Rules Of Thumb : Cooling Towers

1. Water in contact with air under adiabatic conditions eventually cools to the wet bulb temperature.
2. In commercial units, 90% of saturation of the air is feasible.
3. Relative cooling tower size is sensitive to the difference between the exit and wet bulb temperatures: DT (0F) 5 15 25 ; Relative volume 2.4 1.0 0.55
4. Tower fill is of a highly open structure so as to minimize pressure drop, which is in standard practice a maximum of 2 in. of water.
5. Water circulation rate is 1–4 gpm/sqft and air rates are 1300–1800 lb/(hr)(sqft) or 300–400 ft/min.
6. Chimney-assisted natural draft towers are of hyperboloidal shapes because they have greater strength for a given thickness; a tower 250 ft high has concrete walls 5–6 in. thick. The enlarged cross section at the top aids in dispersion of exit humid air into the atmosphere.
7. Countercurrent induced draft towers are the most common in process industries. They are able to cool water within 28F of the wet bulb.
8. Evaporation losses are 1% of the circulation for every 108F of cooling range. Windage or drift losses of mechanical draft towers are 0.1–0.3%. Blowdown of 2.5–3.0% of the circulation is necessary to prevent excessive salt buildup.