A Modified Analysis of Counter Flow Wet Cooling Towers

1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 617-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. T. A. El-Dessouky ◽  
A. Al-Haddad ◽  
F. Al-Juwayhel

The paper describes a theoretical investigation for the steady-state counter flow wet cooling tower with modified definitions for both the number of transfer units and the tower thermal effectiveness. The modified number of transfer units is dependent on both air and water heat capacity. The effectiveness is defined by the tower cooling range and the approach to equilibrium. A new expression relating the tower effectiveness to the modified number of transfer units and the capacity rate ratio has been developed. The model considered the resistance to heat transfer in the water film, the nonunity of the Lewis number, and the curvature of the saturated air enthalpy curve. A procedure for implementing the model in designing or rating cooling towers has been outlined and demonstrated through illustrative examples. The model compares very satisfactorily with other methods such as Logarithmic Mean Enthalpy Difference (LMED) and conventional effectiveness—NTU. Within the ranges used, the obtained results showed that substantial errors varied from +4.289 to −2.536 percent can occur in calculating the cooled water outlet temperature, and errors from +42.847 to −16.667 percent can occur in estimating the tower thermal characteristics.

2001 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 770-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jameel-ur-Rehman Khan ◽  
Syed M. Zubair

Cooling towers are one of the largest heat and mass transfer devices that are in common use. In this paper, we present a detail model of counter flow wet cooling towers. The authenticity of the model is checked by experimental data reported in the literature. The values of number of transfer units (NTU) and tower effectiveness (ε) obtained from the model were compared with the commonly described models. Appreciable difference in NTU and ε values is found if the resistance to heat transfer in the water film and non-unity of Lewis number is considered in the calculations. The results demonstrate that the errors in calculating the tower effectiveness could be as much as 15 percent when considering the effect of air-water interface temperature. A procedure for the use of the model in designing and rating analyses of cooling towers is demonstrated through example problems. The limiting performance of the cooling towers; that is effectiveness equal to one, is explained in terms of air-approach temperature. The model is also used for obtaining the maximum possible mass-flow rate ratio of water-to-air, for different operating conditions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (6 Part A) ◽  
pp. 2491-2501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Wang ◽  
Pei-Hong Wang ◽  
Zhi-Gang Su

This paper proposes an analytical model for simultaneous heat and mass transfer processes in a counter flow wet cooling tower, with the assumption that the enthalpy of the saturated air is a linear function of the water surface temperature. The performance of the proposed analytical model is validated in some typical cases. The validation reveals that, when cooling range is in a certain interval, the proposed model is not only comparable with the accurate model, but also can reduce computational complexity. In addition, with the proposed analytical model, the thermal performance of the counter flow wet cooling towers in power plants is calculated. The results show that the proposed analytical model can be applied to evaluate and predict the thermal performance of counter flow wet cooling towers.


2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 499-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ataei ◽  
M. H. Panjeshahi ◽  
M. Gharaie

In this paper, performance evaluation of wet cooling tower is done. To achieve this aim, first, thermal behavior of counter-flow wet cooling tower is studied through a simulation model. The influence of the environmental conditions on the thermal efficiency of the cooling tower is investigated. The cooling tower performance is simulated in terms of varying air and water temperatures, and of the ambient conditions. This model allows the use of a variety of packing materials. Second, the exergetic analysis is applied to study the cooling tower potential of performance improvement. The model is validated against the experimental data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-145
Author(s):  
Yang Zhouo ◽  
Ming Gao ◽  
Suoying He ◽  
Yuetao Shi ◽  
Fengzhong Sun

Based on the basic theory of water droplets impact noise, the generation mechanism and calculation model of the water-splashing noise for natural draft wet cooling towers were established in this study, and then by means of the custom software, the water-splashing noise was studied under different water droplet diameters and water-spraying densities as well as partition water distribution patterns conditions. Comparedwith the water-splashing noise of the field test, the average difference of the theoretical and the measured value is 0.82 dB, which validates the accuracy of the established theoretical model. The results based on theoretical model showed that, when the water droplet diameters are smaller in cooling tower, the attenuation of total sound pressure level of the water-splashing noise is greater. From 0 m to 8 m away from the cooling tower, the sound pressure level of the watersplashing noise of 3 mm and 6 mm water droplets decreases by 8.20 dB and 4.36 dB, respectively. Additionally, when the water-spraying density becomes twice of the designed value, the sound pressure level of water-splashing noise all increases by 3.01 dB for the cooling towers of 300 MW, 600 MW and 1000 MW units. Finally, under the partition water distribution patterns, the change of the sound pressure level is small. For the R s/2 and Rs/3 partition radius (Rs is the radius of water-spraying area), when the water-spraying density ratio between the outer and inner zone increases from 1 to 3, the sound pressure level of water-splashing noise increases by 0.7 dB and 0.3 dB, respectively.


Author(s):  
Shuo Li ◽  
M. R. Flynn

AbstractVisible plumes above wet cooling towers are of great concern due to the associated aesthetic and environmental impacts. The parallel path wet/dry cooling tower is one of the most commonly used approaches for plume abatement, however, the associated capital cost is usually high due to the addition of the dry coils. Recently, passive technologies, which make use of free solar energy or the latent heat of the hot, moist air rising through the cooling tower fill, have been proposed to minimize or abate the visible plume and/or conserve water. In this review, we contrast established versus novel technologies and give a perspective on the relative merits and demerits of each. Of course, no assessment of the severity of a visible plume can be made without first understanding its atmospheric trajectory. To this end, numerous attempts, being either theoretical or numerical or experimental, have been proposed to predict plume behavior in atmospheres that are either uniform versus density-stratified or still versus windy (whether highly-turbulent or not). Problems of particular interests are plume rise/deflection, condensation and drift deposition, the latter consideration being a concern of public health due to the possible transport and spread of Legionella bacteria.


Author(s):  
B E A Fisher

An assessment of the effects of visible cooling tower plumes on the local environment can be a necessary part of any proposal for a new large industrial process. Predictions of the dispersion of plumes from cooling towers are based on methods developed for chimney emissions. However, the kinds of criteria used to judge the acceptability of cooling tower plumes are different from those used for stack plumes. The frequency of long elevated plumes and the frequency of ground fogging are the two main issues. It is shown that events associated with significant plume visibility are dependent both on the operating characteristics of the tower and on the occurrence of certain meteorological conditions. The dependence on atmospheric conditions is shown to be fairly complex and simple performance criteria based on the exit conditions from the tower are not sufficient for assessments.


1989 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Jaber ◽  
R. L. Webb

This paper develops the effectiveness-NTU design method for cooling towers. The definitions for effectiveness and NTU are totally consistent with the fundamental definitions used in heat exchanger design. Sample calculations are presented for counter and crossflow cooling towers. Using the proper definitions, a person competent in heat exchanger design can easily use the same basic method to design a cooling tower of counter, cross, or parallel flow configuration. The problems associated with the curvature of the saturated air enthalpy line are also treated. A “one-increment” design ignores the effect of this curvature. Increased precision can be obtained by dividing the cooling range into two or more increments. The standard effectiveness-NTU method is then used for each of the increments. Calculations are presented to define the error associated with different numbers of increments. This defines the number of increments required to attain a desired degree of precision. The authors also summarize the LMED method introduced by Berman, and show that this is totally consistent with the effectiveness-NTU method. Hence, using proper and consistent terms, heat exchanger designers are shown how to use either the standard LMED or effectiveness-NTU design methods to design cooling towers.


1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 751-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. de Villiers ◽  
D. G. Kro¨ger

The rate of heat, mass, and momentum transfer in the rain zone of three counterflow cooling tower geometries is analyzed using simplifying assumptions and numerical integration. The objective of the analysis is to generate equations for use in a one-dimensional mathematical cooling tower performance evaluations. Droplet deformation is taken into account and momentum transfer is calculated from the air flow’s mechanical energy loss, caused by air-droplet interaction. A comparison of dimensionless semi-empirical equations and experimental data demonstrates the method’s capability to predict the pressure drop in a counterflow rain zone.


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