1.

Introduction
A cooling tower is a heat rejection device which extracts waste heat to the atmosphere
through the cooling of a water stream to a lower temperature [1]. The heat transfer occurs
through the heat exchange between air and water (convection, conduction and radiation) and
through the evaporation of a small part of the water that needs to be cooled.
Water, which has been heated by an industrial process or in an air-conditioning condenser, is
pumped to the cooling tower through pipes. The water sprays through nozzles onto banks of
material called "fill," which slows the flow of water through the cooling tower, and exposes
as much water surface area as possible for maximum air-water contact. As the water flows
through the cooling tower, it is exposed to air, which is being pulled through the tower by the
electric motor-driven fan [2].
Applications of cooling towers include cooling water in power stations, chemical plants and
domestic air conditioning systems.
The efficiency of cooling towers is affected by amongst other things: relative humidity,
outside temperature, flow rates of water and air and water contamination, Since a cooling
tower is based on evaporative cooling the maximum cooling tower efficiency is limited by
the wet bulb temperature - Twb - of the cooling air [3].
In this experiment it was set out to examine the performance of the cooling tower at various
cooling loads, water flow rates, air flow rates also to determine all end state properties of air
and water from tables and charts.
The experiment was carried out using the Hilton Bench Cooling Tower H892, which is a
counter flow forced draft cooling tower.
The tower was operated at different cooling loads of 0kW, 0, 5kW, 1kW and 1,5kW with
other variables kept constant to study the effects of the load on efficiency, approach to wet
bulb and cooling range.
A similar approach was taken to view the effects of air and water flow rates on efficiency,
approach to wet bulb and cooling range.

2. Literature Review and Theory

Within a process, especially if there are phase changes, there has to be some kind of a heat
exchange unit designed. With the air-water system the most appropriate heat exchanger that a
designer could use is the direct-contact heat exchanger. Unlike any other kind of a heat
exchange process unit, the direct contact heat exchanger allow for interaction between the hot
and the cold streams (Sinnott, 2005); i.e. there is no separation barrier of any kind between
the two fluid streams (water and air for an example). With this kind of a unit, there is a higher
rate of heat and mass transfer between the two streams.
This type of a heat exchanger is very simple, cheap and suitable for heavily fouling fluids
(Sinnott & Towler, 2009). The direct-contact heat exchanger which is being studied in greater
detail within this experiment is called the Hilton Bench Cooling Tower H892 in which the hot
and the cold streams are being represented by water and air respectively. This means that the
air is being used as a coolant and water as a heating fluid within the unit. Air is naturally
available in high quantities and thus this further illustrates the simplicity and cost
conservativeness resulting from the operation of the Hilton Bench Cooling Tower H892.

2.1 Theory that governs the operation of the Hilton Bench Cooling Tower
H892

Figure 2.1 Basic principle of mass and heat transfers involved in the Hilton
Bench Cooling Tower H892
Source: Cooling Tower Thermal Design Manual.pdf,(n.d,)
Figure 2.1 illustrates the configurations and patterns taken by the air and water streams within
the cooling tower during heat exchange.
Water cooling (heat transfer/exchange) in the Hilton Bench Cooling Tower H892 can occur in
three (3) ways i.e. through radiation, evaporation, and convection & conduction. The effects

of heat exchange through radiation, conduction and convection are considered to be very
small compared to those attributed through evaporation and thus they could be ignored.

2.2 Heat exchange (water cooling) through evaporation

Within the evaporative way of heat exchange, the water is cooled through the diffusion of the
water molecules from the surface into the surrounding air (see Figure 2.1), this process may
also be referred to as humidification (Coulson, Richardson, Backhurst & Harker, 1999).
According to Coulson, Richardson, Backhurst & Harker (1999), the extent to which the water
is being cooled within the tower is governed by the air inlet wet-bulb temperature.

2.3 Hilton Bench Cooling Tower H892 performance

There are various factors which affect the performance of the cooling tower i.e.

The water flow rate

Air flow rate
Water temperature
Area and volume of the packing ( higher volume and area implies that there will be
more water cooling and the more efficient the tower will be )
Type of packing used
Wet bulb temperature of the air ( air-inlet temperature and humidity)
The configuration of the air and water streams i.e. co-current or counter current
configuration.
Cooling load

Establishment of the relationships between the above-mentioned factors brings about the
efficiencies and also the approximate optimum operating conditions of the cooling tower.
Other important factors which affect the performance of the cooling tower include wet-bulb
temperature approach and the temperature range.
The approach is the difference in temperature between the cooled-water temperature and the
entering-air wet bulb -

wb ,
T

temperature. The mathematical expression for the

calculation of the approach temperature is as follows:

wb ,
approachtemperature =T w, out T . ..(2.3.1)
The temperature range is the difference in temperature between the water inlet and exit
streams. Mathematically,
Temperature range=

w ,T w, out
T

(2.3.2)

The temperature range and the wet-bulb temperature approach may be regarded as the driving
forces of heat exchange within the cooling tower. The efficiency (the extent to which the
cooling tower is able to accommodate heat transfer between the two (2) circulating streams
{see Appendix C for the equation used to calculate the efficiency of tower}) of the cooling
tower can thus be calculated once the driving mechanisms of heat exchange/transfer are
determined.

2.4 Mass balance equations

By the definition of the conservation of mass, the mass flowrate of water and the air should
be the same at the inlet and the outlet of the tower. The mathematical expression for the water
and air mass balance should be:
m
w

m
w

A (2.4.1)
m

A
m

Where:
m
w

-1

m
w

-1

m
A

-1

m
A

-1

To unambiguously show the mathematical expression for the overall mass balance of the airwater, the following relation is used:
E =m
A ( out )
m
. (2.4.2)

Where:
m
E

= mass flow of water being lost in the make-up tank, kg . s

-1

m
A

= steady state mass flow of air, kg . s

out

= moisture content of air at the air outlet, kg . kg (Dry air)

-1

= moisture content of air at the air inlet, kg . kg (Dry air)

Refer to Appendix A in conjunction with Figure B1 (psychrometric chart) for the full
derivation of the overall mass conservation equation (equation 2.4.2 )

2.5 Energy balance equations

Energy conservation is obtained through balancing the changes in the enthalpies of the two
(2) streams, the duty of the tower and the shaft work energy attributed by the pump. The
mathematical expression for the energy conservation within the tower is as follows:
W
S= H
out H

Q
. .(2.5.1)

Where:

Q=rate
of heat tranfer between thetower its surroundings , W
S =rate at which shaft work is transfered by the pump ,W
W
H out =outlet enthalpy of the the exiting stream ,W
H out =outlet enthalpy of the the exiting stream ,W
Refer to Appendix A for the full derivation of equation 2.4.3
Usually the shaft work dissipated by the pump is taken to be zero, thus combining the above
energy equation with the conservation of mass for the overall system will yield:
A ,
H A , out H

w ,
. (2.5.1)
T w , out T
m
A
Q=
Where:

Q=rate
of heat tranfer between thetower its surroundings , W
m
A

mass flow of air , kg . s

-1

m
w
H A , out

mass flow of water , kg . s

-1

= specific enthalpy of air at the outlet stream, J.kg-1

A ,
= specific enthalpy of air at the inlet stream, J.kg-1
H
m
w =

mass flow of water , kg . s

C P=specific heat capacity of water ,

-1

4.186 J.g-1. C-1 (assumed to be constant)

T w ,out =Temperature of water at the outlet , C

w ,=Temperature of water at theinlet , C
T

2.6 Usage of the psychrometric charts for theoretical data

The psychrometric charts are also called the humidity charts because of their frequent
application in humidification practices, drying and air-conditioning (Felder & Rousseau,
2005).
In order to determine the rate at which heat is transferred within the cooling tower, the air
inlet and outlet enthalpies are required (see equation 2.5.1). This information cannot be
obtained analytically thus the psychrometric charts for air-water systems are used to
determine this information. Since the dry and wet bulb temperatures of air arte readily
obtained from the cooling tower (both for the inlet and outlet air streams), through line
intersections the inlet and outlet enthalpies could be directly read off from the chart (see
Figure B1).
Enthalpy is not the only variable that could be found when using the humidity charts. Other
variables such as the moisture content of air (absolute humidity), relative humidity, humid
volume and the air dew point can also be obtained from the charts (Felder & Rousseau,
2005).
.

3. Experimental Setup

Source: (No author, No year of publication)

Retrieved from; http://www.me.iitb.ac.in/~matrey/PDF's/cooling%20tower.pdf

Figure 3.1: Image of the experimental setup

3.1 Precautions
1. Begin by setting the air flow rate to maximum (slide fan damper wide open) and
water flow rate to maximum (rotameter valve wide open) for about 5 minutes in order
to fully wet the slats inside the column.
2. Distilled or demineralised water was used to avoid scaling problems.
3. Pump must not be switched on when there is no water in the system, this is to prevent
cavitation.
4. The two wet bulbs must be filled with distilled water.
5. If the water level in the load tank falls below the arrowed position, switch off heaters
and investigate cause.
6. Avoid Touching the heater during the experiment.
7. Air fan must never be completely closed.
7

8. Check basin sides and corners of the cooling towers to investigate any leakage or
over-flow from the system.
9. Check float and drain valves for proper operation of the system.

3.2 Procedure
To investigate the performance of the cooling tower, the experiment was divided into three
(3) sub-procedures i.e. investigation of the effect of varying the cooling loads, investigation
of effect of varying the air flow and also the investigation of varying the water flow.

3.2.1 Preparation of the cooling tower

The cooling tower has to be correctly prepared so that its operation could be efficient and
maximised.
Preparation procedure
1. Ensure that all switches are off and that the water control valve is fully open
2. Check that the unit is level
3. Remove the column and then carefully pour water into the basin until the water level
inside the marked pipe is above minimum level (the yellow line)
4. Refit the column and tighten it using the nuts
5. Switch on the mains so that pumping could begin. Fully open the rotameter so that
maximum water flow could be achieved ( expectedly 40 g.s-1)
6. Fully open the lid of the fan as well to achieve the maximum air flow
7. Pour water into the make-up tank up to a certain gauge mark
8. Allow flow to occur for a few minutes so that the column packing could get entirely
wet
9. Fill up the water in the make-up tank if necessary
When the packing is fully soaked up then the equipment is ready for one to make the
necessary experiments.

3.2.2 Investigation of the effect of varying the cooling load

This part of the experiment demonstrates the effect of changing the cooling load of the
cooling tower. The water and the air flow rates are kept constant at 40 g.s -1 and 80.48 g.s-1
respectively. The flow rate of water is set through the manipulation of the height of the float
within rotameter (flow rate of water is read-off directly from the rotameter); the air flow is set
by manipulation of the degree at which the fan is closed i.e. closing and opening the lid of the
fan changes the flow rate of air within the tower (the flow rate of air is calculated by using
equation C3 (see Appendix C).
The cooling towers available cooling loads are 0 kW, 0.5kW, 1 kW and 1.5 kW.
Procedure:
1) Set the cooling load to 0.5 kW by turning the 0.5 kW cooling load switch on when
the cooling tower is in fully prepared state (section 3.2.1).
2) The get the different temperatures, the temperature indicator is manually turned
between the numbers 1 to 6
8

3) The inlet dry air (dry-bulb) temperature is measured by putting the temperature
indicator on 1, this temperature might not be reflected, if it does not get reflected, a
thermometer is placed next to the opening of the fan and the reading was recorded
4) The inlet wet air (wet bulb) temperature is measured and recorded when the
temperature indicator on 2
5) The outlet dry air (dry bulb) temperature is measured and recorded when the
temperature indicator on 3
6) The outlet wet air (wet bulb) temperature is measured and recorded when the
temperature indicator on 4
7) The inlet water temperature is measured by and recorded when the temperature
indicator is 5
8) The outlet water temperature is measured by and recorded when the temperature
indicator is 6
NB: RECORDING DOWN OF THE TEMPERATURES SHOULD ONLY BE DONE
WHEN THE TEMPERATURE READING IS NO LONGER CHANGING
SIGNIFICANTLY
Follow steps 3 to 8 when operating at 0 kW cooling load i.e. when all the cooling load
switches are turned off, at 1.0 kW i.e. when the 1.0 kW cooling load switch is turned on and
at 1.5 kW i.e. when all the cooling load switches are turned on.

3.2.3. Investigation of the effect of varying the air flow rate

This section of the experiment evaluates the effects of various air flow rate upon the
performance of the cooling tower at constant cooling load and water flow rate.
Procedure:
1) Make-sure the cooling tower is in fully prepared state
2) Set the water flow rate to 40 g.s-1 by setting the raising the rotameter float to a height
equivalent to 40
3) Switch on all the cooling load switches so that the cooling load of the tower is
equivalent to 1.5 kW
4) Variation in the air flow is manually controlled by opening and closing the lid of the
fan. This action causes changes in the readings of the inclined orifice differential
manometer thus causing the changes in the air flow.
5) Fully open the lid of the fan for maximum air flow, read off and record the height at
which the fluid inside the manometer has reached (later equation C3 will be used to
calculate the air flow rate)
6) Follow steps 3 8 from section 3.3.2 to get the different temperatures
7) Partially close the fan (to about 25% )
8) Repeat step 6
9) Partially close the fan (to about 50% )
10) Repeat step 6
11) Partially close the fan (to about 75% )
12) Repeat step 6

3.2.3. Investigation of the effect of varying the water flow rate

This section of the experiment evaluates the effects of various water flow rate upon the
performance of the cooling tower at constant cooling load and water flow rate.
Procedure
1) Make-sure the cooling tower is in fully prepared state
2) Set the air flow rate to a fixed value by fully opening the lid of the fan for maximum
air flow rate (keep the lid of the fan at the same position throughout the experiment in
order to keep the air flow constant.
3) Switch on all the cooling load switches so that the cooling load of the tower is
equivalent to 1.5 kW
4) Variation in the water flow is brought about by manipulating the height at which the
rotameters float will reach. The higher the height of the float height, the higher the
water flow rate.
5) Set the float height to 10 g.s-1
6) Follow steps 3 8 from section 3.3.2 to get the different temperatures
7) Set the float height to 20 g.s-1
8) Repeat step 6
9) Set the float height to 30 g.s-1
10) Repeat step 6
11) Set the float height to 40 g.s-1
12) Repeat step 6
NB: ALL THE RECORDED DATA IS AVAILABLE IN APPENDIX D

4. Results
The raw data obtained from the lab and calculated values are found in Appendix D

10

4.1 Varying the flow rate of water.

The observations were done by keeping the flow rate of air and load constant at
1
80.19 g . s
and 1.5 kW respectively. The figures in this section were obtained from
Table D3 (Appendix D)

Efficiency curve (varying water flowrate)

100.00
80.00
percentage (%)
Efficiency

60.00
Efficiency curve

40.00
20.00
0.00
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
water flow rate (g.s-1)

Figure 4.1.1: The effect of the water mass flow rate on the efficiency of the cooling tower

The above figure (Figure 4.1.1) shows that the efficiency of a cooling tower reduces with
increasing water flow rate. The observation is due to factors such as reduced or less contact
time and area of the air cooling the water.

Relationship of the range with water flowrate

45
40
35

Water Temparature at
outlet

30
Temparature(0C) 25

Water Tempearature at
inlet

20
15
10
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Flowrate of water(g.s-1)

11

Figure 4.1.2: The graph shows how the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet water streams changes
with water flow rate.

The figure reveals that the water inlet temperature decreases from 40 0C to about 28 0C with
increasing water flow rate while the water outlet temperature increases from 17 0C to 19 0C.
Increasing the water flowrate from 30 to 40 g.s-1 does not have any impact on the water outlet
temperature as it remains at 20 0C.

Relationship between water flowrate and Range

30
25
20
Temperature Range (0C)

Relationship between
water flowrate and
Range

15
10
5
0
10

30

50

flowrate of water(g.s-1)

Figure 4.1.3: Graph showing how the temperature range decreases as the water flow rate is increased

The temperature range (difference) decreases as the flow rate of water increases. There is a
small decrease in temperature when increases the flow rate of water from 30 g.s -1 to 40 g.s-1,
this is due to the fact that there was no temperature change in the water outlet (Figure 4.1.2).

ationship between water outlet and air inlet wet bulb tempe
22
20
18
Temparature(0C)

water outlet
temperature

16

Air inlet wet bulb

temperature

14
12
10
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Flow rate of water(g.s-1)

12

Figure 4.1.4: A graphical representation that shows the variation of the water outlet temperature and the air inlet wet
bulb temperature.

In this particular instance the relationship between increasing water flow rate and the air inlet
wet bulb temperature is not clear. When the water flow rate increases from 10 to 20 g.s-1, there
was an increase in the air inlet wet bulb temperature, however the opposite was observed
when increasing the water flow rate from 20 to 30 g.s-1. The wet bulb air inlet temperature
then increased when the flow rate increased from 30 to 40 g.s-1.

Varying water flow rate with approach to wet bulb

8
7.5
7
Appoach to wet bulb temperature(0C)

6.5
6
5.5
5
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
water flow rate (g.s-1)

Figure 4.1.5: Variation of the water flow rate and the temperature range (approach to wet bulb temperature)

The approach wet bulb temperature increases almost linearly with increasing water flow rate
from 10 to g.s-1 and it then decreases from 7.48 0C to roughly 7.1 0C when the water flow rate
increases from 30 to 40 g.s-1.The observation is due to an increase in the wet bulb temperature
within the specified flow rate range.

13

water evaporated as flow rate of water at the inlet is varyied

0.07
0.06
0.05
water evaporated
related as flow rate of
inlet is varyied

0.04
water evaporated (g.s-1) 0.03
0.02
0.01
0
10 20 30 40 50

flowrate of water (g.s-1)

Figure 4.1.6: The figure shows the relationship between the amounts of water evaporating as the flowrate of the water
inlet is increased

The amount of water evaporating increased as the flow rate of the water was is increased; the
only exception which was observed was when the flow rate of water was increased from 20
to 30 g.s-1,this may be due to human errors in terms of measurements and/or recording or the
cooling tower malfunctioning in that period of time.

Energy gained by system as water flowrate is varied

2
1.5
1
0.5
system delta H(kW)

0
-0.5 10 20 30 40 50

Energy gained by
system as water
flowrate is varied

-1
-1.5
-2
Flowrate of water(g.s-1)

Figure 4.1.7: The relationship between the rate of energy gain of the system and increasing water flow rate

Rate of energy gain of the system as water flow rate is varied; the figure shows a steady
decrease of energy as flow rate increases.

14

4.2 Variation of the cooling load

To investigate the effect of the cooling load on the cooling tower performance, the system
was operated at constant dry air flow rate of
1

40 g . s

80.48 g . s

and a water flow rate of

. The results are clearly tabulated in Table D1.

Efficiency Curve
80.00
70.00
60.00
50.00
Efficiency(%)

40.00

Efficiency Curve

30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6
Cooling load(kW)

Figure 4.2.1: The effect of the cooling load on the efficiency of the cooling tower

Relationship between cooling load and Temperature range

30
25
20
Temparature (0 C)

Outlet Temparature of
water

15

Inlet Temparature of water

10
5
0
0

0.5

1.5

Cooling load(kW)

15

Figure 4.2.2: The graph shows how the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet water streams changes
with Cooling load

Relationship between cooling load and Temperature range

12
10
8
Temparature range( 0C)

Temperature range

4
2
0
0

Cooling Load(kW)

Figure 4.2.3: The effect of increasing the cooling load on the temperature range

The figure shows that the temperature range increases steadily as more energy is being put
into the system by increasing the cooling load.

Approach to wet bulb

20
15

Temparature( 0C)

water outlet
Temperatture

10

Inlet air wet bulb

temperature

5
0
0

0.5

1.5

Cooling Load(kW)

Figure 4.2.4: A graphical representation that shows the variation of the water outlet temperature and the air inlet wet
bulb temperature

16

Approach to wet bulb

6
5
4
Temperature range(0C)

3
2
1
0
0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

1.4

1.6

Cooling Load (kW)

Figure 4.2.5: The relationship between the cooling load and the approach to wet bulb temperature

elationship between water evaporation rate and cooling load

0.02

Water evaporated(g.s-1)

Relationship between
water evaporation
rate and cooling load.

0.01

0
0

Cooling Load(kW)

Figure 4.2.6: The figure showing the effect of the cooling load on the water evaporated

The figure shows that the rate of evaporation is independent of cooling load; the amount of
water evaporated is constant regardless of the increase in the cooling load.

17

Rate at which energy enters the system as the load is varied

0.10
0.08
0.06
delta H(kW)

Rate at which energy

enters the system as
the load is varied.

0.04
0.02
0.00
-0.02 0

0.5

1.5

-0.04
Cooling Load(kW)

Figue4.2.7: This figure shows that the rate at which energy enters the system increases with increasing load.

18

4.3 Varying air flow rates.

To find the effect of the dry air flow rate, the mass flow rate of the water and the cooling load
1
were kept constant throughout this part of the experiment at 40 g . s
and 1.5 kW
respectively.
For this section see Table D2

Efficiency Curve
60.00
50.00
40.00
%efficiency

30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
63.00

68.00

73.00

78.00

83.00

air mass flow rate(g/s)

Figure 4.3.1: Figure showing how the efficiency increases as the flow rate of air increases.

The efficiency of the cooling tower increases steadily from a flow rate of 63.09 g.s -1 to 74.61
g.s-1 , it then increases slowly from the latter flow rate to 80.35 g.s -1. Increasing the flow rate
of dry air means that there is more contact time and area between the dry air and the water
which subsequently leads to an increase in the efficiency.

19

Relationship between air flowrate and temperature range

35
30

Temparature(0C)

25

Temperature of Inlet
water

20

Temperature of outlet
water

15
10
63.00 68.00 73.00 78.00 83.00
Dry air flowrate(g/s)

Figure 4.3.2: The graph shows how the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet water streams changes
with the flow rate of air.

Temperature range relationship with flowrate of air

8
7.5
Temperature Range()

Temperature range
relationship with
flowrate of air

7
6.5
6
63.00 73.00 83.00
Air flow rate(g.s-1)

Figure 4.3.3: Graph showing how the temperature range increases as air flow is increased

20

Approach to wet bulb

30
25
20
Temperature( 0C)

Outlet Temparature of
water

15

Wet bulb Temperature

of incoming air

10
5
0
63.00

73.00

83.00

Air flow rate(g.s-1)

Figure 4.3.4: A graphical representation that shows the variation of the water outlet temperature and the air inlet wet
bulb temperature

Approach to wet bulb temperature with air flow rate

12
11
10
Temperature range(0C)

Approach to wet bulb

temperature with air
flow rate

9
8
7
6
63 68 73 78 83
Air flow rate (g.s-1)

Figure 4.3.5: The relationship between the approach to wet bulb temperature and the air flow rate

The approach wet bulb temperature decreases steadily with increasing air flow rate.

21

Water evaporated as air flow rate is varied

0.04
0.03
0.03
0.02
0.02
water evaporated(g.s-1)
0.01
0.01
0

Water evaporated as
air flow rate is varied

73.00
63.00 83.00
air flow rate(g.s-1)

Figure 4.3.6: Figure showing the relationship between varies air flow rates and amount of water evaporated

The figure shows that the rate of evaporation decreases as the flow rate of air increases.
This observation was due to the fact that less water is being cooled as the flow rate of air
increases. The contact area and time between water and the air is reduced.

e at which energy enters the system as the air flow rate is v

0.15
0.1
0.05
0
63.00
-0.05

68.00

73.00

78.00

83.00

rate at which energy

enters the system as
the air flow rate is
varied

-0.1
-0.15
-0.2

Figure 4.3.7: Figure showing the effect of air flow rate on the rate at which energy enters the system

At a flow rate of 60 g.s-1 the rate of energy transfer is negative (-0.15J) which is due to the
need for the system to lose energy. Generally the rate of input into the system increases as the
flow rate of air increases.

22

5. Discussion of results
Water flow rate, water inlet temperature, water outlet temperature, air wet bulb temperature
and load (amount of energy supplied) are factors or tools used to evaluate the performance of
a cooling system.
The capability of a cooling tower is measured by how close the system can bring the
temperature of the water to the Wet Bulb Temperature of the entering air.
The manner at which the calculations were done is explained in the Appendix C.
Effect of varying water flow rate on the cooling tower:
The observations were done by keeping the flow rate of air and load constant at
1
80.19 g . s
and 1.5 kW respectively.
The temperature range decreases with increasing flow rate as shown by Figure 4.1.3. The
efficiency predicts that an increase in mass flow rate of water will consequently lead to a
decrease in the efficiency of the cooling tower; the conclusion was made by looking at the
relationship at Figure 4.1.1. Figures 4.1.4 and 4.1.5 show that generally increasing the mass
flow rate increases the approach to wet bulb temperature. When the mass flow rate of the
water is high (increased) there is a less contact area and time between the dry air and the
water.
Figure 4.1.6 shows the rate of evaporation of water within the system increases as the flow
rate of water is increased this in turn causes the rate of energy exiting the system to increase
(Figure 4.1.7), increasing the flow rate of water causes a bulk of the incoming air to be
saturated due to contact with more water but decreases the contact time each water droplet
interacts with unsaturated air thereby decreasing the efficiency of the whole process.
Effect of varying load on cooling tower performance:
The system was operated at constant dry air flow rate of

80.48 g . s1 and a water flow rate

1
of 40 g . s .

The cooling tower was operated at a cooling load of

The

1.5 kW load was achieved by keeping both

0 kW , 0.5 kW , 1.0 kW and 1.5 kW .

0.5 kW and the

1.0 kW

loads on.

According to Figure 4.2.3 increasing the cooling load increases the temperature range. The
efficiency of the cooling tower increases as the load increases (Figure 4.2.1). An increase in
load means more energy is put into ensuring that more heat is liberated into the atmosphere in
the form of water evaporating. The outlet water temperature is closer to the air inlet wet bulb
temperature. Even at a zero load (kW) there is a small temperature range due to the fact that
there is a significant difference between the water inlet temperature (11.7 oC) and air inlet wet

23

bulb temperature which is 10.5oC (Figure 4.2.4). However at the cooling load of zero kW the
water inlet temperature and the water outlet temperature points on the graph almost coincide.
At a load of 1.5 kW an unpredicted behaviour was observed; water outlet temperature drops
while the air inlet wet bulb temperature rises, this could be because of the water that is
trapped in the air particles.
It was found that the load does not have a significant impact on the evaporation rate, it is
believed the rate of evaporation is mainly influenced by the water and air flow rates however
it did increase the rate at which energy enters the system, which is expected as by increasing
the load we are adding heat into our system through the heater.
Impact of varying flow rate of dry air on the cooling tower performance:
For this part of the experiment the mass flow rate of the water and the cooling load were
1
constant at 40 g . s
and 1.5 kW respectively.
High flow rate of dry air means that more mass of air can be in contact with the mass of the
water is supposed to cool. It is observed that increasing the flow rate of air increases the
temperature range (Twater inlet Twater outlet) and efficiency, the relationship is clearly indicated in
Figure 4.3.1 and Figure 4.3.3 respectively.
Figure 4.3.5 shows that the approach wet bulb temperature approaches zero when we increase
the mass, this correlate with performed experiments and existing theories.
The rate at which water was evaporating was found to decrease with increasing air flow rates,
this is definitely counter intuitive as the amount of water evaporated might be expected to
increase as the air flow is increased, it is believed that the cause of this effect is the reduced
contact time between air and water which greatly limits the amount of water which can
diffuse into the air.
Possible sources of errors:
The experimental data may contain errors due to incorrect observation or capturing of the
temperature readings, in this particular instance for example wet bulb temperature may be
wrongly captured as dry bulb temperature.
It takes a while for the system to be wet the first run might have been performed while the
system is not completely wet.

24

6. Conclusion and Recommendations

The objectives of this experiment were to investigate the influence of varying cooling load,
water flow rate and air flow rate on the performance of the cooling tower, and to determine
all the end state properties of the air and water from charts and tables. The objectives were
met as the results section contains figures clearly showing the effect of varying the above
mentioned factors and which properties are state properties for both the air and water. To
check the properties both the mass and the energy balances were conducted to calculate
energy, enthalpy among others.
Water may be cooled by dry air as long as the water entering temperature is above the wet
bulb temperature of the entering air. The dry air and water mixture releases the heat of
vaporization which has a cooling effect on the water by turning a certain amount of water
liquid into its gaseous phase, which is evident by evaporation. Due to evaporation the amount
of water in the make-up tank decreased and the make-up tank had to be perpetually refilled.
The temperature of the dry air increases because it acquires heat from the water that is being
cooled.
Increasing the flow rate of the water while keeping cooling load and the flow rate of the air
constant reduces the capability of the cooling tower. This conclusion was based on the fact
that the efficiency decreases as the flow rate of the water increases. The temperature range
decreases with increasing water flow rate. High flow rate of the water means that there is
more mass of the water that needs to be cooled by the dry air.
Increasing the cooling load increases the efficiency of the cooling tower. This was observed
by an increase in the temperature range and the decrease of the amount of water in the makeup tank. The water in the make-up tank decreased rapidly as the cooling load was increased
which means that more water was evaporating.
According to our findings the optimum conditions are water and air flow rate of 10 and 80.19
g.s-1 respectively and a load of 1.5kW. This was based on the observation that the efficiency
of the cooling tower was at its maximum which is 82%.
Recommendations
It was difficult to control the mass flow rate of the air entering the system to cool the water;
we recommend that a probe that can be used to adjust the flow rate is attached to the lid of the
25

fan. The flow rate differences were very small and the minimum flow rate was very large
compared to the water flow rate.
For industrial purposes a lower flow rate of water and a higher flow rate of the air are highly
recommended. As when the flow rate of water increases the efficiency decreases due to a
decreased or less contact time between the air and the water. Increasing the cooling load is
recommended however an energy balance must be performed to ensure that process is
economically viable.
Students who will be performing the experiment must ensure that all the precautions are
correctly followed for the safety of the equipment and themselves. The demonstrator can
ensure that this is achieved by attaching the precautions close to where the experiment will
take place to remind the students throughout the experiment. Water from the system must be
drained after performing the experiment to prevent algae growth and production of sludge.
More research needs to be done on the cooling tower to find other factors that might be
affecting its performance except the ones that are already know

26

7. References
1. Cooling Tower Thermal Design Manual.pdf.(n.d,).
Retrieved from :
<http://user.engineering.uiowa.edu/~expeng/equipment/Cooltower_manual_all.pdf >
2. Couslon J.M., Richardson J.F., Backhurst J.R., and Harker J.H., (1999). Chemical
Engineering Fluid flow , Heat transfer and Mass transfer. Vol 1 (6th ed.). London:
Butterworth and Heinemann
3. Felder, R.M. and Rousseau, R.W., (2005). Elementary Principles of Chemical
Processes, (3rd ed.).United States of America: John Wiley & Sons,Inc.
4. Sinnott, R.K. (2005). Chemical Engineering Design, (Vol.6), (4th ed.). London:
Elsevier Ltd
5. Sinnott, R., & Towler, G. (2009). Chemical Engineering Design (5th ed.).London:
Elsevier Ltd
6. No Author. No date
Retrieved from: www.cti.org/whats/coolingtowerdetails.shtml
7. No Author. No date
Retrieved from: http://spxcooling.com/coolingtowers
8. No Author. No date
Retrieved from: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/cooling-tower-efficiencyd_699.html

27

8. APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
Derivation of the mass and energy conservation equations
Mass conservation
For the derivation of the overall mass balance equation, the conservation of mass equation
(equation 2.3.1) is used as a basis i.e:
m
A

m
A .. (2.3.1)

Under steady state conditions the mass flow of dry air and that of water (as liquid or vapour)
must be the same throughout the system. Thus equation 2.3.1 can be expressed as:
m
wv

m
wv

Rearranging:
m
wv

m
wv
(A1)

E =
m
Equation A1 simply means that the amount of water lost in the make-up tank per unit time is
equivalent to the change in the mass flow of water vapour throughout the tower.
Defining a new variable,

,as the ratio of water vapour to air at any point within the

column, i.e.
=

m
wv
A
m

(A2)

28

The variable

can be regarded as the moisture content of the water vapour per unit mass

of dry air. This variable can be obtained from the psychrometric chart (right hand vertical axis
of Figure B1)
Considering the inlet and outlet portions of the cooling tower, equation A1 can be combined
equation A2 to yield:
m
A

m
A
(A3)

E =
m
Using the fact illustrated by equation 2.3.1 (air mass conservation), the mass flow rate of air
can be factored out of the equation thus equation A3 can be expressed as:
E =m
A ( out )
m
. (A4)
Equation A4 is the same as equation 2.4.2 (see section 2.4) which is the most frequently used
equation for the conservation of mass in a cooling tower.
Energy conservation
For the derivation of the energy conservation equation, the first law of thermodynamics for
an open system at steady state is considered (Felder & Rousseau, 2005).
The first law of thermodynamics for an open system at steady state is mathematically
represented by the following relation:
+ E k + E
P=Q
W
s
H
.. (A5)

The linear velocity of the flow within the system is constant thus the change in kinetic energy

( E k ) within the system is very small thus it can be omitted, i.e. E k 0

The same can be assumed for the change in potential energy i.e. there is no change in

elevation (the towers height is fixed) thus E p 0

Thus equation C5 can be written as,
W
S= H
out H

Q
. (A6)
For the energy balance of the whole system the above energy equation can be combined with
the mass balance equation producing,
29

 W
s= ( m
A H A+ m
w H w ) out ( m
A H A +m
w H w ) m
E HE
Q
.

(A7)

Considering only the cooling tower as the system, the power dissipated by the pump does not

cross this system boundary thus W s =0 . Rearranging equation A7 according to this

statement and equation 2.3.1 (mass conservation equation) yields:
A ,
H A , out H

w ,
(A8)
H w ,out H m
E HE
m
A
Q=
For the water system under constant pressure the change in enthalpies from the inlet to the
outlet can be expressed through the heat capacity relation i.e.
w ,
T w ,out T
w ,=C P . (A9)
H w ,out H
Substituting equation (A9) into equation (A8) yields:
A ,
H A ,out H

w ,
(A10)
T w ,out T m
E HE
m
A
Q=
The energy of the water out of the make-up tank (

m
E HE

) is very small in relation to the

other terms in the equation and thus can be neglected during calculations. The rate of heat

transfer ( Q ) may have a small value due to the heat transfer between the unit and its
surroundings. The final form of the energy conservation expression is thus:
A ,
H A , out H

w ,
.(A11)
T w , out T
m
A
Q=

30

31

APPENDIX B

Figure B1 Psychrometic chart showing the air-water system properties and their inter-relations (Carrier corporations, 1975)

32

Appendix C
Basic calculations and examples
The purpose of this appendix is to illustrate the calculations performed in the results section
of the experiment and to provide a clear and concise of the values on the excel spreadsheets
(tables on Appendix D)
Tower efficiency
The efficiency of the cooling tower varies according to parameters such as water flow rate,
air flow rate, cooling loads, temperature range, packing type and area. The equation used to
calculate the efficiency of the cooling tower is as follows:
w ,T wb,
T
T w ,T
(C1)

Efficiency=
w,out

Efficiency% can be obtained multiplying the efficiency from the above equation by 100, i.e.
Efficiency% = 100* Efficiency

.......

(C2)
As an illustration a small portion of information from the spreadsheets (appendix D) can be
extracted to calculate the basic variables of the cooling tower.
Table C1 Information for the first run of varying the flow rate of water (Table D3)
Trial
Air inlet wet bulb temperature (oC)
Water inlet temperature (oC)
Water outlet temperature (oC)
Using equation (C1):

Efficiency=

1
12,7
42.3
18

42.3 0 C18 C
42.3 0 C12.7 C

= 0.82
Efficiency =82
Wet-bulb temperature approach can also be calculated using the information above. The
equation used to calculate the wet bulb temperature approach is equation 2.3.1 i.e.
wb ,
approachtemperature =T w, out T
= 18C-12.7C
33

=5.3 C
Temperature range for the same information can also be calculated using equation 2.3.2 i.e.
w ,T w, out
T

Temperature range=

= 42.3 C -18 C
=24.3 C
Mass flow rate of dry air calculation
Since the air flow-meter is the orifice differential manometer the flow-rate of the air has to be
analytically calculated from the values read off from this unit.
The equation used to calculate the dry air mass flow is as follows
m
A=1000 (0.0137)

Orifice differential value

V^ ( 1+ out )

(C3)

The orifice differential value is the value read off from the manometer (see Figure 3.1) while
^
the outlet specific volume ( V ) and the water vapour moisture content in the outlet stream
(

out
T wb, out

can be read off from the psychrometric chart (Figure B1) because the wet-bulb (
) and the dry-bulb (

T db, out

temperatures of that stream can be recorded readily

from the towers temperature indicator.

Example: from Table D2 important information can be extracted to calculate the dry air flow
rate. Taking the first experimental trial run as a basis:
Table C2 Data extracted from the spreadsheet (Table D2) for the calculation illustrations
Trial
1
Air inlet dry-bulb temperature (C)
18.5
Air inlet wet-bulb temperature (C)
13.15
Specific inlet volume (m3.kg-1 Dry air)
0.836
Specific inlet enthalpy (kJ.kg-1)
36.9
-1
Inlet Humidity ratio (kg H2O.kg Dry air)
0.0074
Air outlet dry-bulb temperature (C)
21
Air outlet wet-bulb temperature(C)
13.85
Specific outlet volume (m3.kg-1 Dry air)
0.843
Specific inlet enthalpy (kJ.kg-1)
38.7
-1
Outlet Humidity ratio (kg H2O.kg Dry air)
0.0069
Water inlet temperature (C)
31.1
Water outlet temperature (C)
24.55
Orifice differential value (mm H2O)
18
Water evaporated g.s-1
0.031544
Mass flow rate of air (g.s-1)
63.09
34

Q (kW)

-0.9816

Using equation C3, the air mass flow is calculated as follows:

m
A=1000 (0.0137)

18
0.843 ( 1+0.0069 )

= 63.09 g.s-1 (same value as the one on Table D2)

Mass of water evaporating per unit time
The amount of water evaporating per unit time can be determined using the following
mathematical expression
w ,e =m
A ( out )
m
(C4)
Using the information on Table C2, the evaporated water can be calculated as follows.
w ,e =63.09(0.00740.0069)
m
= 0.031544 g.s-1 (same value as the one on Table D2)
The rate of heat transfer in the cooling tower
The equation used to calculate the rate at which heat is transferred within the tower was
derived in Appendix A and the final form of the equation was equation A11. Thus substituting
the relevant values (Table C2) into this equation the rate of heat transfer can be obtained.

( 38.736.9 ) +40( 4.18)(24.5531.1)

Q=63.09
= -981,598 W
= -0.9816 k W (same value as the one on Table D2)

35

Appendix D
Excel spreadsheets showing calculated and experimental data at various
experimental conditions.
Table D1: Raw data, table showing the effect of varying cooling load.

36

Table D2: Raw data table showing effect of varying air flow rates.

37

Table D.3: Raw data table showing the effect of varying water flow rate through tower.

38

A
ppendix E
Nomenclature and descriptions
Table E1 Explanation of symbols used in the report
SYMBO
L
Tdb

PARAMETER

DESCRIPTION

s
W

Air temperature as measured by a thermometer or a

thermo couple
Wet-bulb temperature
The temperature which an air particle would have if
it were cooled to a saturation point
Rate of heat transfer
Rate at which heat energy is gained/lost by the
system from/to the surrounding
Humidity ratio
The ratio of water to dry air in the cooling tower.
Also called the absolute humidity
Mass flow
Amount of a substance passing through a point per
unit time
Pump power (shaft work) Rate at which the pump performs work

Specific enthalpy

^
V

Specific volume

Twb

Dry bulb temperature

Energy per unit mass possessed by the molecules (in

the micro-regime) of the substance due to motion
Volume occupied by a unit mass (1kg) of dry air
combined with the water vapour that accompanies it

39

 E k

Change in kinetic energy

E P

Change in potential
energy

The rate of change in energy due to movement of

the system boundary(macro regime)
The rate of change of energy due to elevation effects
in the system

Subscripts
Table E2 Explanations of the subscripts which were used in the report
Subscrip
t
A
db
E
e
in
out
w
wb
wv

Description
Dry air
Dry bulb
water in the make-up tank
evaporated water
inlet of the tower
outlet of the tower
water
wet bulb
water vapour

40