Cooling tower systems are basically for the industrial world what sweating is for us. It allows the factories to shed excess heat, and returns the water to a cooler and more usable temperature. There are two loose tower types, there’s one that relies on the natural draft and another that uses a mechanical draft. In the case of a mechanical draft cooling tower, there will be a fan that is used to force air through the circulated water. Due to the mechanical nature, this can be more expensive to create and run, but can result in more effective cooling. In a natural draft tower, the hot water is fed through to the top of the tower with the goal of the water being broken into droplets by either a spray or mechanically through plates with holes in them. As air moves towards the top of the tower due to convection, the cool air passes the droplets cooling them. The smaller the droplets of water are, the more contact they have with the air and the more effective the cooling. The cooled water collects in the bottom of the tower, ready to be used for various parts of the plant.
Considerations for Cooling Tower Design
When designing a cooling tower, there are a few things you need to consider before getting started. The first choice you’ll need to make is whether you go for a mechanical or natural draft tower, or whether you’d like to use a hybrid form that utilizes both types.
When starting a cooling tower installation, it’s important to think about the long term growth of your company. You may want to do a cooling tower design with the intention of growing in future, so leaving the possibility to extend your cooling tower is a good idea from the beginning.
One of the most important considerations for cooling tower systems is the weather as that will impact what’s needed to ensure the cooling tower can cool the water down sufficiently. It can be tempting to plan the cooling system based on the average temperature, but you’ll have to actually look to the extremes. You’ll want your cooling system to have optimal output during the heat of summer and the coldest days of winter, so plan based around those days.
Bring in the Professionals
A cooling tower, especially for a factory, is not something you want to try to create yourself. Hiring a professional cooling tower engineer to help design and build your tower will make a world of difference to the efficiency of your tower and your environmental impact. There are so many different industries that need towers, such as geothermal industries, fertilizer creation, power generation and even mining.
Designing a cooling tower system is no easy feat, hopefully this information gives you a little more of an idea of how to start the planning process.
