6/6/12

BN-DG-C01H Plant Layout - Cooling Water Towers

06-Jun-2012

Hom e

About

New s

Products

Tools VES Softw are

Library

Forum

Contact

Main Menu
Hom e About New s Products Tools Library Forum Contact

PCC Softw are Softw are for creation of pipe classes and mechanical calculation of piping components. Read m ore ... Hom e Design Guides BN-DG-C01H Plant Layout - Cooling Water Tow ers

Softw are for the design and mechanical calculation of pressure vessels and heat exchangers. Read m ore ...

search...

BN-DG-C01H Plant Layout - Cooling Water Towers

Library Content Menu

QA Standards General Procedures Departm ent Procedures Work Instructions General Guides Design Guides Engineering Guides General Standards Design Standards Engineering Standards Specifications Requisitions Form s Cost Codes Papers

Table of Contents 1. General 2. Types of Cooling Tow ers 3. Cooling Tow er Location 4. Water Makeup 5. Trash Screen and Gate 6. The Pum p Basin 7. Suction Piping 8. Pum p Prim ing 9. Bypass 10. Chem ical Dosing 11. Cooling Tow er Structure 12. Winterizing

1. General Cooling w ater is an essential service in any chemical plant or refinery and control of temperature plays a critical part in any plant process. Therefore, any w ater used for cooling picks up heat from the medium being cooled, and must itself be cooled before being recirculated. The cooling tow er enables this w ater cooling to be carried out. Regardless of type of tow er selected there is alw ays a reservoir of w ater at the base, from w hich w ater is draw n and pumped around the plant. It is returned via a header pipe, back to the top of the tow er. The w ater is then dispersed over the w hole area of the tow er by means of w ooden slats or sprinkler nozzles. This breaks the w ater up into fine droplets similar to rain, thus exposing a greater surface area and enabling cooling to be much more effective. The cooled w ater is collected in the basin under the tow er and is ready for reuse.

2. Types of Cooling Tow ers There are tw o types of tow ers essentially used in refineries and chemical plants: a. Natural draft (Venturi/Chimney type) b. Induced draft (Box type) 2.1 Natural Draft Cooling Tow ers The natural draft type is not often used, and is normally only used w hen the contours of the ground provide a high position on w hich they can be located. The higher position giving unimpeded w ind area. 2.2 Induced Draft Cooling Tow ers Induced draft cooling tow ers are furnished in tw o types, based on the direction of air flow relative to the w ater to the w ater through the tow er: a. Crossflow www.red-bag.com/jcms/design-guides/352-bn-dg-c01h-plant-layout-cooling-water-towers.html Gadgets powered

1/5

6/6/12
a. Crossflow b. Counterflow

BN-DG-C01H Plant Layout - Cooling Water Towers

Gadgets powered
by Google

In the crossflow cooling tow er, the sides are entirely open, and air passed through the sides to a central plenum chamber, across the dow nw ard flow of w ater, and exhausted through the top of the structure by one or more fans. Some characteristics of crossflow tow ers, compared to counterflow tow ers, are: a. Contact surface is less effective. b. Air flow quantity is greater. c. Icing is more of a problem in w inter months. d. Fan horsepow er may be higher. The counterflow tow er has straight enclosed sides, except for an air entrance near the bottom. Air is taken in at the bottom of the tow er, rises countercurrent to the dow nw ard flow of w ater, and is exhausted at the top by means of one or more fans. Some characteristics of counterflow tow ers, compared to crossflow tow ers are: a. Low er air flow quantity. b. Fan horsepow er may be low er. c. Generally low er fire protection cost. d. Usually low er pumping height. e. Frequently larger basin area.

3. Cooling Tow er Location A cooling tow er is one of the larger items of equipment, in terms of ground area, that must be located on a site plan. Factors affecting the location of cooling tow ers, other than convenience to w ater supply and return are: a. Prevailing w ind b. Noise c. Access roads 3.1 Prevailing Winds Cooling tow ers should be located w ith the small side tow ards the prevailing w ind. The gives both long sides an equal intake of fresh air. Cooling tow ers should not be dow nw ind or adjacent to fired heaters, flare stacks or any heat producing items as these raise the ambient air temperature and w ill reduce the tow ers cooling efficiency. 3.2 Noise Noise levels of larger cooling tow ers can be quite high and may become objectionable if the tow er is located too close to continually occupied w ork areas such as offices and control buildings, etc. 3.3 Access Roads Access is required for the essential maintenance of pumps, chemical dosing equipment and for handling of trash screens. Cooling tow ers lose w ater by evaporation and entrainment (w indage), resulting in a w ater spray and fog on the dow nw ind side of the tow er making any roads continually w et. This is a traffic hazard and can cause icing in w inter. In general, a minimum distance of 15 to 20 meters of clear area should be allocated for air movement about the tow er.

4. Water Makeup Water makeup to a cooling tow er is necessary to replace the mechanical carryout of w ater droplets (w indage), evaporation and the blow dow n required to maintain a controlled solids buildup. Makeup w ater is usually added to the cooling tow er basin. Control of w ater level in the cooling tow er basin is via a level instrument of some description. This should be located in the relatively still w aters of the pump basin. If the instrument is of the level displacer type it should be housed in a stillw ell located in the pump basin. This protects the instrument and dampens the turbulent w ater to give a smoothed w ater level for measurement. Blow dow n rate is dependent on the solids entering in the makeup w ater and the solids level to be maintained in the system. Blow dow n is measured by a flow indicator at any point in the cooling w ater circulation system that may be convenient for its disposal to a sew er.

www.red-bag.com/jcms/design-guides/352-bn-dg-c01h-plant-layout-cooling-water-towers.html

2/5

6/6/12

may be convenient for its disposal to a sew er.

BN-DG-C01H Plant Layout - Cooling Water Towers

5. Trash Screen and Gate A course filter or screen should be located betw een the cooling tow er basin and pump basin to trap floating debris, and w here it can be reached for regular cleaning. A submerged orifice is a useful w ay of trapping floating debris. By keeping the opening a few centimeters off the tow er basin floor, a mud trap is formed. This w ill prevent any silt or submerged objects from approaching the pump suction. The submerged opening is a convenient place for locating a means of isolating the pump basin from the cooling tow er basin if required. This can be a proprietary penstock, or a simple w ooden sluice gate.

6. The Pum p Basin The pump basin is an integral part of the tow er basin, being cast directly onto one of its sides. Where more than one pump draw s from the same basin, the chamber should be shaped or provided w ith baffles to prevent one pump intake affecting the flow to the others. If any sudden changes in the flow path w ithin the pump basin do occur, the pump intake should be located at least 5 pipe diameters dow nstream from them (see below figure).

7. Suction Piping High losses at the pump intake can cause excessive turbulence that may adversely affect the pumps performance. A bellmouth is the most effective w ay of reducing these losses and can simply be a concentric reducer, the large end being 1.5 x the diameter of the suction pipe diameter. Clearance betw een the face of the bellmouth and the pump basin floor should be equal to the larger diameter of the bellmouth. Another useful aid in reducing turbulence in the suction piping is to have at least 3 pipe diameters of straight pipe upstream of the pump suction flange. The submerged depth of the intake is not usually very critical, but a minimum of 1 m is good practice. For vertical immersed pumps, use the vendors recommendations. The suction line should rise positively to the pump flange to prevent air pockets. For double suction type pumps, bends in the horizontal should be greater than 3 pipe diameters upstream of the pump flange. If the pump is mounted on its ow n plinth, a check should be made w ith the Civil Department for possibility of differential settlement of foundations. A flexible coupling may have to be installed in the suction piping. 8. Pum p Prim ing A pump cannot operate w ithout being filled w ith liquid, therefore the minimum design liquid level in the pump basin should be above the casing of the pump. For pumps expected to startup automatically, this method is essential because there is no danger of the idle pump emptying itself. Vertical immersed pumps are also ideal for automatic standbys. Where a pump must be above the minimum w ater level, other means are available for the priming of the pump but these should only be used w ith care. These include vent ejectors operated by steam, air or w ater, a foot-valve and a priming feed to the casing from a reliable w ater source.

9. Bypass Within large pumps of high throughput, prolonged operation at too low a flow overheat the pump and w ater w ithin, and may cause damage to the pump. Therefore, these pumps should be fitted w ith an open ended bypass from the discharge line back into the pump basin, terminating below the minimum w ater level. A means should be provided to prevent high velocity streams from disturbing the flow to the pump suction intakes.

10. Chem ical Dosing To inhibit the grow th of algae, reduce scaling in the cooling w ater system, and to adjust the chemical balance of the w ater, inhibitors are added to the cooling w ater. If dosing is required, a Vendors w ater treatment package is usually used and the chemicals are fed into the pump basin near the sluice gate/trash screen. With chemical dosing the w ater treatment vendors recommendations should be follow ed.

11. Cooling Tow er Structure The cooling tow er is usually a clad w ooden structure constructed w ith a great number of light w eight plastic components. This makes it susceptible to fire risks and a fire protection system should be considered. This lightness of construction means that nozzle forces should be at a minimum and the flexibility of piping layout is of great importance. Access should be adequate for the maintenance of the fan motors mounted on top of the structure and be

www.red-bag.com/jcms/design-guides/352-bn-dg-c01h-plant-layout-cooling-water-towers.html

3/5

6/6/12

Access should be adequate for the maintenance of the fan motors mounted on top of the structure and be sufficient to give access to any doors or hatches in the fan stacks and floor on top of the structures.

BN-DG-C01H Plant Layout - Cooling Water Towers

12. Winterizing In cold climates steam injection is sometimes employed in the tow er to prevent the pump basins from freezing. A steam header is run around the periphery of the tow er basin, above the basin w all, and steam ejected via holes drilled into header, onto the w ater surface in the basin. Steam is also introduced into the pump basin via a sparger; this prevent the w ater freezing prior to being pumped into the cooling w ater system.

www.red-bag.com/jcms/design-guides/352-bn-dg-c01h-plant-layout-cooling-water-towers.html

4/5

6/6/12
Figure 1.

BN-DG-C01H Plant Layout - Cooling Water Towers

'reliability is yet to become the most important characterstic of modern companies' hom e | privacy | legal 2001 - 2012 Red-Bag

www.red-bag.com/jcms/design-guides/352-bn-dg-c01h-plant-layout-cooling-water-towers.html

5/5