What is a mechanical draft?

It is a draft used in some gas burning appliances and cooling towers to remove flue or
vent gases by mechanical means, such as a fan, which may include an induced draft
portion under non−positive static pressure or a forced draft portion under positive static
pressur

Mechanical Draft Cooling Towers

Mechanical draft cooling towers are the most widely used in buildings which rely on
power-driven fans to draw or force the air through the tower. In other words, air is
circulated inside the tower mechanically by use of propeller fans or centrifugal fans. They
are normally located outside the building. Mechanical draft towers come with a compact
design and are powerful and variably adaptable to the respective operating and climatic
conditions. Furthermore, they are the ideal solution for industrial applications such as in
power plants, chemical and petrochemical plants, steel plants, air separation plants, in
the automotive industry, in timber and paper factories as well as in air conditioning/
refrigeration systems. The two most common types of mechanical draft towers are
induced draft and forced draft.

 Forced Draft Cooling Towers: In this system, fan is located near the bottom and on
the side. This fan forces the air from bottom to top. An eliminator is used to prevent
loss of water droplets along with the forced air. Such a design has the disadvantages
of air distribution problems, leakages and recirculation of the hot and moist air back
to the tower.
 Induced Draft Cooling Towers: In this system, a centrally located fan at the top,
takes suction from the tower and discharges it to the atmosphere. Air enters the sides
of the tower at low velocity through large openings and passes through the fill,
whereas the hot humid air is exhausted to the atmosphere through the ventilator.
This maintains the tower at a negative pressure which reduces leakage.