TABLE OF CONTENTS

No

Title

Page

Abstract

Introduction

Objectives

Theory

4-8

Apparatus

Procedure

10-11

Results

12-13

Sample Of Calculations

14-15

Discussion

16-20

10

Conclusion

21

11

Recommendations

21

12

References

22

13

Appendix

22

ABSTRACT
1

This experiment was conducted using the Solteq Water Cooling Tower (Model: HE152) . There
are several parameters that can be adjusted to examine the performance of cooling tower. In this
experiment, first we choose heater power and second is water flow rate as the parameter. The
basic principle of cooling tower is we consider an air stream passing over the surface of a
warm water droplet or film. If we assume that the water is hotter than air, then the
water temperature will be cooled down by radiation, conduction, convection and
evaporation. The calculation will be made using Daltons and Gibbs Laws which
describe the behavior of mixtures. While the properties of air and water vapor
mixture will be analyze using the psychometric chart. The experiment was started by
filled the load thank with deionised water. The effect of heater power was conducted by
varying power of heater from 0.5, 1.0 to 1.5 kW at constant water flow rate and air flow rate,
Second experiment was conducted to study the effect of water flow rate by varying the volume
flow rate of 0.4, 1.2 and 2.0 LPM at constant air flow rate and heating power. From the results
obtained, by increasing the heater power resulted in increment of wet bulb approach, which
decreases the efficiency of the cooling. Both the wet bulb approach and the pressure drop
seemed to be increasing as the water flow rate increase, which indicating a lower efficiency of
cooling tower at higher water flow rates.

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. Cooling towers may either use
2

the evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb
air temperature or, in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers, rely solely on air to cool the
working fluid to near the dry-bulb air temperature.
Common applications in industry that include cooling the circulating water used in oil
refineries, petrochemical and other chemical plants, thermal power stations and HVAC systems
for cooling buildings. The classification is based on the type of air induction into the tower: the
main types of cooling towers are natural draft and induced draft cooling towers.
In this experiment student will conduct SOLTEQ Water Cooling Tower (Model: HE 152). It is
supplied with a packed column having packing density of approximately 110 m2/m3. The unit
mainly consists of a load tank with a total of 1.5 kW electric heater, an air distribution chamber, a
make-up tank and a test column. Warm water is pumped from the load tanks to the top of the
column before being uniformly distributed over the top packing. The thin film of water is cooled,
as it passes downward, due to evaporation. The cooled water falls into the basin before going
back into the load tank where it is re-heated and re-circulated. The load tank water level is
maintained by means of a make-up tank. A blower is installed on the unit to deliver air into the
air distribution chamber. The air passes a wet and dry bulb thermometer before entering the
column. As the air passes up the column, its moisture content increases and the water is cooled.
At the top of the column, the air passes a mist eliminator before being discharged to the
atmosphere.
OBJECTIVES
1. Effect of heater power on the cooling tower performance at constant air flow rate and
water flow rate.
2. Effect of water flow rate on the cooling tower performance at constant heating power and
air flow rate.
THEORY
Basic principle

Cooling tower is a heat exchanger where two fluids are brought together for direct contact to
allow the heat transfer between those fluids. The process of heat transfer is occur in a packed of
thin plates where the hot water is allow to spread over the plates from top of the packed.
Simultaneously, the air is forced from the bottom of the packed. Assuming that the water is hotter
than the air, it will be cooled by radiation, conduction and convection and by evaporation
process. The entering of cooled air will increase the content of moisture in cooling tower which
lead to steam appears. The cooled air also reduces the temperature of hot water when there are
contact each other. If heat loss to the surrounding is neglected, the amount of heat gained cooled
air is equal to amount of heat loss by hot water. The difference of dry bulb is smaller than
difference of wet bulb because the air that leaving the cooling tower is almost saturated.
Cooling Tower Terms

Cooling Range
The difference between the water temperature at entry to and exit from the tower

Cooling Load
The rate at which heat is removed from the water. This may be expressed in kW,
Btu/h or k Cal/h.

Make-Up
The quantity of fresh water which must be supplied to the water circuit to make
good the losses due
to evaporation and other causes.

Drift or Carry Over

Droplets of water which are entrained by the air stream leaving the tower.

Packing or Fill The material over which the water flows as it falls through the
tower, so that
a large surface area is presented to the air stream.

Approach to The difference between the temperature of the water leaving the
tower and

Wet Bulb the wet bulb temperature of the air entering.

Evaporation from a Wet Surface
When considering evaporation from a wet surface into the surrounding air, the rate is determined
by the difference between the vapour pressure at the liquid surface and the vapour pressure in the
4

surrounding air. The vapour pressure at the liquid surface is basically the saturation pressure
corresponding with the surface temperature, whereas the total pressure of the air and its absolute
humidity determines the vapour pressure in the surrounding air. Such evaporation process in an
enclosed space shall continue until the two vapour pressure are equal. In other words, until the
air is saturated and its temperature equals the surface.
However, if unsaturated air is constantly supplied, the wet surface will reach an equilibrium
temperature at which the cooling effect due to the evaporation equals the heat transfer to the
liquid by conduction and convection from the air, which under these conditions; will be at a
higher temperature. Under adiabatic conditions, this equilibrium temperature is the wet bulb
temperature.
For a cooling tower of infinite size and with adequate air flow, the water leaving will be at wet
bulb temperature of the incoming air. Therefore, the difference between the temperature of the
water leaving a cooling tower and the local wet bulb temperature is an indication of effectiveness
of the cooling tower, is the difference between the temperature of water leaving the tower and the
wet bulb temperature of the entering air.

Cooling Tower Performance

Factors on the cooling tower performance:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Water flow rates

Water temperatures
Airflow rate
Inlet air relative humidity

The effects of these factors will be studied in depth by varying it. In this way, students will gain
and overall view of the operation of the cooling tower.
Daltons and Gibbs Laws
It is commonly known that air consists of a mixture of dry air (O 2 , N2 and other gases) and
water vapor. Dalton and Gibbs law describes the behavior of such mixtures as:
5

a) The total pressure of the air is equal to the sum of then pressures at which the dry air
and the water vapour each and alone would exert if they were to occupy the volume of
the mixture at the temperature of the mixture.
b) The dry air and the water vapour respectively obey their normal property relationships at
their partial pressures.
c) The enthalpy of the mixture may be found by adding together the enthalpies at which the
dry air and water vapour each would have as the sole occupant of the space occupied by
the mixture and at the same temperature.
The Absolute or Specific Humidity is defined as follows:

The Relative Humidity is defined as follows:

The Percentage Saturation is defined as follows:

At high humidity conditions, it can be shown that there is not much difference between
the Relative Humidity and the Percentage Saturation and thus we shall regard the
same.
To measure the moisture content of the atmosphere, this bench top cooling tower unit is
supplied with electronic dry bulb and wet bulb temperature sensors. The temperature
readings shall be used in conjunction with a psychometric chart.

Psychometric Chart
The psychometric chart is very useful in determining the properties of air/water vapor mixture.
Among the properties that can be defined with psychometric chart are Dry Bulb Temperature,
Wet Bulb Temperature, Relative Humidity, Humidity Ratio, Specific Volume and Specific
Enthalpy. Knowing two of these properties, any other properties can be easily identified from the
chart provided the air pressure is approximately atmospheric.
In the Water Cooling Tower application, the air inlet and outlet sensor show the dry bulb
temperature and wet bulb temperature. Therefore, the specific enthalpy, specific volume,
humidity ratio and relative humidity can be readily read from the psychometric chart.
Evaporation also occurs in the tower that will decrease the amount of water leaving the tower
compare to water entering it. Under steady conditions, the rate of water leaving the makeup
water is equal to the rate of evaporation that occurs in the packed. The specific humidity of air
entering or leaving the cooling tower can be obtained from psychometric chart mass flow rate for
air can be calculated by using Equation 3.1.

m a 0.0137

Where a

1 out Vout

Mass flow rate of dry air

Orifice differential (mmH2O)

out

Specific humidity of air leaving top of column

Equation 3.1

(kg water/kg dry air)

7

Vout

Specific volume of dry air leaving the cooling tower

(m3/kg)

The efficiency of the cooling tower usually measured by calculating a value called as Wet
Bulb Approach. Wet bulb approach is defined as the temperature difference of outlet water
temperature and inlet air wet bulb temperature. For an ideal cooling tower, the temperature of the
outlet water is equal to the wet bulb temperature of the inlet air as that is the maximum
temperature the air can get since the air is saturated with water vapour.

Wet Bulb Approach, C = Outlet water temperature, T6 C Wet bulb temperature of

inlet air, T2 C
Hence, the lesser the value of Wet Bulb Approach, the closer the outlet water
temperature to the wet bulb temperature of the inlet air, which indicating better cooling
tower efficiency

APPARATUS AND MATERIALS

SOLTEQ Water Cooling Tower Unit (Model: HE152)

1) Control panel
2) Make-up Tank
3) Load Tank (Hot Water Tank)
4) Receiver Tank
5) Wet Bulb Sensor
6) Valves
7) Droplet Arrester
8) Wet Bulb Sensor
9) Cooling Tower Packing B
10) Damper
11) Stopwatch
12) Deionised water
PROCEDURES
1. Valves V1 to V6 were checked and ensured to be closed and valve 7 to be partially
opened.
2. The load tank was filled with deionised water. Firstly, the make-up tank was removed and
deionised water was poured through the opening at the top of the load tank. The make-up

tank was replaced onto the load tank and the nuts were lightly tightened. Then, the tank
was filled with deionised water up to the zero mark on the scale.
3. Deionised water was added to the wet bulb sensor reservoir to the fullest.
4. All appropriate tubing was connected to the differential pressure sensor.
5. The appropriate cooling tower packing was installed for the experiment.
6. Temperature set point of temperature controller was set to
was switched on and water was heated up until approximately

. The 1.0kW water heater

.

7. The pump was switched on and the control valve V1 was slowly opened and the water
flow rate was set to 2.0LPM.
8. The damper was fully opened and the fan was switched on.
9. Blower switch was switched on after the water already went through the cooling tower.
10. The unit was run for 20 minutes to ensure float valve correctly adjusted the level in the
load tank. The makeup tank was refilled as required.
11. The damper and the flow rate were set to be constant.
12. The 1.0kW water heater was switched off to set the power as 0kW.
13. Record all the data required after 10 minutes to ensure the unit stabilized for first trial and
another 10 minutes for second trial.
14. To measure the differential pressure across the orifice, valves V4 and V5 were opened
while valves V3 and V6 were closed.
15. To measure the differential pressure across the column, valves V3 and V6 were opened
while valves V4 and V5 were closed.
16. The water heater then was set to 0.5kW, 1.0kW and 1.5kW.
17. After
all

the

experiments

were

done,

the

heaters were switched off

and

the

water was let to circulate

through the

cooling tower system for

3-5 minutes

until the water cooled

down.
18. The

fan

was switched off and the

fan damper
19. The pump

was closed fully.

and power supply were

switched
20. The water

off.
was completely drained

from

the

unit.

10

RESULTS
1) Effect of heater power

11

Table 1:

Effect of heater power on the cooling tower performance at constant air flow rate
and water flow rate

Column: B
Water flow rate: 2.0 Lpm
Blower: Fully open
Description
T1
(Dry bulb inlet)
T2
(Wet bulb inlet)
T3
(Dry bulb outlet)
T4
(Wet bulb outlet)
T5
(Water inlet)
T6
(Water outlet)
Orifice differential
Column differential
Cooling range
Wet bulb approach

0.5

Heater (kW)
1.0

1.5

(C)

27.1

27.4

27.4

(C)

24.9

24.7

24.8

(C)

25.4

25.9

27.4

(C)

25.4

25.4

26.1

(C)

29.5

31.4

35.3

(C)

25.3

25.6

27.1

P (Pa)
P (Pa)
(C)
(C)

109
21
4.2
0.5

107
21
5.8
0.7

106
21
8.2
1.3

Unit

2) Effect of Water Flow rate

Table 2:

Effect of water flow rate on the cooling tower performance at constant heating
power and air flow rate

Column: B
Heating power: 1.5 kW
Blower: Fully open
Description
T1
(Dry bulb inlet)

Unit
(C)

0.4

Water flow rate (Lpm)

1.2

2.0

27.6

27.7

27.4
12

T2

(C)

(Wet bulb inlet)

T3

(C)

(Dry bulb outlet)

T4

(C)

(Wet bulb outlet)

T5

(C)

(Water inlet)
T6

(C)

(Water outlet)
Orifice differential
Colmn differential
Specific humidity of air

(mmHg)
P (Pa)

entering, in
Specific humidity of air
leaving, out
Specific volume of dry
air leaving, Vout
Make up water, e
Cooling range
Wet bulb approach

(kg/s)
(C)
(C)

24.7

24.6

24.8

26.2

28.4

27.4

25.7

28.4

28..8

47.5

43.2

35.3

24.6

27.3

27.1

0.8026
20

0.7951
19

0.7951
21

0.0185

0.0183

0.0187

0.0208

0.0247

0.0276

0.8756

0.8874

0.8884

2.986 x 10-5
22.9
1.0

8.199 x 10-5
15.9
3.8

11.379 x 10-5
8.2
4.0

SAMPLE OF CALCULATION
Specific humidity of air entering, in and leaving out can be read off from psychometric chart by
using T1, T2, T3 and T4.
Calculation ratio of water vapour to air (Table 2)
For sample calculation, 0.4 LPM water flow rate was taken as a sample.
i.

At T1 (dry bulb inlet) = 27.6 C and T2 (wet bulb inlet) = 24.7 C, specific humidity, in
read off from the psychometric chart in adiabatic saturation is 0.0185 kg water vapour/kg
dry air.

ii.

At T3 (dry bulb outlet) = 26.2 C and T 4 (wet bulb outlet) = 25.7 C, specific humidity,
out read off from the psychometric chart in adiabatic saturation is 0.0208 kg water
vapour/kg dry air.
13

iii.

Saturated humidity, satatT3 (dry bulb outlet) has to be find in order to determine the
specific volume of dry air leaving, Vout by using formula:
Vout = (2.83 x 10-3 + 4.56 X 10-3sat)(Tdry bulb out (K))
At T3 = 26.2 C (299.35 K), sat (100% humidity) = 0.0208 kg water vapour/kg dry air.
Therefore,
Vout = (2.83 x 10-3 + 4.56 X 10-3(0.0208)) (299.35)
= 0.8756 m3/kg dry air

iv.

Mass flow rate for air now can be calculated by using equation:

Where;
X = Orifice differential P in mmHg

= 0.013kg/s
v.

In order to determine the ratio of water vapour to air, we can simply calculating the mass
flow rate of makeup water into the system as it is actually equal to the amount of water
vaporizestoair.

= 2.9859 x10-5 kg/s

Calculation on cooling range and wet bulb approach
14

i.

Cooling range
= 47.5 C 24.6 C
= 22.9C

ii.

Wet bulb approach

= 25.7C 24.7 C
= 1.0 C
DISCUSSION
1) Effect of heater power
The effect of the air flow rate on the efficiency of the cooling tower was determined by varying
the heater power at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 kW at constant blower opening and water flow rate. The
data obtained were then used to calculate the wet bulb approach and pressure drop in packing
and the results obtained were tabulated in Table 1.
The effect of heater power to the wet bulb approach.
Based on the data obtained, the wet bulb approach at each air flow rate was calculated and the
results obtained were tabulated in Table 1. A graph of Wet Bulb Approach versus Air Flow Rate
was then plotted as shown in Figure 8.1.

15

Figure 8.1:

The relationship between wet bulb approach and heater power

From Figure 8.1 it can be seen that as the heater power increase, the wet bulb approach
increase. As noted, the wet bulb approach values increase dramatically from heater power of
0.5kW until 1.5kW. As stated earlier, wet bulb approach values can be used as a tool to
determine the performance and efficiency of the cooling water, where the lesser the value the
better the performance. As can be seen from the graph, with the increment of wet bulb approach
in respect to the increment of heater power, hence it can be said that with higher heater power,
the efficiency of the cooling tower was decrease. This behaviour can be explained as the heater
power increase will cause higher temperature water inlet resulting in high continuous transfer of
heat to water molecules making slow down efficiency of cooling water.

2) Effect of Water Flow Rate

The effect of the water flow rate on the efficiency of the cooling tower was determined by
varying the flow rate at 0.4, 1.2, 2.0 LPM at constant heating power and air flow rate. The data
obtained were then used to calculate the amount of make-up water supplied, wet bulb approach
and pressure drop in packing and the results obtained were tabulated in Table 2.
Correlation of water to air mass flow ratio with increasing water flow rate.
16

The data obtained was used to calculate the water to air mass flow ratio and the results obtained
was tabulated in Table 2. From here onwards, water to air mass flow ratio is now known as
amount of make-up water, since the amount of water vaporize is equal to the amount of make-up
water. The graph of Make-up Water versus Water Flow Rate was plotted as shown in Figure 8.2.

Figure 8.2:

The relationship between make up water and water flow rate

As can be seen from the above graph, it can be said that at higher water flow rate the amount
of make-up water needed is increasing. When the water flow rates are kept high, the amount of
water to be vaporized is larger than that of the low flow rate. Hence, more make-up water is
needed to be supplied to maintain the water lever in the cooling water. The determination of
needed make-up water in designing cooling tower in very important as it is not only represents
the amount of water loss during the process, but also as an indication for the amount of water
need to be supplied due to the loss during evaporation to prevent shortage of water in cooling
tower.
The effects of different water flow rate to wet bulb approach.

17

Based on the data obtained, the wet bulb approach at each water flow rate was calculated and the
results obtained were tabulated in Table 2. A graph of Wet Bulb Approach versus Water Flow
Rate was then plotted as shown in Figure 8.3.

Figure 8.3:

The relationship between wet bulb approach and water flow rate

From Figure 8.4, the wet bulb approach seems to be increasing with the increasing water
flow rate. As been discussed earlier, higher wet bulb means lower efficiency of the cooling tower.
Hence, by increasing the water flow rate, the efficiency of the cooling tower decreases. This is
because when the water flow rate increase, the contact time between the water and the air is
being reduced, hence less energy transferred to the air. This in overall reduces the efficiency of
the cooling water.

The effect of water flow rate to the pressure drop through the packing.
The pressure drop in packing was calculated based on the data obtained and the result obtained
was tabulated in Table 2. The graph of Water Flow Rate versus Pressure Drop was plotted as
shown in Figure 8.4.

18

Figure 8.4: The relationship between pressure drop in a packing and water flow rate
From Figure 8.5 it can be seen that the pressure drop initially decrease than increase with the
increment of water flow rate. The increase of the pressure drop due to the increment of water
flow rate can be partially explained by the wetting surface of the vertical grid whose opening are
covered by the water film in flow. At higher water flow rate, there will be a great resistance and
barrier to the passing air from the bottom of cooling tower to the upper part (outer cooling
tower). Thus, affect severely the pressure drop.
From 0.4 to 1.2 water flow rate, Lpm there was a decrement in pressure drop. According to
the theory of pressure drop cant decrease while increasing water flow rate, Hence, there might be
errors made during the experiment. One of the sources of the errors is mistakes made during the
experiment, where the value data was taken before it is constant.

19

CONCLUSION
The experiment was conducted to study the effect of heater power and the water flow rate to the
performance of cooling tower. The effect of heater power was conducted by varying power of
heater from 0.5, 1.0 to 1.5 kW at constant water flow rate and air flow rate, Second experiment
was conducted to study the effect of water flow rate by varying the volume flow rate of 0.4, 1.2
and 2.0 LPM at constant air flow rate and heating power. The wet bulb approach and pressure
drop for the two effects were determined. From the results obtained, increasing the heater power
resulted in increment of wet bulb approach, which decreases the efficiency of the cooling. Both
the wet bulb approach and the pressure drop seemed to be increasing as the water flow rate
increase, which indicating a lower efficiency of cooling tower at higher water flow rates. Few
errors may occur during the experiment, which included the data being taken before remain
constant.

RECOMMENDATIONS
There are few recommendation that may improve the accuracy of the experiment. They are as
follow:
1. Make sure the water level in the tank is always above the point that it supposed to be.
Prepare distilled water or deionized water in beakers and place them near the equipment
so that easier to refill.
2. When collecting data for the experiment, if possible wait for the system to reach steady
state before collecting in order to obtain better results.
3. Throughout the experiment, make sure that the correct valves are closed or opened so that
no error will occur for the experiment.

REFERENCES

Richard E, 2001. Water Vapor and Temperature. Available from:

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/wea00/wea00016.htm
20

Understanding Wet Bulb Temperature and Other Aspects That affect Evaporative Cooling
Tower Performance,2003.Availablefrom:
http://www.advantageengineering.com/fyi/273/advantageFYI273.

McGraw H.L, 2007. Cooling Load. Available from:

http://www.answers.com/topic/cooling-load

Wikipedia (2011). Cooling tower. Retrieved on March, 2011 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/coolingtower/thefreeencyclopedia.htm
Solution Engineering (2012). SOLTEQ Water Cooling Tower (Model: HE 152).

Catalogue from http://www.solution.com.my.

Jalal, 2008. Cooling Tower Basics and Common
Misconceptions.http://www.jalal.com.pk/papers/CoolingTowerBasicsandCommonMiscon

ceptions.pdf
Boumaza&Bakhabkhi.( 2010).Optimal Water Conservation in a Mechanical Cooling
Tower Operations. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, volume
66.http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/cooling-tower-efficiency-d_699.html

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