Chilled Water Systems

3.
1 Introduction
Widely in practice today, there exist two basic types of HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) systems designed to meet building cooling needs. They are the direct expansion (DX) systems and the secondary refrigerant systems. DX systems make use of the direct heat transfer between the building air and the refrigerant while the latter make use of chilled water as an intermediate heat transfer medium for heat transfer between the building air and refrigerant.
Each central HVAC cooling system consists of one more refrigeration machines, or water chillers engineered to collect excess heat from building and reject heat to the environment. There are two available refrigeration cycles for this purpose. Namely, they are the vapour compression refrigeration cycle and the absorption refrigeration cycle. The heat collected by the water chillers can be either cooled by air cooling or water cooling. Water-cooled systems allows for better choices than air-cooled systems as they are considerably smaller (take up lesser space), more durable and have greater operating ability. Still, it must be taken note that such systems can perform at their maximum only if the proper sizing, selection, application, operation and maintenance of the cooling tower are done correctly prior to operations.
The aim of this part of the report is to supply the HVAC engineer or designer, the building owner and his operating and maintenance staff, the architect, and the mechanical contractor with practical information and guidance of the application, design, purchase, operation, and maintenance of water chillers and cooling towers.
3.2. REFRIGERATION BASICS
Refrigeration is basically a vapour compression system wherein a chemical substance alternately changes from liquid to gas (evaporating, thereby absorbing heat and providing a cooling effect) and from gas to liquid (condensing, thereby releasing heat). This cycle actually consists of four steps in order: compression, condensation, expansion and evaporation.
Figure 3.1 (HVAC Water Chillers And Cooling Towers Fundamentals, Application and Operation Herbert W Standford Page 2)
From Figure 3.1, the pressure of the initially low-pressure refrigerant gas is increased by the compressor. The condenser utilise heat transfer that cools the high-pressure gas so that it changes phase to liquid. The expansion valve controls the pressure ratio and thus flow rate between the high- and low-pressure regions of the system. The evaporator is a heat exchanger that heats the low-pressure liquid, causing it to change phase from liquid to gas.
(HVAC Water Chillers And Cooling Towers Fundamentals, Application and Operation) Herbert W Standford Page 3)
Figure 1.2 on page 3 shows a pressure-enthalpy chart. For each refrigerant, the phase-change line represents the conditions of pressure and total heat content (enthalpy) at which it changes from liquid to gas and vice versa. Point 1-4 on Figure 1.3 relates to the different conditions of the refrigerant in the cycle. The pressure of the gas is increased by work done from the compressor from P1 to P2, raising its temperature and heat content. Point 2 denotes the state of the refrigerant leaving the compressor and entering the condenser. The gas loses its heat content in the condenser with enthalpy decreased in the process from h2 to h3. Point 3 to 4 shows the pressure reduction that happens in the expansion step. Only a small amount of the liquid refrigerant will evaporate due to the pressure reduction, the temperature and enthalpy of the remaining liquid is also reduced slightly. Point 4-1 represents the increase in heat content of the liquid, with an accompanying increase in enthalpy completed by the phase change from liquid to gas at point 1.
It must be noted that Figure 1.3 represents an ideal cycle and in actual practice there are various departures dictated by second-law inefficiencies.
3.2.1 Refrigerants A refrigerant can be broadly defined as any substance or chemical that can absorb and reject heat. There are two main types of refrigerants. Primary refrigerants are substances that possess the chemical, physical and thermodynamics properties for efficient use in the vapour compression cycle while secondary refrigerants are those that absorb heat but do not undergo phase change in the process. An example of secondary refrigerant is water. Some stringent requirements that must be satisfied by a refrigerant are that it must be chemically, kinetically and thermodynamically stable in the liquid and vapour state, non-flammable and low toxicity and it should meet temperature and pressure ranges for the application. In the early 20th century, HVAC applications are mostly made up from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which are harmful to our atmosphere as they deplete the ozone layer, allowing more UV (Ultraviolet) radiation to reach earth. Towards the end of the 20th century, scientists have found that by replacing a hydrogen atom for a halogen atom present in the CFCs, it has resulted in significantly less damage on the ozone layer. The new compounds are called hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). A third class of refrigerants, called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), are not regulated by international treaty and are considered, at least for the interim, to be the most environmentally friendly compounds and are now broadly used in HVAC refrigeration systems.
3.2.2 CHILLED WATER FOR HVAC APPLICATIONS
(HVAC Water Chillers And Cooling Towers Fundamentals, Application and Operation) Herbert W Standford Page 7)
The DX refrigeration system is widely applicable in the cooling of buildings. From Figure 1.4, the typical water-cooled HVAC system has three heat transfer loops: Loop 1 Cold air is allocated by one or more air-handling units (AHUs) to the spaces within the building. Sensible heat gains, including heat from temperature-driven transmission through the building envelope; direct solar radiation through windows; infiltration; and internal heat from people, lights, and equipment, are absorbed by the cold air, raising its temperature. Latent heat gains, moisture added to the space by air infiltration,
people, and equipment, is also absorbed by the cold air, raising its specific humidity. The resulting space temperature and humidity condition is an exact balance between the sensible and latent heat gains and capability of the entering cold air to absorb those heat gains. Loop 2 The distributed air is returned to the AHU, mixed with the required quantity of outdoor air for ventilation, and then directed over the cooling coil where chilled water is used to extract heat from the air, reducing both its temperature and moisture content so it can be re-distributed to the space. As the chilled water passes through the cooling coil in counter flow to the air, the heat extraction process results in increased water temperature. The chilled water temperature leaving the cooling coil will be 816 degrees warmer than the entering water temperature. This temperature difference is the driving force behind the flow requirement as dictated by the following relationship: Fchw =

(1.1)
Fchw: Chilled water flow rate (gpm) Q: Total cooling system load (btu/hr) R: Chilled water temperature rise ( ; 500 is used as the conversion factor. Loop 3 The amount of heat that is added by the compressor depends on the efficiency of the compressor. This heat of compression must then be added to the heat load on the chilled water loop to establish the amount of heat that must be rejected by the condenser to a heat sink, typically the outdoor air.
3.2.3 Determining Chilled Water Supply Temperature Before designing a chilled water system, the first step is to determine the required chilled water supply temperature. The system should be able to provide comfort to the occupants in the required region via control of the temperature and humidity. In addition, it must also meet the sensible and cooling loads imposed. Sensible cooling refers to the process of maintaining the humidity of the air content while decreasing the temperature of air. In other words, if moisture is added to the room by occupants, opening the window and so on, the supply air ought to be cooled below its dew point to remove the extra moisture by condensation. Latent cooling is the process of removing heat content with a change in moisture content. The superposition of these two considerations represents the total cooling load imposed on the building cooling coil. The required temperature of the supply air is dictated by two factors: The desired space temperature and humidity set point and the sensible heat ratio (SHR) defined by dividing the sensible cooling load by the total cooling load. For a chilled water cooling coil, approach is defined as the temperature difference between the entering chilled water and the leaving (supply) air. Table 3.1 shows the temperature requirements (in Fahrenheit) for different cooling loads.
Table 3.1
(HVAC Water Chillers And Cooling Towers Fundament als, Application and Operation Herbert W Standford Page 9)
3.2.4
Establishing the Temperature Range
After the required chilled water supply temperature is set up, the range of temperature must be determined to satisfy operating conditions. From Eq. 1.1, the flow rate is inversely
proportional to the flow rate Q. Less energy can be used for transport of chilled water with a lower flow rate achieved through a greater range. However, a larger range can increase the heat transfer surface area in the chilled water coils and other heat exchangers in the system. Usually, a 10 degrees temperature difference is employed as the range in such systems.
3.3 Primary System Components

There are four main components that can be found in the chilled water systems. They are: Chillers that cool the water or fluid. Loads, often satisfied by coils that transfer heat from air to water. Chilled-water distribution pumps and pipes that send chilled water to the loads. Condenser-water pumps, pipes, and cooling towers or condenser fans that reject heat from the chillers to ambient air. Controls that coordinate the operation of the mechanical components together as a system. The aim of the chillers is to decrease the temperature of the water. There are chemicals added into the water to modify the properties of the fluid, making it more suitable for its intended application.
3.1.1 Chillers There are many types of water chillers. The most widely used are the absorption, centrifugal, helical rotary, and scroll. The chillers can be either air- or water- cooled. The former is usually found indoor while the latter is installed indoors. Figure 3.2 shows a typical vapour compression chiller.
Fig 3.2 Trane Chiller Design And Control Hanson,Schwelder, Bakkum May 2009 Pg 2
3.3.2 Chiller Evaporator The evaporator section of a water chiller is a shell-and-tube heat exchanger. For a flooded shell-and-tube evaporator (Figure 3.3), cool, liquid refrigerant at low pressure enters the distribution system inside the shell and moves uniformly over the tubes, absorbing from water that flows through the tubes.
3.3.3 Direct Expansion Evaporator In a direct-expansion (DX) shell-and-tube evaporator (Figure 3.4), warmer water fills the shell while the cool, lower-pressure liquid refrigerant flows through the tubes.
In either design, there is an approach temperature, which is the temperature difference between the refrigerant and exit water stream temperatures. The approach temperature is a measure of the heat transfer efficiency of the evaporator.
3.3.4 Loads For cooling purposes, the AHU(s) are built with foils for heat exchange between the region to be air conditioned and the circulating chilled water system. In the process, the temperature of air drops and is dehumidified. For greater efficiency, a suitable coil type and size should be selected. Heat transfer from the loads can be designed in a number of ways. They are:
Three-way
valve
Two-way valve Variable-speed pump Face-and-bypass dampers
3.3.4.1 Three-way valve load control For a given load, the three way control valve (Fig 3.5) is able to control the amount of water through the coils. A fallback of such control is that the temperature of the water leaving the valve is lesser at part load conditions.
3.3.4.2 Two-way valve load control The two way valve (Fig 3.6) acts like a three way valve with regards to the coils. The major difference lies in the chilled water system where all flow in the coil circuit is throttled, resulting in the temperature of the water leaving the coil to be higher.
3.3.4.3 Variable-speed pump load control The flow can be regulated by using a variable speed pump (Fig 3.7) controlling the pump speed for each coil. For such systems, there can be no control valves in the coil. Valve and valve installation costs can be reduced but pump and maintenance costs may increase.
3.3.4.4 Face-and-bypass dampers Figure 3.8 shows another control type using an uncontrolled or wild coil. This approach makes use of the face and by pass dampers that allows a portion of the air to bypass the coil surface. Dehumidification is improved and the dependency on control valves are reduced. However, water is being pumped all the time for this system. It can consume a respectable amount of power.
3.3.5 Chilled-Water Distribution System Pipes made from either steel, copper or plastic are used to transport the chilled water from one point to another in the building. The chillers are connected to various load terminals and the piping are designed and built to accommodate pressure loss, water velocity and other important parameters. 3.3.5.1 Chilled-Water Pump Due to pressure difference between 2 selected points in the application, the chilled water pump moves the water from one point to another in the building. The selected pump muse be able to overcome the frictional pressure looses caused by the piping, coils and valves present in the system.
Moreover, the pump is designed to operate at the system static pressure. For example, in a 40 storeys building, the pump does not need to overcome pressure due to these 40 storeys. More importantly, the pump must be able to meet the minimum pump net positive suction-head requirement and it must keep up with the minimum dynamics pressure at critical system components in order to establish proper flow.
The pump may be placed either at the inlet or outlet of the chillers. There are advantages offered by either of the two methods. If the pump is fixed at the outlet, he evaporator bundle is subject only to the static head (rather than the static head plus the dynamic head added by the pump). High-pressure water boxes on the chillers are no longer required. , If the pump is placed at the inlet, the heat can be transferred straightaway by the chillers when pump rejects heat to the water.
3.3.5.2 One Pump Per Chiller
A pump can be fixed for each chiller as shown on Fig 3.9. This kind of arrangement simplifies the system hydraulics. The pump can be selected to produce the flow and pressure drop necessary for the specific chiller. One disadvantage of such arrangement is that if one pump or chiller is spoilt, the flow rate will be affected due to their heavy dependence on one another to function as a whole.
3.3.5.3 Manifolded pumps In an effort to resolve the redundancy consideration, some designers prefer to manifold pumps and provide n+1 pumps, where n is the number of chillers (Figure 3.10). Employing such an arrangement allows any pump to be used with any chiller. The drawback is that system hydraulics become more difficult. Unless all piping runs and evaporator pressure drops are the same, the amount of water flowing to each chiller will vary.
3.3.5.4 Constant Flow System Figure 3.11 shows a constant flow system with a constant speed pump attached to the chiller.
3.3.5.5 Primary -Secondary System For this configuration (Figure 3.12), there is constant primary flow through the operating chiller and variable secondary flow through the loads. A bypass pipe between the two balances the primary flow with the secondary flow. Because there are more pumps and a bypass, this system costs more than a constant flow system to install.
3.3.5.6 Variable-Primary system In this set-up (Fig 3.13), the circulation piping is directly linked to the chiller piping. Flow can be alternated through most of the loads and the chillers. Lower flow rates can be prevented by the smaller bypass.
3.3.5.7 Condenser-Water System A condenser-water pump can be used to overcome the pressure drop in a chilled water system. The condenser-heat transfer surface must be kept clean and free of dirt for effective heat transfer. For such a system, it is necessary to circulate the water through a cooling tower where a portion of it evaporates. A cooling towers effectiveness at transferring heat depends on water flow rate, water temperature, and ambient wet bulb. The temperature difference between the water entering and leaving the cooling tower is the range. The temperature difference between the leaving water temperature and the entering wet-bulb temperature is the approach.
Figure 3.14 shows how the various components are connected in the system.
4.1. System Design Options

A chilled water system can be built up in many different configurations. However, the basic parameters will always be found in all configurations. They are functions of flow, temperature, system configuration and control. Temperature and flow rate are always changing during operations and if appropriately designed, it will meet the requirements and save operating costs.
4.1.1 Selecting Chilled- and Condenser-Water Temperatures and Flow Rates The leaving chilled-water and entering condenser-water temperature is not related to their respective flow rates. Nevertheless, temperatures and flow rates should be selected together to design an efficient and flexible chilled-water system. The ASHRAE GreenGuide 8 (pp 146-147) states: In recent years, the 60% increase in required minimum chiller efficiency from 3.80 COP (ASHRAE Standard 90-75) to 6.1 COP. (ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004) has led to reexamination of the assumptions used in designing hydronic media flow paths and in selecting movers (pumps) with an eye to reducing energy consumption. Simply stated, increase the temperature difference in the chilled water system to reduce the chilled-water pump flow rate.
The CoolTools Chilled Water Plant Design Guide recommends starting with a chilledwater temperature difference of 12F to 20F [7C to 11C], and it recommends a design method that starts with condenser-water temperature difference of 12F to 18F [7C to 10C].
4.1.2 Standard rating temperatures
Currently, the standard rating condition temperatures in ARI 550/5905 and ARI 5609 are:
Evaporator
leaving water temperature: 44F [6.7C]
Water-cooled condenser, entering water temperature: 85F [29.4C] Air-cooled condenser, entering air dry bulb: 95F [35.0C]
4.1.3 Chilled-Water Temperatures At the moment, comfort cooling systems are built with chilled-water supply temperatures that spans from 44F [6.7C] to 38F [3.3C], and, in some cases, as low as 34F [1.1C].
4.1.3 Condenser-Water Temperatures Currently, the chillers are able to operate at different entering condenser-water temperatures. The manufacturer should be contacted for the optimum temperature.
4.1.4 Chilled-and Condenser-Water Flow Rates

Standard rating flow conditions
Presently, the standard-rating-condition flow rates for electric chillers in ARI 550/590 are: 2.4 gpm/ton [0.043 L/s/kW] for evaporator 3.0 gpm/ton [0.054 L/s/kW] for condenser Table 2.1 shows the shows the standard rating conditions for various absorption chillers.
Table 3.2 Trane Chiller Design And Control Hanson,Schwelder, Bakkum May 2009 Pg 30
4.1.5 Selecting Flow Rates
Designers can consult the manufacturers handbook on using the standard rating conditions to compare performance. The temperature difference increases as flow rate decreases for a given load. Table 3.3 shows a 450-ton [1,580-kW refrigeration] chilled-water system, both as a base case and with low flow.
Table 3.3 Trane Chiller Design And Control Hanson,Schwelder, Bakkum May 2009 Pg 13
From Table 3.3, as the leaving chilled-water temperature decreases, the leaving condenserwater temperature increases. In other words, the compressor in the chiller has to provide more energy. Using the following assumptions we can calculate power consumption: 80 feet of water [239 kPa] pressure drop through chilled-water piping. 30 feet of water [89.7 kPa] pressure drop through condenser-water piping.
78 [25.6C desi
wet bulb.
93 percent motor efficiency for pumps and tower. 75 percent pump efficiency. Identical pipe si e in chilled- and condenser-water loops. (either a desi n decision, or indicating changing flows in an existing system)
The pressure drop through the chillers will drop due to the smaller flow rates. The actual pressure drop throughout the system should be calculated.
Table 3.4-3.7 shows the low flow conditions for the chilled water pump, cooling tower, condenser water pump and total power system respecti ely.
Table 3.4 Chilled Water Pump Trane Chiller Design And Control Hanson,Schwelder, Bakkum May 2009 Pg 31
Table 3.5 Cooling Tower Trane Chiller Design And Control Hanson,Schwelder, Bakkum May 2009 Pg 31
Table 3.6 Condenser-Water Pump Trane Chiller Design And Control Hanson,Schwelder, Bakkum May 2009 Pg 31
Table 3.7 Total Power Trane Chiller Design And Control Hanson,Schwelder, Bakkum May 2009 Pg 32
* Low-flow conditions represented in Table 3.4 through Table 3.7 are 1.5 gpm/ton [0.027 L/s/kW] chilled water and 2.0 gpm/ton [0.036 L/s/kW] condenser water.
Figure 3.15 below clearly shows that flow rate is related to full load system power. Although the chiller needs more power for lower flow rates, the power required by the pumps and cooling tower result in less energy consumed by the entire system. At part load conditions, figure 3.16 displays the part load output based on the following assumptions:
The
chilled-water pump includes a variable-frequency drive.
The condenser-water pump remains at constant power.
The cooling tower is controlled to produce water temperatures lower than design.
5.1. Cooling Tower Fundamentals

A cooling tower can be treated like a heat exchanger. Such a tower make use of heat transfer between the entering (higher temperature) water and the ambient wet-bulb temperature. Such a calculation is shown below. Let A = area, U = coefficient of heat transfer and T = temperature difference For a roughly equivalent heat rejection, U x A1 x T1= U x A2x T2 For a constant coefficient of heat transfer, A1 x T1 = A2 x T2 Using standard rating conditions, the temperature difference between tower entering temperature and ambient wet bulb, T1 is T1 =34.6 25.6 = 9.0C while at typical low-flow conditions, T2 =37.3 25.6 = 11.7C Therefore: A1 16.2 = A2 21.1 or A2 = 0.77 A1 Therefore, the tower only requires 77% of the heat exchange area to achieve the same heat rejection capacity, simply by reducing the flow rate from 3.0 gpm/ton [0.054 L/s/kW] to 2.0 gpm/ton [0.036 L/s/kW]. The heat exchange capacity can be varied by altering the surface area or airflow, or some combination of the two. A cooling-tower manufacturers selection program can give the exact size and power requirements. T2 is
5.1.1 Types Of Cooling Towers The HVAC cooling towers can be either of the film or splash fill, mechanical draft type. Figure 3.17 shows the flat and triangular splash fill type.
Additionally, there are two types of flow arrangement namely counter-flow and cross-flow types. For cross-flow towers, the two flow streams are oriented 90 degrees to each other and the water flows vertically downwards while the air flows horizontally whereas for counterflow types, water and air flow in opposite directions and the water flows vertically downward while air flows vertically downwards.
Another difference is the forced draft and induced draft towers. The former has it s fans set up in such a way to blow air through the tower. In this arrangement, the fans are placed at the air intake of the tower with the fill under positive pressure. In contrast the latter has its fans located at the exit of the tower with the fill under negative pressure. Figure 3.18 to 3.21 below shows the various types of cooling towers available.
Fig 3.18 Forced draft cross-flow cooling tower (Courtesy of the Baltimore Aircoil Company, Baltimore, Maryland.)
Fig 3.19 Induced draft cross-flow cooling tower (Courtesy of the Baltimore Aircoil Company, Baltimore, Maryland.)
Fig 3.20 Forced draft counter-flow cooling tower (Courtesy of the Baltimore Aircoil Company, Baltimore, Maryland.)
Fig 3.21 Induced draft cross-flow cooling tower (Courtesy of the Baltimore Aircoil Company, Baltimore, Maryland.)
There are many differences between the cross-flow and counter-flow cooling towers. Table 3.8 summarises the advantages and disadvantages of either choices of cooling tower.
(HVAC Water Chillers And Cooling Towers Fundamentals, Application and Operation Herbert W Standford Page 150)
5.1.2 Temperature Range And Approach The temperature difference between the condenser-water entering (condenser water return) and leaving the tower (condenser water-supply) is defined as the range, whereas the approach is the difference between the condenser-water supply and the entering air wet bulb temperature. These temperature differences are illustrated in figure 3.22.
In general, the HVAC condenser water systems are engineered with a 10 degrees difference temperature range. Since the design ambient wet bulb temperature is fixed, the approach is varied by changing the range (and resulting flow rate) and/or changing the required condenser water supply temperature. 5.1.3 Ambient Wet Bulb Temperature In the design of cooling towers, it should be based on the basis of the ambient wet bulb temperature. However, it must be noted that the actual wet bulb temperature may be greater due to recirculation. Hence, it is essential that the cooling tower be designed correctly to prevent such a problem.
5.1.3 Condenser Waste Hat Rejection The total heat rejection to the condenser water system can be evaluated from Eq. (5.1) and Table 3.8.
Table 3.8 (HVAC Water Chillers And Cooling Towers Fundamentals, Application and Operation Herbert W Standford pg 116)
- (5.1)
Where KaV/L = cooling tower characteristic K = mass transfer coefficient, lb water/hr a = contact area/tower volume, 1/ft; V = active cooling volume/plan area, ft, L = water mass flow rate, lb/hr ; ; T2 =leaving (cold) water temperature, ;T= ;
T1 = entering (hot) water temperature, bulk water temperature, ,
hw = enthalpy of airwater vapour mixture at bulk water temperature, Btu/lb of dry air; ha = enthalpy of airwater vapour mixture at wet bulb temperature, Btu/lb of dry air.
5.1.4 Chiller/Cooling Tower Configuration

A chiller condenser can be served by a single cooling tower. However, if there are two or more chillers, there are three ways to set up the condenser water system as depicted on figure 3.23-3.25.
Each chiller can have an individual, dedicated cooling tower.

Multiple cooling towers or a large multi-cell tower can be linked to a common condenser water system to serve all of the chillers. The plus point to this configuration is versatility any tower and any pump can serve each other.
Multiple cooling towers or large multi-cell towers can be linked the same condenser water system with each pump serving each chiller. This set up does not require the use of chiller installation valves and is the most universally used when the chillers have different capacities.
More importantly, it should be taken note that the multi-cell approach provide better alternatives as more than one cell can be employed to serve a single chiller and the failure of one tower does not lead to the chillers breaking down since it is served by all of the tower cells. Moreover, an additional redundant tower cell can be used to provide back-up in the event of tower failure. Lastly, one cell can be temporarily switched off for maintenance work or checks while the others can be used to keep operations going on.
5.1.4 Cooling Tower Placement & Location A HVAC cooling tower is best situated on the roof of the building that it serves. Locating the tower at the roof meets important pre-requisites that are crucial to better cooling tower accomplishment. They are: 1. The height of the towers operating water level must be above the condenser water pump. (and any piping between the pump suction and the tower basin). 2. Towers must have enough clearance from walls and other impediments around them to prevent recirculation of discharge air back into the inlet. If there are multiple towers, they must be situated to prevent the discharge of one tower entering any close tower.
The airflow requirement of an HVAC cooling tower is approximately 270300 cfm/ton, which is equivalent to 90100 cfm/gpm. Therefore, enough area must be maintained around the tower to prevent blockage of large amounts of air and the tower must be positioned strategically to avoid discharged air from re-entering the tower (or entering an adjacent tower).
If the tower is to be based on the ground floor, the type of cooling tower has to be taken into account. Cross-flow towers have an air intake on either one (single flow towers) or two sides (double flow towers), while counter-flow towers have air intakes on all four sides. However, for both types of towers, the following actions are suggested: Adjacency: Building walls, screen walls, trees, etc. form obstructions for cooling towers if the tower is located too close to them. While most tower manufacturers provide information about layout for their cooling towers, most of the recommended clearances are minimal and are not sufficient to always ensure proper tower performance. Therefore, the proposed clearance from adjacent obstructions is displayed in Figure 3.26.
Fig 3.26 (HVAC Water Chillers And Cooling Towers Fundamentals, Application and Operation Herbert W Standford Page 159)
X = 9.5 (m) or 30 (ft) Y = 3.5 (m) or 10 (ft) 1ft =0.3 (m)
The cooling tower should be placed at least 9.5 m away from the closest building walls. Taller building leads to more flow obstruction and so, the tower setback should be raised to at least half the building height to prevent recirculation.
To prevent tower performance problems due to screening, the following design criteria for screening ought to be taken into: 1. The screening must provide at least 50% open area on the air intake side(s) of the cooling tower and the open area must be sufficient to allow for 600 fpm or low airflow velocity through the screen. 2. The top of the screening must be no higher than the tower air discharge 3. Provide clearance between the screening and tower air intake side(s) of the greater of 10 ft or the width of the tower. If there are multiple towers or multiple tower cells within a screened enclosure, these clearances must be increased by at least 50% (to 15 ft). Maintenance clearance between the screening and the other (non-active) sides of the tower must be at least 4 ft to provide adequate passage and maintenance space.
Fig 3.27 (HVAC Water Chillers And Cooling Towers Fundamentals, Appl ication and Operation Herbert, WStandford Page 161)
Where the tower is built next to a building (i.e., closer than the half the building height or 30 ft, whichever is greater), the fan discharge height must be at or above the next building roofline or the top of any architectural screening that is provided. As shown in Figure 11.8, this can be achieved by making a discharge cowl or plenum on the tower and/or building a structural support system to elevate the tower to the proper height. An elevating structural support system or grillage can be easily assembled from structural steel elements, pipe columns, etc. The discharge cowl must be designed to reduce static pressure loss and avoid the need for a larger fan motor and increased fan energy consumption. The cowl must have a discharge taper (called an evase discharge ) in order to reduce the air discharge velocity efficiently and regain the available velocity pressure to offset friction based static pressure losses.
6.1 System Configuration
Multiple chilled-water systems are more prevalent than single chilled-water systems because they are more accurate and economical. The most typical system configuration has two chillers. Since system loads is constantly varying throughout a wide range, multiple chilledwater systems can often operate with one chiller. A properly engineered system will go a long way in saving overall energy and costs. This part examines constant flow systems, system in which flow is constant through chiller but variable through the rest of the system and systems in which flow is variable throughout the system.
6.1.1 Parallel Chillers Figure 3.28 depicts a system with two chillers piped in parallel, using a single chilled-water pump. With constant flow loads, water flows in both chillers continually, whether the chiller is operating or not. Clearly, this can disrupt the supply chilled-water temperature when only one chiller is operating. The temperatures indicated in Figure 25 show how the supply water temperature rises when one chiller is cycled off in response to a part-load condition.
Alternatively, the operating chiller can be reset to supply a lower supply temperature at this condition. Such an approach allows the mixed system supply-water temperature to be kept at a more reliable temperature. This complicates the control system and presents the possibility of increasing chiller energy consumption due to the need for lower-temperature water. There will also be a low limit to this water temperature, dependent on the chillers low pressure cutout control, low evaporator-refrigerant temperature limits, or low leaving chilled-water limits. As a result, more chillers in the system will cause greater problems. For this reason, this set up is usually not used in systems with more than two chillers.
If separate, dedicated chiller pumps are used (Figure 3.29), a chillerpump pair can be cycled together. This solves the flow mixing problem described above, but presents a new problem. Below 50-percent load, only one chiller and one pump are operating. The total water flow in the system decreases significantly, typically 60 to 70 percent of full system flow, according to the pumpsystem curve relationship. Ideally, at this part-load flow rate, all of the coils will receive less water, regardless of their actual need. Typically, however, some coils receive full water flow and others receive little or no water.
6.1.1 Series Chillers

If chillers are piped in series, as in Figure 3.29, the mixing problem is eliminated and the starving coils problem (when one of the pumps in a parallel arrangement is not running) is resolved. Series flow presents a new set of temperature and flow control challenges.

Chilled Water Systems

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3.

3.2. REFRIGERATION BASICS

3.2.2 CHILLED WATER FOR HVAC APPLICATIONS

Establishing the Temperature Range

3.3 Primary System Components

Two-way valve Variable-speed pump Face-and-bypass dampers

3.3.5.2 One Pump Per Chiller

4.1. System Design Options

4.1.2 Standard rating temperatures

leaving water temperature: 44F [6.7C]

4.1.4 Chilled-and Condenser-Water Flow Rates

4.1.5 Selecting Flow Rates

chilled-water pump includes a variable-frequency drive.

The condenser-water pump remains at constant power.

5.1. Cooling Tower Fundamentals

T1 = entering (hot) water temperature, bulk water temperature, ,

5.1.4 Chiller/Cooling Tower Configuration

Each chiller can have an individual, dedicated cooling tower.

X = 9.5 (m) or 30 (ft) Y = 3.5 (m) or 10 (ft) 1ft =0.3 (m)

6.1 System Configuration

6.1.1 Series Chillers

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