Cooling

g Tower
Performance Assessment

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 Cooling Tower Thermal Performance
Testing
Importance
po a ce oof Cooling
oo g Tower
o Performance
o
Monitoring

Cooling water system plays a vital role in

dissipation of waste heat in power station.
More than 60 % of total heat inputp to the
plant is finally dissipated as waste heat. The
waste heat from the power plant is carried
away by circulating water and ultimately gets
dissipated in cooling tower.

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Importance of Cooling
3 Tower Performance
Monitoring

y The efficiency of cooling tower has direct effect on

condenser vacuum and in turn, the heat rate of the
station.
station

y 1oC rise in cold water temperature corresponds to

2.5mm vacuum loss or 5 kcal/kWh in HR which
corresponds
p to approx.
pp Rs. 68 lakhs of loss p
per
annum in terms of direct fuel cost for a 500 MW
unit.

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 Cooling
g Tower Thermal Performance
Testing
Parameters to be Measured

• Wet Bulb Temperature (WBT) at Tower inlet

• Cold Water Temperature

• Hot Water Temperature

• CW Flow to each Tower

• Fan Motor Power

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 Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing

Acceptable Test Conditions

• CW Flow rate : 90 – 110% of Design

• Cooling Range : 80 – 120% of Design

• Wet-Bulb Temp : Design +/- 8.50 C

• Fan Motor Power : 90 – 110% of Design

• Average wind velocity : < 4.5 m/s

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 Cooling Tower Performance

Salient Terms Used in CT Testing

A
Approach
h

Difference between the Cold Water Temperature

at CT outlet and Inlet air Wet Bulb Temperature

Range

Difference between the Hot Water Temperature

(inlet to CT) and Cold Water Temperature (outlet
of CT)
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 Cooling
g Tower Performance
Salient Terms Used in CT Testing

T
Tower Capability
C bilit

¾ The most reliable means to assess the cooling

tower thermal performance.

¾ It is defined as the percentage of water that

the tower can cool to the design cold water
temperature when the inlet wet-bulb, cooling
range, water flow rate and fan motor power are
all at their design value.
value
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 Cooling
g Tower Performance
Tower Capability

Tower Capability in Percentage = Adjusted Test Flow Rate

Predicted Water Flow Rate

Adjusted Test = Measured flow x { Design KW of fans}0.333

Flow Rate { Test KW of Fans }

Predicted Water Flow Rate =Calculated from Manufacturer

graphs
g p and actual test conditions
i.e. WBT, Range and Cold water
temperature.

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 Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing

Tower Capability = { QT } * { CellD } * { PD }.333 * 100

{ Qpred } { Cell
C T } { PT }

Where :

QT = Measured water flow rate, t/hr

Qpred = Predicted water flow rate, t/hr
CellD = No. of cells for design water flow rate
CellT = No. of cells in operation during test
PD = Fan motor p
power design,
g kW
PT = Fan motor power measured, kW
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 Cooling
g Tower Performance
Performance Analysis

• CT degradation to be assessed based on

Capability test

• Deviation to be derived from actual

temperature and predicted cold water
temperature

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Causes for Performance Deterioration
11
y Fill clogging

¾ Increase in weight of 2-3 times

y Deposition in the fills comes from

¾ the turbidity of make up water

¾ air borne dust from the atmospheric air being
drawn into the cooling g tower
¾ precipitates of dissolved silica

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Causes for Performance Deterioration
12
y Damage of fills.
y Chocking of nozzle.
nozzle
y Falling of nozzle.
y Damage of splash bars.
bars
y Algae formation on splash bars
y Damaged
g drift eliminators
y Unequal water flow in different cells.
y Recirculation of vapors.
y Poor air flow due to less blade angle.

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Causes for Performance Deterioration
13
y Hot water distribution pipe damage
y Annular clearance between distribution pipe
and hot water channel
y Growth of trees/plants/bushes near cooling
tower
y Overflow of cold water basin.
y Improper quality
li off water
¾ Control of COC
¾ Control of Turbidity
y Rain/any other water entering in open
channel

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Optimizing Cooling Tower Performance
14
y Maintaining proper L/G ratio
¾ Equal water distribution between the cells
¾ Visual inspection of pipes, nozzles, fills, etc., for
proper water distribution.
y Increasing the air flow
¾ By increasing blade angle to obtain max allowable
loading of fans
Ù By plugging all air path that do not pass through the fill
zone
i Sealing shaft hole of fan.
fan
ii Sealing door openings of fan chamber.
iii Sealing the fan hub area.
iv Maintaining blade tip clearances
v Reducing drift handled by fan
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Optimizing Cooling Tower Performance
15
y Cleaning of fills with water jets
y Cleaning
l off ffills
ll manually
ll bby removing ffrom tower
y Cleaning of cold water basin during overhauls.
y Regular cleaning/checking of nozzles.
y Continuous Chlorination & Shock dozing to
maintain
i t i required
i d FRC

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 Coolingg Tower Thermal Performance
f Testingg
Location Of Inlet Wet Bulb Temperature for Station with Counter Flow Tower

L L

“L” < 2 Meters,, “X” Measurement Station.

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 Coolingg Tower Thermal Performance
f Testingg
Location Of Inlet Wet Bulb Temperature for Station with Cross Flow Tower

L L

“L” < 2 Meters, “X” Measurement Station.

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 Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
Wet Bulb
lb Temp. measurement setup

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 Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
Grid setupp for
f Cold Water Temp.
p measurement

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 Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
Grid setup for Cold Water Temp. measurement of single cell

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 Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
Grid setup for Cold Water Temp. measurement of single cell

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Grid Measurement for Cold Water Temperature for one Cell
23

Grid of 48 probes

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 CT Performance Test

Design Cell -14 Cell - 11 Total Tower

CWT 32 31 33
31.33 31 84
31.84 31 6
31.6
24
HWT 44 40.51 41.13 41.1
WBT 27 7
27.7 24 52
24.52 24 42
24.42 24 6
24.6
CW Flow 2222/40000 2520 2515 44188
Fan Power 47.81 45.65 43.84 44.17
(A
(Average)
)
Range 12 9.18 9.29 9.50
Approach 4.3 6.81 7.42 7.0
Effectiveness 73.62 57.4 55.59 57.58
(Actual)
Effectiveness 63.22 64.4 64.32
(EXP)
Capability
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100 87.13 80.04 85.07
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Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
25

90% Flow; Cold Water vs. Wet Bulb

37.0
ATURE C 36.0
WATER

35.0
34.0
33.0
TEMPERA
COLD W

32 0
32.0
31.0
30.0
29.0
28.0
27.0
23.0 24.0 25.0 26.0 27.0 28.0 29.0 30.0 31.0 32.0 33.0
Wet Bulb (C)

C-8.8C B-11.0C A- 13.25C

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Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
26

100% Flow; Cold Water vs. Wet Bulb

37.0
ATURE C 36.0
WATER

35.0
34.0
33.0
TEMPERA
COLD W

32.0
31.0
30.0
29.0
28.0
23 0
23.0 24 0
24.0 25 0
25.0 26 0
26.0 27 0
27.0 28 0
28.0 29 0
29.0 30 0
30.0 31 0
31.0 32 0
32.0 33 0
33.0
Wet Bulb (C)

C-8.8C B-11.0C A- 13.25C

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Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
27

110 % Flow; Cold Water vs. Wet Bulb

37.0
ATURE C 36.0
WATER

35.0
34.0
33.0
TEMPERA
COLD W

32.0
31.0
30.0
29.0
28.0
23 0
23.0 24 0
24.0 25 0
25.0 26 0
26.0 27 0
27.0 28 0
28.0 29 0
29.0 30 0
30.0 31 0
31.0 32 0
32.0 33 0
33.0
Wet Bulb (C)

C-8.8C B-11.0C A- 13.25C

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Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
28

90% Flow; Cold Water vs. Wet Bulb

RATURE C
37.0

WATER
36.0
35.0
34.0
COLD W 33.0
32.0
TEMPER
31 0
31.0
30.0
29.0
28.0
27.0
23.0 24.0 25.0 26.0 27.0 28.0 29.0 30.0 31.0 32.0 33.0

Wet Bulb (C)

C-8.8C B-11.0C A- 13.25C

Test WBT – 25.7 C

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Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
29

Cold Water vs. Cooling Range

30.8
TURE (C)
30.6
WATER

30.4
30 2
30.2
TEMPERAT
COLD W

30.0
29.8
29.6
29.4
8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0
COOLING RANGE (C)

90% Flow

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Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
30

Cold Water vs. Cooling Range

32.0
COLD WATER TEMPERATURE

31.5

31.0
(C)

30.5

30.0

29.5

29.0
C

8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0

COOLING RANGE (C)

90% Flow 100% Flow 110% Flow Test Range

Test Cooling Range – 10.1 C

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Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
Cold Water vs.31Predicted Flow

30 8
30.8
URE (C)

30.6
ATER

30.4
EMPERATU
COLD WA

30.2
30.0
29 8
29.8
TE

29.6
80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115
Predicted Flow (%)

Test Cold Water Temp – 35.9 C

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Cooling Tower Thermal Performance Testing
Cold Water vs.32Predicted Flow

37.0
RE
MPERATUR

35.0

33.0
WATER TEM
(C)

31.0

29.0
COLD W

27.0

25.0
25,000 35,000 45,000 55,000 65,000 75,000 85,000
Predicted Flow (t/hr)

Test Cold Water Temp – 35.9 C

Predicted Flow – 77,000 t/hr, Actual Flow - 30,977 t/hr
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DEPOSITS IN FILL
33

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 ALGAE FORMATION
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34

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ONLINE FILL CLEANING RIHAND
35

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AIR PASSAGE THROUGH SHAFT OPENING
36

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SEALING OF AIR PASSAGE THROUGH SHAFT
OPENING
37

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SEALING FAN HUB AREA

38

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 SEALING FAN HUB AREA

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 Rain Water Entering Cold Water Basin

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