temperature was measured by a thermocouple temperature
measuring device with a fast response speed. The temperature
measuring devices were calibrated by the standard constant tem-
perature calibrator using ethylene glycol. The humidity of air was
measured by a humidity transmitter calibrated by a dew point
5
Energy 231 (2021) 120896
meter. The flow rate of the cooling water was measured by an
electromagnetic flowmeter and the airflow rate was measured by
an orifice flowmeter with a differential pressure transmitter.
The measurement range and accuracy of all the measuring de-
vices in the test system are shown in Table 1.
3.2. Energy balance of the experiment system
To ensure the reliability of the test results, it was necessary to
verify the energy balance error of the cooling tower test platform
after construction. According to the energy conservation equation,
the heat lost from the cooling water is equal to the heat gained by
air in the cooling tower. However, due to the heat transfer between
the wall and air, the heat transfer between the wall and the cooling
water, the solar radiation, and the flow loss, the heat loss from the
cooling water was different from the heat gained by air. The heat
loss Qw of the cooling water and the heat gained by air Qa in the
heat transfer process of the cooling tower is as follows:
1
Qw ¼ cw mw ðtwi  two Þ (26)
K
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896

Fig. 4. Axial flow fan and duct details: (a) duct; (b) axial flow fan.

Fig. 2. Details of the packing and other accessories.

Fig. 5. Details of the thermostatic water tank and the electric heaters.
Qa ¼ ma ðhao  hai Þ (27)
The energy balance error DQe can be expressed as: 4. Optimization model and method

4.1. Optimization mathematical model

   The regulating variables in the optimization of cooling water

Qa Kma ðhao  hai Þ
DQe ¼ 1   100% ¼ 1   100% systems are: the number of chillers in operation nc, the number of
Qw cw mw ðtwi  two Þ cooling water pumps in operation np, the mass flow rate of water of
(28) a single cooling water pump mw, and the mass flow rate of air of a
single fan ma. The inlet water temperature twi of the cooling tower,
The calculation results of the heat loss from the circulating
the outdoor air wet-bulb temperature twb, and the outlet water
cooling water and the heat gain by air are shown in Fig. 6. It can be
temperature of chilled water teo are all state parameters in the
seen that the energy balance error of the cooling tower test system
model which are monitored and collected in real-time during the
under different working conditions was between - 5% and 5%.

Fig. 3. Details of the water pumps, valves and collecting tank.

6
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896

Table 1
Measurement parameters and accuracy of all the measuring devices used in the experimental system.

Measuring equipment Measurement parameters Measuring range Accuracy

K-thermocouple temperature Air temperature 0e800
C 0.1
C

Humidity transmitter Air relative humidity 0e100% 2%
Thermal resistance PT100 Water temperature 20-80
C 0.1
C
Differential pressure transmitter Pressure difference before and after orifice plate 0e300 Pa 0.2%
Electromagnetic flowmeter Cooling water volume flow 0e3 m3/h 0.5%
Electricity meter Power of fans and water pumps 1.0%

and chillers, respectively. The inequality constraints are the limits

of the outlet water temperature of the cooling tower, the control
range of the cooling water pump, the control range of the cooling
tower fan, and the number of various electrical equipment.
According to the performance of the chiller, a low condensation
temperature will affect the circulation of the refrigerant and reduce
the refrigeration capacity, so there is a minimum inlet temperature
of the cooling water tci_min of the chiller. The minimum outlet water
temperature of the cooling tower achievable by the equipment in
the existing cooling water system is two_limit. The boundary value of
the outlet water temperature is the greater value of two_limit and
tci_min. Therefore, the inequality constraint of the outlet water
temperature of the cooling tower is as follows:


 Qc
g ¼ max two_limit ; tci min  twi  0 (33)
np cw mw
The stable operation of the water chiller requires to accept a
certain range of the flow rate of the cooling water. The range of the
flow rate of the cooling water required for a single chiller is
Fig. 6. Experimentally obtained diagram of the energy balance error of the cooling
tower test system. mwc_min~mwc_max. Therefore, the upper and lower limits of the flow
rates of the cooling water are constrained by the following
inequality condition:
operation.


The optimization goal of cooling water systems is to reduce the nc mwc_min nc mwc_max
max ; mwmin  mw  min mwmax ;
energy consumption of the systems as much as possible while np np
meeting the requirements of the cooling load, which can be (34)
expressed as Eq. (29).
The inequality constraint of the airflow rate of the cooling tower
 
is as follows:
minPsys ¼ min Pp þ Pf þ Pc (29)
mamin  ma  mamax (35)
Where Psys is total power of all equipment in the system(kW), Pc is
the power of the chillers (kW). The cooling capacity of the The inequality constraint conditions set by the numbers of
condenser calculated by the chiller needs to be met by cooling in cooling water pumps, cooling tower fans, and chillers are as
the cooling tower, so the heat release in the condenser is equal to follows:
that in the cooling tower. This condition will be used as an equality
npmin  np  npmax ; np 2I (36)
constraint for the optimization of cooling water systems. According
to the model for the chiller, the heat discharged in the condenser
can be calculated by Eq. (30)and Eq. (31). nfmin  nf  nfmax ; nf 2I (37)

Qc ¼ P c þ Qe (30) ncmin  nc  ncmax ; nc 2I (38)


 
Qe t Qe Where I2{0,1,2, …}, Qe is the cooling load which can be obtained by
Pc ¼ nc þ A ci þ ðB þ 1Þ þC (31) monitoring the inlet and outlet water temperatures and the flow
nc teo nc
rate of the cooling water, and the subscript min and max represent
Therefore, the equality constraint of the optimization equation the minimum and maximum numbers of the equipment,
for cooling water systems can be expressed by Eq. (32). respectively.
!
np mw
nf p nf   4.2. Hybrid programming particle swarm optimization
h¼ ! h}wi  hai  Qe  Pp  Pf  Pc ¼ 0 (32)
np mw 4.2.1. Fundamental principles of the particle swarm optimization
1þp nf ma
The particle swarm optimization (PSO) is an intelligent opti-
mization algorithm to find the optimal solution by simulating the
Where np, nf and nc are the operating number of the pumps, fans bird foraging process [32]. The PSO algorithm has achieved effective
7
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896

results in the operation optimization of HVAC systems and the variable optimization. The calculation rule of the discrete PSO al-
optimized design of cooling towers [33,34]. Therefore, considering gorithm is different from that of the continuous PSO algorithm. The
the applicability of the algorithm, the number of iterations, the calculation rules of the discrete PSO algorithm are as follows:
length of the calculation, and the difficulty of implementation, this
paper selected the PSO algorithm as the basic optimization (1) Subtraction of position
algorithm.
The basic theory of PSO is to initialize a group of particles in the The result of the subtraction between two positions is the ve-
D-dimensional space of a feasible solution. Each particle represents locity, that is, uki;d ¼ ykþ1 -yki;d . It means that in the k-th iteration, if
i;d
a potential optimal solution to the extremum optimization prob-
the velocity a is applied to position B, position C of the kþ1-th
lem. The position, velocity, and fitness were used to describe the
iteration will be obtained. In the k-th iteration, the velocity ob-
characteristics of particles. The particles combine their memory
tained by the position subtraction is calculated according to Eq.
information with the shared information within the population and
(43).
constantly change the velocity and the position. By comparing the
fitness of the individual extremum and the group extremum be- 8
tween the new particle and the original particle, the individual <0 ykþ1 ¼ yki;d
i;d
extremum and the group extremum are updated to complete the uki;d ¼ (43)
: ykþ1 ykþ1 syki;d
search for the optimal solution. i;d i;d
The update equations of the position and the velocity of the
particle i are given by Eq. (39) and Eq. (40), respectively. The
renewal equations of the individual extreme value and the total
extreme value are expressed by Eq. (41) and Eq. (42), respectively. (2) Addition of position and velocity

xkþ1
id
¼ xkid þ vkþ1
id
(39) The result of the addition operation of the particle position and
the velocity is to realize the particle position movement, that is
    ykþ1 ¼ yki;d þuki;d . The addition of the position and the velocity is
vkþ1
id
¼ uvkid þ c1 r1 pkid  xkid þ c2 r2 pkgd  xkid (40) i;d
calculated according to Eq. (44).
8    
< pkid f xkþ1  f xkid 8
id <∅ uki;d ¼ 0
pkþ1 ¼     (41) ykþ1 ¼  
id : xk f xkþ1 < f xkid i;d : swap yki;d ; uki;d
(44)
id id uki;d s0

n o n      o
pkþ1
gd
2 pk1d ; pk2d ; …; pkId ¼ min f pk1d ; f pk2d ; …; f pkId
(42) (3) Number multiplication of the velocity

Wherexkid is the position component of the k-th iteration of the The number multiplication of the particle velocity is expressed
particle i in the d dimension, vkid is the velocity component of the k- as ukþ1 ¼ c,uki;d . In the k-th iteration, the particle generates a
i;d
th iteration of the particle i in the d dimension, pkid is the component random number rand on the d-dimensional component of each
of the position of the historical optimal solution of the particle i in velocity. If rand is less than c, the original velocity is maintained. If
the d dimension, pkgd is the component of the position of the his- rand is greater than or equal to c, the d-dimensional velocity
component of the particle i is 0 in the kþ1-th iteration. The number
torical optimal solution currently found by all particles in the
multiplication of the velocity is calculated according to Eq. (45).
population in the d dimension, uvkid is the inertial part of the last
particle flight velocity, c1 r1 ðpkid xkid Þ is the individual cognitive part (
of a particle, that is, the distance between the current position of uki;d rand < c
  ukþ1 ¼ (45)
i;d
0 rand  c
the particle i and its optimal position, c2 r2 pkgd  xkid is the social
cognitive part of a particle, that is, the distance between the current
position of the particle i and the optimal position of the group.
In Eq. (40), c1 and c2 are velocity accelerations which are used to
(4) Addition of the velocity
adjust the maximum learning step, r1 and r2 are random numbers
in the range of [0,1] to increase the search randomness, u is the
The result of the addition of the particle velocity is the new
inertia weight which is used to adjust the search range of the
velocity. The velocity addition is used to ensure the diversity of the
optimal solution space. In order to improve the optimization ability,
particle swarm. The addition of the velocity is calculated according
u is assigned as a linear decreasing number of 0.9e0.4, c1 is
to Eq. (46).
assigned as a linear decreasing number of 2.5e0.5 and c2 is
assigned a linear increasing number of 0.5e2.5. 8  
>
>
>
> ua uai;d s0∩ubi;d ¼ 0 ∪
< i;d  
4.2.2. Hybrid programming particle swarm optimization
ui;d ¼ uai;d s0∩ubi;d s0∩rand < 0:5 (46)
At present, the PSO algorithm is widely used in the optimization >
>
>
> b
of continuous functions while the researches on the optimization of : ui;d else
discrete functions are less. Combining the discrete PSO algorithm
and the continuous PSO algorithm, the optimization process can be The flow chart of the hybrid programming particle swarm
divided into two parts: combinatorial optimization and continuous optimization algorithm is shown in Fig. 7.
8
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896

4.3. Establishment of the building simulation system 5. Results and discussion

4.3.1. Simulation system details 5.1. Experimental regression results and verification of the cooling
To obtain the results of the operation optimization of cooling tower model
water systems, a typical cooling water system for air conditioning
in a data center was designed to verify the optimization effect of the The empirical parameters in the heat transfer model for the
algorithm. The data center layout is shown in Fig. 8. The cooling cooling tower were obtained by using the least square method (95%
load model of the data center was established by DeST-c (com- confidence) using some experimental data. The fixed flow rates of
mercial). The outdoor dry-bulb temperature in this area obtained the cooling water and air were selected based on the test conditions
by DeST-c is shown in Fig. 9. The annual hourly cooling load of the of the model regression. Details of the working conditions of the
data center obtained by the simulation is shown in Fig. 10. regression test of the heat transfer model for the cooling tower are
The maximum hourly cooling load of the data center was shown in Table 3.
1401.49 kW, and the minimum hourly cooling load was 966.87 kW. The heat transfer capacity and the outlet water temperature of
The cooling load of the data center mainly came from the heat the cooling tower obtained by the test regression are calculated by
dissipation of the equipment in the room. Eq. (47) and Eq. (48), respectively.
The wet-bulb temperature was used as the environmental


parameter in the optimization model, so it was necessary to convert twi twb 2:690 ,t 1:099 m
twi
42 11 wb w  
the hourly dry-bulb temperature and the moisture content into the


 h}wi  hai
Qc ¼ (47)
wet-bulb temperature. To obtain the wet-bulb temperature, the twi twb 2:690 ,t 1:099 mw
1þ 42 11 twi wb ma
corresponding conversion program was given by using the rela-
tionship of the enthalpy. The calculation process is shown in Fig. 11.



2:690 ,t 1:099
twi twi twb
42 11
wb  
two ¼ twi  


 h}wi  hai
4.3.2. Main equipment of the simulated case twb 2:690 ,t 1:099 , mw
cw 1 þ t42
wi
11 twi wb ma
According to the cooling load of the data center, the parameters
design of the main equipment in the cooling water system is shown (48)
in Table 2.

Fig. 7. Flow chart of the HP-PSO algorithm.

9
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896

Fig. 8. Data center layout for the simulation.

Fig. 9. Year-round hourly environment conditions in the data center.

The experimental data were taken into the heat transfer model state. The comparison between the model predicted and experi-
for the cooling tower obtained by the regression, and the applica- mental values of the heat transfer capacity and the outlet water
bility of different flow rates of the cooling water and control mass temperature of the cooling tower are shown in Fig. 12 and Fig. 13
flow rates were analyzed under the non-regression parameter respectively.

Fig. 10. Year-round hourly cooling load results of the data center.

10
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896

Table 3
Experimental conditions of the heat transfer model regression for the cooling tower.

Working conditions twi twb mw ma l

1 39 15 0.4 0.4 1
2 39 20 0.4 0.4 1
3 39 25 0.4 0.4 1
4 37 15 0.4 0.4 1
5 37 20 0.4 0.4 1
6 37 25 0.4 0.4 1

the T-PSO algorithm and the RePSO algorithm. In these three

Fig. 11. Logic diagram of the wet-bulb temperature calculation.
The maximum error between the predicted and the experi-
mental values of the heat transfer capacity was 3.76%, the
maximum error between the predicted and the experimental
values of the outlet water temperature was 2.52%, and the
maximum temperature deviation was 0.49
C. It can be seen from
Figs. 12 and 13, that under the condition of variable flow rates, the
difference between the predicted values of the heat transfer ca-
pacity and the outlet water temperature of the cooling tower ob-
tained by the heat transfer model and the corresponding
experimental values was not more than 5%. This proves that the
prediction results of the heat transfer capacity and the outlet water
temperature of the cooling tower under the condition of variable
flow rates and variable state parameters Eq. (47) and Eq. (48) were
accurate.
5.2. Optimization results of the hybrid programming particle
swarm optimization algorithm
The truncation method and the relaxation method are common
methods to solve rounding problems. The truncated particle swarm
optimization (T-PSO) algorithm is that all discrete variables are kept
as integers during the cycle calculation of PSO. In other words,
truncation operation is performed for each particle position in each
step, and the other steps are the same as continuous variable
optimization. The relaxed particle swarm optimization (RePSO)
algorithm is to remove the integer constraint of discrete variables in
the cycle calculation process of PSO, and add the integer constraint
at the output step. Under the same condition parameters and
simulation parameters, the HP-PSO algorithm was compared with
methods, the nonlinear constraint problem function with discrete
variables is used as the optimization function in the same form as
the optimization model of cooling water system. The optimization
results are shown in Table 4.
It can be seen from Table 4 that the maximum fitness value of
the T-PSO algorithm was 8.40% higher than that of the HP-PSO al-
gorithm and the maximum fitness value of the relaxation method
was 31.16% higher than that of the HP-PSO algorithm. The excellent
rate of the relaxation method was low and the excellent rate of the
HP-PSO algorithm was the highest. The discretization degree of the
HP-PSO algorithm was the smallest. Although the iteration number
of the HP-PSO algorithm required for optimization was larger, the
calculation result was closer to the real optimal value. From the
application point of view, the increase in the number of iterations
may lead to an increase of several seconds in the computation time.
However, the calculation time is still far less than the sampling
period in practical application, and the calculation time will not
increase with the increase of the cooling water system scale. When
the scale of cooling water system is large, the advantage of the HP-
PSO algorithm in accurate optimization and stable optimization
will be more obvious. Compared with the T-PSO algorithm and the
RePSO algorithm, the HP-PSO algorithm will show greater energy
saving and stability.
The regression parameters and the boundary parameters of the
equipment models are shown in Table 5.
Under the given conditions, the optimization calculation of the
HP-PSO algorithm was carried out. The results of the 200 optimi-
zation calculations are shown in Fig. 14.
The results showed that the fluctuation range of the total energy
consumption was 383.76e401.04 kW and the fluctuation range of
the outlet water temperature was 30.09e30.58
C.
Under the condition of the constant working parameters, the
minimum energy consumption corresponding to different settings
of the outlet water temperature of the cooling tower are shown in
Fig. 15.
It can be seen from Fig. 15 that when the number of chillers
remained unchanged, the energy consumption of the cooling tower
fan decreased gradually with the increase in the setting value of the
outlet water temperature of the cooling tower, energy consumption
of the cooling water pumps increased gradually, and energy con-
sumption of the chillers increased gradually. The sudden decrease

Table 2
Main equipment parameters in the cooling water system.

Device type Number of devices Parameters for details Single power

Chiller 3 Refrigerating capacity: 693.4 kW; 129.80 kW

Chilled water pump 3 Water flow rate: 141.10 m3/h; 23.74 kW
Pump head: 39.08 m
Plate heat exchanger 2 Area: 181.80 m2
Fan 6 Air flow rate: 186000 m3/h; 7.5 kW
Total pressure: 80 Pa
Cooling tower 6 S-wave mode of packing;
The packing height: 0.9 m

11
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896

Fig. 12. Comparison between the model predicted and experimental values of the heat transfer capacity of the cooling tower Qc.

Fig. 13. Comparison between the model predicted and experimental values of the outlet water temperature of the cooling tower two.

12
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896

Table 4 cooling water at 5
C when the wet-bulb temperature was higher.

Comparison of the evaluation indexes of the optimization results under different Also, it was more energy-saving to set this temperature difference
integer programming methods.
at 7
C when the wet-bulb temperature was lower.
Evaluation criterion T-PSO RePSO HP-PSO Under the condition of the constant cooling load, the optimized
Fluctuation range 6.426e7.199 6.429e9.090 6.424e7.198 cooling approach decreased with the increase in the outdoor wet-
of optimal value bulb temperature, showing a significant linear relationship. When
Average optimal value 6.586 7.945 6.547 the wet-bulb temperature was higher than 29
C, the cooling
Standard deviation 0.222 0.537 0.179
approach was about 1
C.
Excellent rate 82% 3% 89%
Iteration times 265 353 458
(2) Optimization results under different cooling loads

Under the condition of the constant wet-bulb temperature, the

in energy consumption of the chiller and the total energy con-
energy consumption of the cooling water system was optimized by
sumption was due to the change in the number of chillers. When
using the HP-PSO algorithm. The range of the cooling load was
the number of chillers was the same, the total energy consumption
800e1800 kW. The variation of the optimized total power and the
of the system first decreased and then increased. The reason for the
optimized outlet water temperature of the cooling tower with
change of the number of chillers is the restriction of the chillers on
different cooling loads is shown in Fig. 17.
the cooling water flow rate. In order to ensure stable operation, a
It can be seen from Fig. 17 that the total energy consumption of
single chiller restricts the cooling water flow, as shown in Eq. (34).
the optimized cooling water system increased obviously with the
When the setting outlet water temperature of the cooling tower is
increase in the cooling load. As the number of chillers increased, the
high, the increase of the number of chillers will not affect the safe
total energy consumption of the cooling water system increased
and stable operation of the system, so the change of the number of
slowly. Under the same number of chillers, the optimal value of the
chillers is produced here to achieve the goal of energy-saving
outlet water temperature of the cooling tower decreased with the
operation.
increase in the cooling load, and the change showed a linear trend.
There was the optimal setting value of the outlet water tem-
When the load is high, the increase of the number of operating
perature of the cooling tower to minimize the total energy con-
chillers will not affect the safe and stable operation of the system,
sumption of the cooling water system. As shown in Fig. 15, the set
so the number of operating chillers increases here to achieve the
value of the outlet water temperature of the cooling tower corre-
goal of energy-saving operation. At the same time, due to the in-
sponding to the lowest total energy consumption was 29.8
C. This
crease of the total flow of cooling water, the outlet water temper-
value was consistent with the optimal value of the outlet water
ature of the cooling tower will increase significantly.
temperature of the cooling tower obtained by the HP-PSO algo-
rithm shown in Fig. 14. This also verifies the effectiveness of the
proposed optimization method in the operation optimization of the 5.4. Energy-saving analysis
cooling water system.
The constant temperature difference optimization method is a
commonly used optimization algorithm for cooling water systems.
5.3. Optimization results and analysis under different conditions
In this paper, the HP-PSO algorithm and the constant temperature
difference algorithm were used to optimize the cooling water sys-
(1) Optimization results under different wet-bulb temperatures
tem and the hourly simulation results were compared. The running
date of the simulation was obtained from May 15th to September
Under the condition of the constant cooling load, this paper
15th. The results are shown in Fig. 18.
used the HP-PSO algorithm to optimize the energy consumption of
Compared with the constant temperature difference optimiza-
the cooling water system under different outdoor wet-bulb tem-
tion algorithm, the HP-PSO algorithm could reduce the energy
peratures. The wet-bulb temperature ranged from 5 to 32
C. The
consumption of the cooling water system by 15.3% during the
optimization results for different outdoor wet-bulb temperatures
mechanical cooling period.
are shown in Fig. 16.
Under the condition of the constant cooling load, when the
outdoor wet-bulb temperature was less than 29
C, the optimized 6. Conclusions
value of the outlet water temperature of the cooling tower hardly
changed with the change in the outdoor wet-bulb temperature. In this paper, the following conclusions were obtained.
When the wet-bulb temperature was higher than 29
C, the opti-
mized value of the outlet water temperature of the cooling tower 1) The heat transfer model for cooling towers adapted to the online
increased to 32
C. This also shows that it was energy-saving to set optimization of cooling water systems was established and the
the difference between the supply and return temperatures of the characteristic parameters of the heat transfer model for cooling

Table 5
Detail parameters of the equipment model.

Chiller Cooling water pump Cooling tower

A 560.57 a 0.00009364 a 0.00004265

B 1.273 b 0.7107 b 0.0911
C 5131.46 mwmin 14.31 kg/s mamin 9.912 kg/s
tcimin 15
C mwmax 47.70 kg/s mamax 33.04 kg/s
mcmin 26.91 kg/s npmin 1 npmin 1
mcmax 55.89 kg/s npmax 3 npmax 6
ncmin 0
ncmax 3

13
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang
Fig. 14. Distribution of the optimization result of total energy consumption under the HP-PSO algorithm.
Fig. 15. The minimum energy consumption of the system with different settings of the
outlet water temperature of the cooling tower.
Fig. 16. Optimization results for different outdoor wet-bulb temperatures.
14
Energy 231 (2021) 120896
Fig. 17. Variation of the optimized total energy consumption and the optimized outlet
water temperature of the cooling tower with different cooling loads.
towers were regressed by experimental data. The characteristic
parameters of the heat transfer model for a cooling tower were
related to the heat transfer performance of the packing in the
cooling tower which had no relationship with the operating
state parameters.
2) Based on the heat transfer model for cooling towers, the online
operation optimization model for cooling water systems was
established. The HP-PSO algorithm was proposed to solve the
online operation optimization problems of continuous variables
and discrete variables in cooling water systems in cooling water
systems.
3) The HP-PSO algorithm could effectively find the optimum
running conditions. Compared with the T-PSO algorithm and
the RePSO algorithm, the HP-PSO algorithm had a higher
excellent rate and a lower degree of dispersion.
4) When the wet-bulb temperature was higher than 29
C, the
optimal value of the outlet water temperature of the cooling
tower increased to nearly 32
C. It was also shown that under
the condition of higher wet-bulb temperature, the setting of the
return water temperature difference of the cooling water at 5
C
was effective for energy-saving. When the wet-bulb tempera-
ture was below 29
C, the setting of the return water tempera-
ture difference of the cooling water at 7
C was more energy-
saving.
K. Ma, M. Liu and J. Zhang Energy 231 (2021) 120896

Fig. 18. Comparison of energy consumption between the constant temperature difference algorithm and the HP-PSO algorithm under the mechanical cooling mode.

5) Compared with the optimization results of the constant tem- Pe shaft power (kW)
perature difference optimization algorithm, energy consump- DQe energy balance error (%)
tion of the cooling water system could be reduced by 15.3% with Qc heat transfer capacity of cooling tower (kW)
the use of the HP-PSO algorithm proposed in this paper. Qe heat transfer capacity of evaporator/cooling load (kW)
qc heat loss of condenser (kW)
qe heat loss of evaporator (kW)
Credit author statement S pipe network impedance (s2/m5)
t temperature (
C)
Keyan Ma: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Data Z height of the packing (m)
curation, Writing e original draft, Jili Zhang: Supervision, Writing-
Reviewing and Editing., Mingsheng Liu: Funding acquisition, Greek symbols
Visualization, Investigation. h efficiency (%)
l air-water mass ratio
Declaration of competing interest f relative humidity (%)

The authors declare that they have no known competing Subscripts

financial interests or personal relationships that could have a air
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. c chiller
d deviation
f fan
Acknowledgement
i inlet
m mean
The authors would like to acknowledge the supports of National
min minimum
Key R&D Program of China (Grant No.2017YFC0704203) and the
max maximum
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51578102,
o outlet
51978120).
opt after optimization
p pump
Nomenclatures sys system
w water
A cross area (m2) wb wet bulb
c heat capacity (kJ/(kg
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d moisture content (g/kg) References
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