CONFIDENTIAL EH/MAR-AUG 2022/CHE247

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

LABORATORY

COURSE : HEAT TRANSFER

COURSE CODE : CHE247
ASSESSMENT : EXPERIMENT 2

Course Outcomes:

▪ Respond to the experimental outcome of environmental experiments.

Item Marks
Introduction &
/10
objective
Materials,
procedure & safety /30
precaution
Data, results &
/20
discussion
Organization &
/10
appearance
Question & answer
/20
(Post-experiment)
Peer evaluation /10
GRAND TOTAL
/100
(CO3,LO2)
 FACULTY OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
UiTM Cawangan Sarawak, Kampus Samarahan
Jalan Meranek, Kota Samarahan
94300 Samarahan
Sarawak

TECHNICAL/EXECUTIVE REPORT : CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Apparatus/
Exp No. : 2 Cooling Tower Experiment
Instrument :

Topic : End State Properties of Air and Steady Flow Equations Mark :
100
Date : 11 May 2022
Students Course : Heat Transfer Semester : Group: D2
No. Name Matrix No. Signature
1 Nor Asniza Binti Arifin 2020877214
2 Aini Hayati Binti Bahrin 2020625606
3 Nur Syaimaa Izzati Binti Haizal 2020482558
4 Nursyamimi Binti Mohamad Fazlee 2020860542
5
Lecturer 1. Dr. Hazman Bin Seli
2. Sir Shahrizi Bin Mohd Razali

Introduction :
Cooling towers are a type of heat exchanger that allows water and air to be in contact with each other to
reduce the temperature of hot water. The primary applications of cooling towers were heating, ventilation,
air conditioning, and industrial uses. For industrial uses, a cooling tower is used to remove heat from a
building by shooting water down the tower and exchanging heat with the structure’s interior. Air enters the
tower from the sides and flows through the falling water. Heat is exchanged when the air travels through
the water, and some of the water evaporates. This heat evaporated water escape from the top of the
tower as a fine cloud-like mist. Cooled water is collected at the tower’s base and pumped back into the
plant for reuse.

In this experiment, we use SOLTEQ Basic Cooling Tower Unit which has been designed to demonstrate
students the construction, design, and operational characteristics of a modern cooling system. The unit uses
a “open system” in which two streams of fluid, air and water, pass, with mass transfer from one to the other.
A water heater was utilized to imitate the utilization of a cooling tower in an industrial process. This
experiment was conducted to determine how parameters affect energy and mass balance.
Objective :
1. To read and analyze the air and water properties from the chart.
2. To calculate energy and mass balances for the selected systems using the steady flow equation.

Materials, Materials:
Procedure & Distilled water
Safety
Precautions
Procedure:
1. The load tank was filled with distilled water up to the zero mark on the scale.
2. Distilled water was added to the wet bulb sensor reservoir to the fullest.
3. The temperature set point of temperature controller was set to 45˚C. 1.0 kW water
heater was switched on and the water was heated approximately 40˚C.
4. The pump was switched on, control valve V1 was slowly opened and set the water flow
rate to 1.8 LPM. A steady operation is obtained where the water was distributed and
flowing through the packing.
5. The fan damper was fully opened, and then the fan was switched off.
6. The unit was run for about 20 minutes for the float valve to correctly adjusted the level
in the load tank.
7. The cooling tower was prepared for experiment.
8. The system was set under the following conditions and allowed stabilizing for about 15
minutes.
Water flow rate: 1.8 LPM
Air flow: Half-closed
Cooling load: 1.0 kW
Column installed: A
9. The make-up tank was filled up with distilled water up to zero mark at the level scale.
10. The blower was switched off to allow temperature to increase to 43ºC and then the was
switched of to decrease the temperature back to 40ºC.
11. Then, the stopwatch was started and initial water level in make-up tank was recorded.
12. The make-up water supply in an interval of 10 minutes were determined.
13. In this 10-minute interval, a few sets of measurements, temperatures (T1-T7), orifice
differential pressure (DP1), water flowrate (FT1) and heater power (QI) were recorded,
then the mean value for calculation and analysis were obtained.
14. The quantity of make-up water that has been supplied during the time interval were
determined by noting the height reduction in the make-up tank.
 15. The observation was repeated at different air flow rates of 1/3 opened and power
load 1.0 kW followed by fully opened air damper with power load 0.5 kW, 1.0 kW
and 1.5 kW.

Safety Precautions:
1. Students in charge of recording time using a stopwatch at 10-minute intervals must be
alert to avoid missing data and time delays to obtain accurate data.
2. The position of the eyes needs to be perpendicular to the make -up tank scale when
refilling the distilled water and recording the quantity of make-up water to avoid
parallax error.
3. Due to the high position of the make-up tank, carefully pour the distilled water into the
make-up tank to avoid falling and water spillage.

Data,
Results & Data and Results:
Discussion
Experiment 1 2 3 4 5
Column Installed 8 8 8 8 8
Initial Water Level (cm) 0.7 0.8 1.5 2.6 3.4
Final Water Level (cm) 1.5 2.6 6.4 8.4 10.5
Time Interval (min) 10 10 10 10 10
Packing Density (m-1) 110 110 110 110 110
Air Inlet Dry Bulb, T1 (ºC) 25.8 25.7 25.6 25.8 26.0
Air Inlet Wet Bulb, T2 (ºC) 27.7 27.8 27.9 27.6 27.6
Air Outlet Dry Bulb, T3 (ºC) 28.0 28.7 26.2 27.6 29.2
Air Outlet Wet Bulb, T4 (ºC) 27.3 28.0 25.3 26.7 28.2
Water Inlet Temperature, T5 (ºC) 33.8 34.4 29.9 33.5 37.7
Water Outlet Temperature, T6 (ºC) 26.8 27.6 25.7 26.8 27.7
Water Make-Up Temperature, T7 (ºC) 28.4 28.4 28.4 28.4 28.2
Orifice Differential, DP1 (Pa) 94.0 97.0 97.0 96.0 95.0
Water Flow Rate, FT1 (LPM) 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8
Heater Power, Q1 (Watt) 992 991 600 1004 1463
Conditions for the experiments

Experiment Water Flow Rate (LPM) Air Flow (Damper) Power Load (kW)
1 1.8 Half-closed 1.0
2 1.8 One-third opened 1.0
3 1.8 Fully-opened 0.5
4 1.8 Fully-opened 1.0
5 1.8 Fully-opened 1.5

From the psychrometric chart, relative humidity, specific enthalpy and specific volume can be
determined.

Experiment 1

Experiment 2
Experiment 3

Experiment 4

Experiment 5
 Experiment 1 2 3 4 5
𝐻𝐴 (kJ/kg) 88.5 88.3 89.2 88.0 88.0
𝐻𝐵 (kJ/kg) 87.0 90.0 78.4 83.8 91.0
𝑉𝐴 0.8820 0.8810 0.8820 0.8800 0.8810
(𝑚3 /𝑘𝑔)
𝑉𝐴𝐵 0.8865 0.8860 0.8770 0.8820 0.8900
(𝑚3 /𝑘𝑔)
𝜔𝐴 0.0247 0.0246 0.0249 0.0245 0.0244
𝜔𝐵 0.0230 0.0239 0.0204 0.0219 0.0240
∆𝐻𝑎𝑖𝑟 (kJ/kg) -1.5 1.7 10.8 -4.2 3.0

Change in level
of water (cm) 0.8 1.8 4.9 5.8 7.1

To find mass flowrate of dry air,

𝒙
𝒎𝒂 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏𝟑𝟕√
𝑽𝑨𝑩 (𝟏 + 𝝎𝑩 )

Experiment 1

1 𝑚𝑚𝐻2 0
𝑥 = 94 𝑃𝑎 × = 9.5854 𝑚𝑚𝐻2 0
9.80655 𝑃𝑎

9.5854 𝑘𝑔
𝑚 𝑎 = 0.0137√ = 0.0445
0.8865(1 + 0.0230) 𝑠

Experiment 2

1 𝑚𝑚𝐻2 0
𝑥 = 97 𝑃𝑎 × = 9.8913 𝑚𝑚𝐻2 0
9.80655 𝑃𝑎

9.8913 𝑘𝑔
𝑚 𝑎 = 0.0137√ = 0.0452
0.8860(1 + 0.0239) 𝑠
Experiment 3

1 𝑚𝑚𝐻2 0
𝑥 = 97 𝑃𝑎 × = 9.8913 𝑚𝑚𝐻2 0
9.80655 𝑃𝑎

9.8913 𝑘𝑔
𝑚 𝑎 = 0.0137√ = 0.0455
0.8770(1 + 0.0204) 𝑠

Experiment 4

1 𝑚𝑚𝐻2 0
𝑥 = 96 𝑃𝑎 × = 9.7894 𝑚𝑚𝐻2 0
9.80655 𝑃𝑎

9.7894 𝑘𝑔
𝑚 𝑎 = 0.0137√ = 0.0452
0.8820(1 + 0.0219) 𝑠

Experiment 5

1 𝑚𝑚𝐻2 0
𝑥 = 95 𝑃𝑎 × = 9.6874 𝑚𝑚𝐻2 0
9.80655 𝑃𝑎

9.6874 𝑘𝑔
𝑚 𝑎 = 0.0137√ = 0.0447
0.8900(1 + 0.0240) 𝑠

To find water mass loss,

𝝅𝑫𝟐 (𝒉𝟏 − 𝒉𝟐 )𝒑
𝒎𝑬 =
𝟒

where, 𝐷 = 74𝑚𝑚 = 0.074 𝑚, 𝜌 = 1000 𝑘𝑔/𝑚 3

Experiment 1

𝜋(0.074) 2 (0.008)(1000)
𝑚𝐸 = = 0.0344 𝑘𝑔
4

Experiment 2

𝜋(0.074) 2 (0.018)(1000)
𝑚𝐸 = = 0.0774 𝑘𝑔
4
Experiment 3

𝜋(0.074) 2 (0.049)(1000)
𝑚𝐸 = = 0.2107 𝑘𝑔
4

Experiment 4

𝜋(0.074) 2 (0.058)(1000)
𝑚𝐸 = = 0.2494 𝑘𝑔
4

Experiment 5

𝜋(0.074) 2 (0.071)(1000)
𝑚𝐸 = = 0.3054 𝑘𝑔
4

To find make-up rate,

𝒎𝑬
𝒎=
∆𝒕

∆𝑡 = 10 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠 = 600 𝑠

Experiment 1

0.0344 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔
𝑚= = 5.7333 × 10−5
600 𝑠 𝑠

Experiment 2

0.0774 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔
𝑚= = 1.2900 × 10−4
600 𝑠 𝑠

Experiment 3

0.2107 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔
𝑚= = 3.5117 × 10−4
600 𝑠 𝑠

Experiment 4

0.2494 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔
𝑚= = 4.1567 × 10−4
600 𝑠 𝑠
Experiment 5

0.3054 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔
𝑚= = 5.0900 × 10−4
600 𝑠 𝑠

To find heat load for each water flowrate 1.8 LPM,

𝑸 = 𝒎𝑪𝒑 ∆𝑻

𝐿 𝑘𝑔 1𝑀 𝑘𝑔
𝑚 = 1.8 ×1 × = 0.03
𝑀 𝐿 60𝑠 𝑠

Experiment 1

𝑄 = (0.03)(4.18)(33.8 − 26.8) = 0.8778 𝑊

Experiment 2

𝑄 = (0.03)(4.18)(34.4 − 27.6) = 0.8527 𝑊

Experiment 3

𝑄 = (0.03)(4.18)(29.9 − 25.7) = 0.5267 𝑊

Experiment 4

𝑄 = (0.03)(4.18)(33.5 − 26.8) = 0.8402 𝑊

Experiment 5

𝑄 = (0.03)(4.18)(37.7 − 27.7) = 1.2540 𝑊

 Experiment 1 2 3 4 5
Mass
Flowrate of 0.0445 0.0452 0.0455 0.0452 0.0447
Dry Air
(kg/s)
Water Mass 0.0344 0.0774 0.2107 0.2494 0..3054
Loss (kg)
Make-up 5.7333x10 -5 1.2900x10-4 3.5117x10-4 4.1567x10-4 5.0900x10-4
Rate (kg/s)
Heat Load, 0.8778 0.8527 0.5267 0.8402 1.2540
Q (W)

To find the enthalpy of water, use interpolation of property table A-4.

Experiment 1

T5 (°𝐶) Enthalpy of water (kJ/kg)

30 125.74
33.8 x
35 146.64

35 − 33.8 146.64 − 𝑥
=
33.8 − 30 𝑥 − 125.74

1.2𝑥 − 150.888 = 557.232 − 3.8𝑥

𝑘𝐽
𝑥 = 177.03
𝑘𝑔

T6 (°𝐶) Enthalpy of water (kJ/kg)

25 104.83
26.8 x
30 125.74

30 − 26.8 125.74 − 𝑥
=
26.8 − 25 𝑥 − 104.83

3.2𝑥 − 335.456 = 226.332 − 1.8𝑥

𝑘𝐽
𝑥 = 140.447
𝑘𝑔
Experiment 2

T5 (°𝐶) Enthalpy of water (kJ/kg)

30 125.74
34.4 x
35 146.64

35 − 34.4 146.64 − 𝑥
=
34.4 − 30 𝑥 − 125.74

0.6𝑥 − 75.444 = 645.216 − 4.4𝑥

𝑘𝐽
𝑥 = 144.132
𝑘𝑔

T6 (°𝐶) Enthalpy of water (kJ/kg)

25 104.83
27.6 x
30 125.74

30 − 27.6 125.74 − 𝑥
=
27.6 − 25 𝑥 − 104.83

2.4𝑥 − 251.592 = 326.924 − 2.6𝑥

𝑘𝐽
𝑥 = 115.7032
𝑘𝑔

Experiment 3

T5 (°𝐶) Enthalpy of water (kJ/kg)

25 104.83
29.9 x
30 125.74

30 − 29.9 125.74 − 𝑥
=
29.9 − 25 𝑥 − 10.483

0.1𝑥 − 10.483 = 616.126 − 4.9𝑥

𝑘𝐽
𝑥 = 125.3218
𝑘𝑔
 T6 (°𝐶) Enthalpy of water (kJ/kg)
25 104.83
25.7 x
30 125.74

30 − 25.7 125.74 − 𝑥
=
25.7 − 25 𝑥 − 104.83

4.3𝑥 − 450.769 = 88.018 − 0.7𝑥

𝑘𝐽
𝑥 = 107.7574
𝑘𝑔

Experiment 4

T5 (°𝐶) Enthalpy of water (kJ/kg)

30 125.74
33.5 x
35 146.64

35 − 33.5 146.64 − 𝑥
=
33.5 − 30 𝑥 − 125.74

1.5𝑥 − 188.61 = 513.24 − 3.5𝑥

𝑘𝐽
𝑥 = 140.37
𝑘𝑔

T6 (°𝐶) Enthalpy of water (kJ/kg)

25 104.83
26.8 x
30 125.74

30 − 26.8 125.74 − 𝑥
=
26.8 − 25 𝑥 − 104.83

3.2𝑥 − 335.456 = 226.332 − 1.8𝑥

𝑘𝐽
𝑥 = 112.3576
𝑘𝑔
Experiment 5

T5 (°𝐶) Enthalpy of water (kJ/kg)

35 146.64
37.7 x
40 167.53

40 − 37.7 167.53 − 𝑥
=
37.7 − 35 𝑥 − 146.64

2.3𝑥 − 337.272 = 452.3312 − 2.7𝑥

𝑘𝐽
𝑥 = 157.9206
𝑘𝑔

T6 (°𝐶) Enthalpy of water (kJ/kg)

25 104.83
27.7 x
30 125.74

30 − 27.7 125.74 − 𝑥
=
27.7 − 25 𝑥 − 104.83

2.3𝑥 − 241.109 = 339.498 − 2.7𝑥

𝑘𝐽
𝑥 = 116.1214
𝑘𝑔

Other enthalpy for different experiment.

Experiment 1 2 3 4 5
T5 (°𝐶) 33.8 34.4 29.9 33.5 37.7
T6 (°𝐶) 26.8 27.6 25.7 26.8 27.7

𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟(𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡)
𝑘𝐽 177.03 144.132 125.3218 140.37 157.9206
( )
𝑘𝑔

𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟(𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑡)
𝑘𝐽 140.447 115.7032 107.7574 112.3576 116.1214
( )
𝑘𝑔

𝑘𝐽 -36.583 -28.4288 -17.5644 -28.0124 -41.7992

∆𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟( )
𝑘𝑔
Discussion

This experiment was carried out using a SOLTEQ Water Cooling Tower (Model HE152)
unit. A cooling tower uses air to remove heat from water. The latent heat of vaporization is
released when warm water and cooler air combine, which cools the water that caused the
cooling effect of the water. The volume of water that moved through the tower would be
reduced as this occurred due to a small volume of water evaporating. The final water level,
which will be measured every 10 minutes with a constant water flow rate of 1.8L/min, will
be used to determine the effect of the power load on the water evaporating rate in this
experiment. The heater power, which is three different levels of power loads which is 1.0kW
with air flow half closed, one-third opened and fully opened, 0.5kw with air flow fully
opened, and 1.5kW with air flow fully opened, will be used to find out this effect.

When the warm water from the load tank was pumped out, it was dispersed equally
across the top of the chamber. Due to evaporation, the water cooled as it descended. The
cooled water falls into a basin where it will be heated and circulated before returning to
the basin and the load tank. A blower was employed to provide cool air, which was
transmitted to the wet and dry bulb and up to the column, increasing the moisture content
and cooling the water as a result. In this experiment, the mass flowrate of dry air is calculated
for 0.5 kW, 1.0 kW, and 1.5 kW, with values of 0.0445 𝑘𝑔/𝑠, 0.0452 𝑘𝑔/𝑠, and
0.0447 𝑘𝑔/𝑠 , respectively, using orifice calibration. The difference between the entrance
water temperature and the exit water temperature, T5-T6, is used to determine the cooling
range. With an increase in heater output, the water will cool down by 7°C, 6.8°C, 4.2°C,
6.7°C and 10°C, respectively.

The specific enthalpy for the water makeup rate of 5.7333 × 10 −5 𝑘𝑔/𝑠 is 177.03
kJ/kg for T5 and T6 is 140.447 kJ/kg, for 1.2900 × 10 −4 𝑘𝑔/𝑠 the specific enthalpy is
144.132 kJ/kg for T5 and T6 is 115.7032 kJ/kg , then for 3.5117 × 10 −4 𝑘𝑔/𝑠 ,
125.3218 kJ/kg for T5 and T6 is 107.7574 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑢𝑝 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 4.1567 × 10−4 𝑘𝑔/
𝑠, for T5 is 140.37 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 and T6 is 112.3576 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 and lastly for makeup rate
5.0900 × 10 −4kJ/kg the T5 is 157.9206 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 and T6 is 116.1214𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔. It had proven
that as heater power rises, specific enthalpy falls. As more heater power is utilized to make
up for the water lost during evaporation, the makeup rate for water rises. The initial and
final water levels, which were recorded every ten minutes, help prove the experiment.
Conclusion: In this experiment, we can conclude that the mass flowrate of air increases together with the
heating power. This is because, high voltage generates higher heating power hence increase
the temperature of water. Because water evaporates more readily at higher temperatures,
it will increase the humidity at the surrounding. The water make-up rate increases as the
voltage increase due to increases in amount of heat produce. This is a result of water
evaporation, as water will evaporate more readily at higher temperatures. The droplet
arrester will absorb more water as a result. In conclusion, the experiment was successful as
all the objective of this experiment were achieved and all the properties can be determined
from the psychometric chart. The effects of the different parameters on cooling tower were
also determined.

Reference:
1. GOV, C. D. C. (2017, July 12). Cooling towers. Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention. Retrieved June 29, 2022, from
https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/other/industrial/cooling_towers.html#:~:text=
and%20Legionnaires'%20disease-
,What%20is%20a%20cooling%20tower%3F,passes%20through%20the%20fallin
g%20water.
2. Nipuna, H. (2018). Cooling Tower. Cooling Tower Experiment and lab report.
Retrieved June 29, 2022, from
https://www.chemistryscl.com/eng/chemical/cooling-tower-experiment-lab-
report/index.php
3. Laboratory precautions and safety procedures. (n.d.). Retrieved June 26, 2022, from
https://www.csus.edu/indiv/r/reihmanm/b12safe.htm