NOTE: Restrictions are in place to limit access to one or more of the files associated with this item. Authorized users must log in to gain access. Non-authorized users do not have access to these files.
Visit the Energy Systems Laboratory Homepage.
Optimizing Cooling Tower Performance- Refrigeration Systems, Chemical Plants, and Power Plants all Have A Resource Quietly Awaiting Exploitation-Cold Water!!
Abstract
Cooling towers, because of their seeming
simplicity, are usually orphans of the facilities
operation. We are all aware that cooling towers
are the step-children of the chemical process
plant, electric power generating station, and
refrigeration system.
While engineers are pretty well convinced
of the importance of their sophisticated
equipment, and rightly so, they take the
cooling towers and the cold water returning
from them for granted.
Design Conditions are specified for the
particular requirements before a cooling tower
is purchased. This relates to the volume of
circulatlng water, hot water temperature on the
tower, cold water temperature discharge, and
wet bulb temperature (consisting of ambient
temperature and relative humidity). After the
tower is put on the line and the cold water
temperature or volume becomes inadequate,
engineers look to solutions other than the
obvious. While all cooling towers are purchased
to function at 100% of capability in accordance
with the required Design Conditions, in actual
on-stream employment, the level of operation
many times is lower, downwards to as much as
50% due to a variety of reasons: 1.
The present service needed is now greater than the original requirements which the tower was purchased for.
2.
"Slippage" due to usage and perhaps deficient maintenance has reduced the performance of the tower over years of operation.
3.
The installation could have been originally undersized due to the low bidder syndrome (1).
4.
New plant expansion needs additional
water volume and possibly colder temperatures off the tower.
Collections
Citation
Burger, R. (1990). Optimizing Cooling Tower Performance- Refrigeration Systems, Chemical Plants, and Power Plants all Have A Resource Quietly Awaiting Exploitation-Cold Water!!. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.eslwin.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /92279.