Methodology Check that the make-up tank is filled with water.

ed with water. Check that the water flow control valve is slightly opened. Switch on the water pump. Adjust the water flow rate to a 25 g s-1. Switch on the fan and adjust the damper to fully open. Switch on the heater and select cooling load of 0.5 kW. Allow the cooling tower to stabilize. This will occur when constant temperature or flow rate is reached. When stability is reached, fill the make-up tank to the gauge mark with distilled water. Record all measurements (dry and wet bulb temperatures of air inlet and outlet, water inlet and outlet temperatures) After 2mins, refill the tank from a known quantity of distilled water in a measuring cylinder. The quantity of make-up for the time interval can thus be determined. Repeat steps 5 to 9 for cooling load of 1 kW and 1.5 kW. Repeat the experiments by adjusting the air flow rate while keeping the rest of parameters constant. Repeat the experiments by adjusting the water flow rate while keeping the rest of parameters constant. Plot the efficiency against each parameter for comparison. Follow shut down procedure outlined in the manual at the end of the experiment. Flexibility to Procedure The timescale used in determining the flow rates may be altered if steady state is not easily achieved. If the chosen water flow rate does not provide desirable temperature readings, a different water flow rate may be used. It is possible to obtain such results as factors such as fouling and human error may affect the degree of precision. For repeat experiments, the temperature readings should be taken in reverse order from the highest load as steady state may have been attained and the temperatures are higher.

Experimental diagram

[1] Figure 1 Cooling tower operation H o t water enters the top of the tower T5 and is fed into troughs which distribute the water uniformly over the packing with minimum splashing. The cooled water falls from the lowest packing into the collection basin, and exits the cooling tower T6 which is pumped to heaters. Due to evaporation from the water, a make-up tank must maintain the quantity of water in the cooling system. The volume of water added to the system can be measured by the lost water in the make-up tank. Water flow is controlled by the rotameter. Air enters the bottom of the tower and flows past a dry bulb temperature sensor (T1) and a wet-bulb temperature sensor (T2). At the exit of the cooling (at the top) the exit air dry bulb temperature (T3) and wetbulb temperature (T4) are measured. It should be observed that the change of dry bulb temperature is smaller than the change of wet bulb temperatures. This indicates that the air leaving is almost saturated, ie, Relative Humidity approaches 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 will account for most of the cooling effect. If the cooling load was switched off and the unit allowed to stabilize, it should be found that the water will leave the basin close to the wet bulb temperature of the air entering. According to the local atmospheric conditions, this can be several degrees below the incoming air (dry bulb) temperature. Without a simulated load, the cooling tower would be able to cool the water to a temperature that approaches the wet bulb temperature. This is an ideal parameter of this system.

References http://www.engineering.uiowa.edu/~expeng/Labs/Lab3/Lab%203b.pdf