DATA SHEET ME Laboratory

University of Santo Tomas

Faculty of Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Department

FORCED DRAFT COOLING

TOWER TRAINING UNIT

LABORATORY MANUAL

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ESPINOSA | ESPINOSA | MARASIGAN | MANIMTIM

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Description:
The Bench Top Cooling Tower behaves in a similar manner and has similar components to a full
size cooling tower and may be used to introduce students to their characteristics and construction.

Water Circuit:

Warm water is pumped from the water heater tank through the gate control vale and water
rotameter to the water sprinkler at tower head. After its temperature is measured (T 4), the water is
uniformly distributed over the top packing deck and, as it spreads over the packing fills, a large thin
film of water is exposed to the air stream. During its downward passage through the packing fills, the
water is cooled, largely by the evaporation of a kjh portion of the total flow. The cooled water falls from
the lowest packing deck into the water catcher, where its temperature (T4) is again measured and
then passes into the water heater tank where it is re-heated before re-circulation. Due to evaporation
and splashes, the level of the water in the water heater tank tends to fall. This causes the float valve to
open and transfer water from the make-up tank into the load tank. Under steady conditions, the rate
at which the water leaves the make-up tank is equal to the rate of evaporation plus any small airborne
droplets in the air discharge.

Air Circuit:

Air from the atmosphere where its temperature and humidity ratio is measured (T1 & RH1), enters
the fan at a rate which is controlled by the butterfly valve setting. The fan discharges into the air
chamber before entering the cooling tower column. As the air flows through the packing fills, its
moisture content increases and the water is cooled. On leaving the top of the column the air passes
through the droplet arrester, which traps most of the entrained droplets and returns them to the cooling
tower. The air is then discharged to the atmosphere via dry bulb sensor and humidity sensor (T2 & RH2).
Droplets of water (resulting from splashing, etc.) may become entrained in the air stream and then lost
from the system. This loss does not contribute to the cooling, but must be made good by "make-up"
water. To minimize this loss a droplet arrester eliminator is fitted at the tower outlet. This component
causes droplets to coalesce, forming drops which are too large to be entrained and these fall back
into the cooling tower. Under the action of the fan, air is driven upward through the packing infills. It
will be seen that the change of dry bulb temperature is smaller than the change of wet bulb
temperature, and that at air outlet there is little difference between wet and dry bulb temperatures.
This indicates that the air leaving is almost saturated, i.e. Relative Humidity - 100%. This increase in the
moisture content of the air is due to the conversion of water into steam and the "latent heat" for this
accounts for most of the cooling effect.

Flow through the column may be observed through the transparent acrylic casing. Flow of water
in the water catcher can also be observe at the transparent panel of air chamber. Four sets of different
packings, each in its own casing, are available. These may be interchanged quickly and without using
tools. Water is heated using a three water setting (500 W, 1000 W & 1500 W).

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Figure 1. Forced Draft Cooling Tower Schematic Diagram

Figure 2. Forced Draft Cooling Tower Laboratory Set-up

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Experiment Title: Cooling Tower Efficiency

Objectives:
a. To simulate an the basic operation of an industrial cooling tower
b. To study its performance based on cooling tower efficiency

Computation:
Formula to be used:

Where: T3 = dry-bulb temperature of water entering the tower

T4 = dry-bulb temperature of water leaving the tower

Tw1 = wet-bulb temperature of

Test Procedures:

1. Make sure that there is enough water at the water heater tank and make-up water tank

2. Assemble the cooling column to the air chamber and tower head according to the designated
configuration in the data sheet.

3. Make sure that the sensors are connected:

• Temperature sensors

• Relative Humidity sensors

• Thermostat

4. Connect the system to the mains electricity supply

5. Release the emergency stop

6. Turn on the system at the main switch

7. Turn on the heater and select the heating wattage according to the designated level in the
data sheet. Wait until the water temperature at heater becomes 50 oC.

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8. Turn on the fan and water pump at the designated settings

9. Adjust the air flow according to the designated setting in the lab manual

10. Record the measured data

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Experiment Title: COOLING TOWER EFFICIENCY

 Based on varying cooling tower configuration

Fixed Settings:

Water Flowrate, lpm: _____________________

Heater Rating, kW: _______________________

Air Velocity, m/s: _________________________

Duct Area m2: ______________________________

Air Flowrate cfm: _________________________

Cooling Tower Configuration

Parameters
Tower 1 Tower 2 Tower 3 Tower 4

T1, OC

T2, OC

T3, OC

T4, OC

T5, OC

RH1, %

RH2, %

Tw1, OC

Actual Cooling Range

Theoretical Cooling Range

Efficiency, %

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DATA SHEET ME Laboratory

Experiment Title: COOLING TOWER EFFICIENCY

 Based on varying air damper setting

Fixed Settings:

Cooling tower configuration: _____________________

Heater Rating, kW: _______________________

Water Flowrate, lpm: _________________________

Air Velocity, m/s: _________________________

Air Damper Setting

Parameters
Setting 1 Setting 2 Setting 3 Setting 4

Air Flowrate, CFM

T1, OC

T2, OC

T3, OC

T4, OC

T5, OC

RH1, %

RH2, %

Tw1, OC

Actual Cooling Range

Theoretical Cooling Range

Efficiency, %

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DATA SHEET ME Laboratory

Experiment Title: COOLING TOWER EFFICIENCY

 Based on varying water flowrate

Fixed Settings:

Cooling tower configuration: _____________________

Heater Rating, kW: _______________________

Air Velocity, m/s: _________________________

Duct Area m2: ______________________________

Air Flowrate cfm: _________________________

Water Flowrate
Parameters
1 lpm 2 lpm 3 lpm 4 lpm

T1, OC

T2, OC

T3, OC

T4, OC

T5, OC

RH1, %

RH2, %

Tw1, OC

Actual Cooling Range

Theoretical Cooling Range

Efficiency, %

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DATA SHEET ME Laboratory

Experiment Title: COOLING TOWER EFFICIENCY

 Based on varying heater rating

Fixed Settings:

Cooling tower configuration: _____________________

Water Flowrate, lpm: _________________________

Air Velocity, m/s: _________________________

Duct Area m2: ______________________________

Air Flowrate cfm: _________________________

Heater Rating
Parameters
500 W 1000 W 1500 W

T1, OC

T2, OC

T3, OC

T4, OC

T5, OC

RH1, %

RH2, %

Tw1, OC

Actual Cooling Range

Theoretical Cooling Range

Efficiency, %

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Experiment Title: Cooling Tower Capacity

Objectives:
a. To simulate an the basic operation of an industrial cooling tower

b. To observe cooling load of the cooling tower at different fan damper setting.

Computation:

The difference in enthalpy between the air inlet and outlet multiplied by the air mass flow rate gives
the cooling capacity of the air.

The cooling capacity of the air is made up of the component due to evaporation and the component
due to convection

Test Procedures:

1. Make sure that there is enough water at the water heater tank and make-up water tank

2. Assemble the cooling column to the air chamber and tower head according to the designated
configuration in the data sheet.

3. Make sure that the sensors are connected:

• Temperature sensors

• Relative Humidity sensors

• Thermostat

4. Connect the system to the mains electricity supply

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5. Release the emergency stop

6. Turn on the system at the main switch

7. Turn on the heater and select the heating wattage according to the designated level in the
data sheet. Wait until the water temperature at heater becomes 50 oC.

8. Turn on the fan and water pump at the designated settings

9. Adjust the air flow according to the designated setting in the lab manual

10. Record the measured data.

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Experiment Title: COOLING TOWER LOAD

 Based on varying water flowrate

Fixed Settings:

Cooling tower configuration: _____________________

Heater Rating, kW: _______________________

Duct Area m2: ______________________________

Fan damper setting

Parameters
Setting 1 Setting 2 Setting 3 Setting 4
Air flowrate, CFM

Water volumetric
flowrate, lpm
Water mass flowrate, (
kg/s
T1, Co

T2, Co

W1, %

W2, %

, Heat due to
evaporation
, Heat due to
convection
, Total heat load

Water volumetric
flowrate, lpm
Water mass flowrate, (
kg/s

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