Cooling Towers Quiz

Cooling Towers

• A cooling tower is a specialized heat exchanger that brings air and water into direct contact to reduce the water's temperature.

Increasing Efficiency

• To increase the efficiency of a cooling tower, one can save energy, reduce the amount of water being consumed, and decrease the amount of chemicals required for water treatment.

Characteristics of Cooling Towers

• Cooling towers can vary in size from small roof-top units to very large hyperboloid structures that can be up to 200 meters tall and 100 meters in diameter, or rectangular structures that can be over 40 meters tall and 80 meters long.
• The hyperboloid shape aids in accelerating the upward convective air flow, improving cooling efficiency.

Maintenance and Servicing

• To service a cooling tower, one should ensure proper airflow, clean the tubes, and inspect the water pump.

Design Standards

• Hyperboloid cooling towers have become the design standard for all natural-draft cooling towers due to their structural strength and minimum usage of material.

Building Materials

• The pollutants present in a cooling tower depend on the building material used.

Device Function

• A cooling tower is a heat rejection device.

Natural Draft Cooling Towers

• In natural draft cooling towers, air flow is obtained by the difference in air pressure.
• Fans are not required in natural draft cooling towers.
• Components of natural draft cooling towers include supply basins, reinforced concrete, and hot water distribution.

Water Loss

• Water lost in the form of liquid droplets is called drift.

Cooling Action

• The effect that takes place in cooling towers is evaporating, which results in cooling action.

Cleaning and Maintenance

• Cooling water must be cleaned at least twice a year.
• Chlorination must be carried out at least twice a year for cooling towers.

Process

• Cooling towers operate through a heat transfer process that efficiently cools the already cycled water to be reused.

Hyperboloid Cooling Towers

• In hyperboloid cooling towers, the material is filled at the tower's bottom.

Pollution

• Pollution caused by cooling towers includes fouling, limestone formation, and corrosion.

Industry Applications

• Natural draft cooling towers are mainly used in power stations.

Performance Indicators

• A better indicator for cooling tower performance is the approach.

Effectiveness

• Cooling tower effectiveness is the ratio of range/(range + approach).

Water Temperature

• The cooling water reduces the water temperature close to the ambient wet bulb temperature.

Cycle of Concentration

• The ratio of dissolved solids in circulating water to dissolved solids in makeup water is called the cycle of concentration.

Estimating Range

• The range of a cooling tower can be estimated by the formula: Range = Cooling water inlet temperature - wet bulb temperature.

Fill Material

• Low clog film fill is a more energy-efficient fill material for cooling towers in case of sea water cooling.

L/G Ratio

• L/G ratio in a cooling tower is a ratio of air flow to water flow.