Cooling Tower

Group # 6
Arslan Maqbool 2016-CH-434

M. Bilal 2016-CH-429

M. Hanzla Imran 2016-CH-431

Rana Muhammad Saifullah 2016-CH-435

M. Awais 2016-CH-432
Introduction and Basic Functioning

 Used to cool down water in industry.

 The warm liquid comes in contact with unsaturated gas, part of liquid evaporates
and liquid Temp. drops.
 The warm water from condensers & heat exchangers in Chemical plants, power
plants, air conditioning units are cooled by this method and recirculated again in
the process.
 Cooling towers are large diameter columns
Special packing to increase gas-liquid contact
Low Pressure drop
 Water comes from top and distributed by spray nozzles or pipes.
 Air is entered from bottom by two modes
I. Forced draft / Induced draft
II. Natural convection
Objectives
 Cooling Towers are used to transfer heat from cooling water to the atmosphere.
 Used to cool down water in industry.
– Promotes efficient water usage
– Prevents environmental damage
 Continue…
 Cooling water is continuously circulated through heat exchangers to absorb heat
from process material and machinery.
 Because it's cost efficient to reuse water and plants can't dump excessive
amounts of hot water into rivers and lakes, cooling towers are used to remove
the heat from the water, so it can be recirculated.
 Used in power stations, oil refineries, petrochemical plants and natural gas
plants.
Types of Cooling Tower
Cooling towers are a very important part of many chemical plants.  They represent
a relatively inexpensive and dependable means of removing low grade heat from
cooling water.
Cooling towers fall into two main categories:
1) Natural Draft Cooling Towers
2) Mechanical Draft Cooling Towers
 Natural Draft Cooling Tower
Use very large concrete chimneys
Generally used for water flow rates above 45000 (m3/hr)
The tower built of reinforced concrete varying from 5 to 12in.
Used only by utility power stations
Mechanical Draft Cooling Towers
Mechanical draft towers are available in the following airflow arrangements:
I. Counter flows induced draft
II. Counter flow forced draft
III. Cross flow induced draft
1) Counter Flow Cooling Towers
 In the Counter Flow design air flow is directly opposite of the water flow
 Air flow first enters an open area beneath the fill media and is then drawn up
vertically
 The water is sprayed through nozzles and flows downward through the fill,
opposite to the air flow
2) Cross Flow Cooling Towers
 Air flow is directed perpendicular to the water flow
 Water flows perpendicular to the air through fills by gravity
 Gravity distributes the water through the nozzles uniformly across the fill material
Mechanical Parts of Cooling Tower
Drift eliminator
 The drift eliminator or reducer is one among the essential parts of the cooling
tower.
 It is designed to capture and eliminate large water droplets in the air that are
caught in the cooling tower air steam and to minimize loss of process water.
 The eliminator abruptly forces the mist and water droplets in another direction,
redirecting them to another part of the system and preventing them from
escaping the cooling tower.
 The moisture is then separated from the air and recycled for operational
processes.
Driveshafts
 The cooling tower driveshaft is the link that connects the input shaft of the
gearbox and the electric motor.
 Its main purpose is to transmit power from the motor’s output shaft to the gear
eliminator’s input shaft.
 The driveshaft operates within the harmful environment inside the tower.
 With this, you need to pick a driveshaft that is highly corrosion resistant.
 It should also be well balanced or at least can be re-balanced whenever needed
as it has to turn at full motor speed.
Cooling tower nozzles
 The crossflow cooling towers usually come with nozzles. These cooling tower
elements function by harnessing the power of gravity for water distribution.
 The main task of the nozzles is to get the warm water that needs to be cooled
down and deliver it to the fill.
 The water is usually pushed up to the dispersal reservoirs which are located on
top of the fill media.
 The gravity will then help the water fall down through the fill media via the
nozzles which are found at the bottom of the reservoirs.
Splash style fill
 The splash style fill breaks up the moisture. It is consists of a few layers of
horizontal bars or slats.
 Traditionally, splash style fill media are made from wood but there are
some modern designs that are made from PVC.
 Nowadays, more and more industries are trusting PVC-made splash style
fill as it is more efficient and it allows better and faster heat transfer than
the one made from wood.
 This type of fill is more ideal for industrial processes that generate dirty or
poor quality water.
Gearboxes
 The gearbox is the collection of gears attached to the cooling tower motor
through the driveshaft.
 This important component transforms electrical energy into mechanical energy.
 It also serves as a speed reducer that helps slow down the rotational speed from
the cooling tower’s incoming motor to the outgoing fan.
 The reduction of speed from the gearboxes acts as a torque multiplier. It also
helps optimize the performance of the fan.