UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN KIMIA

PROCESS ENGINEERING LABORATORY II
(CPE554)
NAME / STUDENT ID

GROUP
EXPERIMENT
DATE PERFORMED
SEMESTER
PROGRAMME / CODE
SUBMIT TO
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

: NURUL AIN BINTI ZULKIFLEE

: NUR IZATI BINTI MAJID
: NUR SYAKIRAH BINTI ABD RAHIM
: MUHD SYAHMI HAZIQ BIN
MOHD SHARIFFUDDIN
:4
: COOLING TOWER
: 1ST APRIL 2015
:4
: EH2214A / CPE554
: MS HABSAH ALWI

Title
Abstract/Summary
Introduction
Aims
Theory
Apparatus
Methodology/Procedure
Results
Calculations
Discussion
Conclusion
Recommendations
Reference
Appendix
TOTAL MARKS

Allocated Marks (%)

2013452866
2013207818
2013892774
2013477242

Marks

5
5
5
5
5
10
10
10
20
10
5
5
5
100

Remarks:
Checked by:

Rechecked by:

--------------------------Date:

-------------------------Date:

ABSTRACT
This experiment is conducted to determine the cooling load effect, effect of rates on the wet
bulb approach and the pressure drop through the packing when amount of heat loads varies.
Firstly, the general start-up is conducted to prepare the apparatus for the experiment. For the
first part which is the effect of heating load experiment, the blower is fully opened and the
heater is switched on. The water flow rate is set at 1 LPM. The fan and pump are switched
on and the unit is set to run for 10 minutes. The readings are recorded and the experiment is
repeated for 0.5kW, 1.0kW and 1.5kW. For the second part which is water flow rate
experiment, the blower is opened, 1.5kW power heater is switched on and the water flow
rate is set up at 0.4 LPM. The fan and pump is switched on and let to run for 10 minutes. All
the readings are recorded and this experiment is repeated by changing the flow rate to 1.0
LPM and 1.6 LPM. Lastly, the general shut-down procedure is conducted.
Based on the result obtained from the experiment, it shows that as the heat load increases,
the total cooling load increases as well. As the rate being increase, the wet bulb approach
increases too. Also the amount of column pressure varies with the amount of heat loads. The
relationship obtained is the amount of column pressure is inversely proportional to the
amount of heat loads.

INTRODUCTION
Cooling tower is a heat rejection device which rejects waste heat to the atmosphere through
the cooling of a water stream to a lower temperature. Cooling towers may either use the
evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to the near the wetbulb air temperature or in case of closed circuit dry cooling towers, rely solely on air to cool
the working fluid to near the dry-bulb air temperature.
Cooling tower was originated out of the development in the 19th century of condensers for
use with the steam engine. Condensers use relatively cool water, via various means, to
condense the steam coming out of the pistons or turbines. This reduces the back pressure
which in turn reduces the steam consumption and thus the fuel consumption, while at the
same time increasing power and recycling boiler-water. However, the condensers require an
ample supply of cooling water without which they are impractical because the cost of the
water exceeds the savings on fuel. While this was not an issue with marine engines, it
formed a significant limitation for many land-based systems.
By the turn of the 20th century, several evaporative methods of recycling cooling water were
in use in areas without a suitable water supply, such as urban locations relying on municipal
water mains. In areas with available land, the system took form of cooling ponds however in
areas with limited land such in cities; it took the form of cooling towers.
These early towers were positioned either on the rooftops of the building or as free-standing
structures which supplied with air by fans or relying on natural airflow. An American
Engineering textbook from 1911 described one design as a circular or rectangular shell of
light plate. In effect, a chimney stack much shortened vertically from 20 to 40 feet high and
very much enlarged laterally. At the top is a set of distributing troughs, to which the water
from the condenser must be pumped. From these it trickles down over "mats" made of
wooden slats or woven wire screens which fill the space within the tower.
A hyperboloid cooling tower was patented by the Dutch engineers, Frederik Van Iterson and
Gerard Kupers in 1918. The first hyperboloid cooling towers were built in 1918 near Heerlen.
The first ones in the United Kingdom were built in 1924 at Lister Drive Power Station in
Liverpool, England. It is used to cool the water used at a coal-fired electrical power station.
Cooling towers vary in size from small rooftop units to very large hyperboloid structures that
can be up to 200 meters or 660 feet tall and 100 meters or 550 feet in diameter or in

rectangular structures that can be over 40 meters or 130 feet and 80 meters or 260 feet
long. The hyperboloid cooling tower is often associated with nuclear power plants.
Cooling tower commonly applied in oil refineries, petrochemical and other chemical plants,
thermal power stations and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems for
cooling buildings. The classification is based on the type of air induction into the tower. The
main types of cooling towers are natural draft and induced draft cooling towers. A HVAC
cooling tower is used to dispose of unwanted heat from a chiller. Water-cooled chillers are
normally more efficient than air-cooled chillers due to heat rejection to tower water at or near
wet-bulb temperatures. Air-cooled chillers must reject heat at higher dry-bulb temperature
and thus have lower average reverse-Carnot cycle effectiveness. Large office buildings,
hospitals and schools typically use one or more cooling towers as part of their air
conditioning systems. Generally, industrial cooling towers are much larger than HVAC
towers.
HVAC use a cooling tower pairs the cooling tower with a water-cooled chiller or water-cooled
condenser. A ton of air conditioning is defined as the removal of 12,000 BTU/hour (3500W).
The equivalent ton on the cooling side actually rejects about 15,000 BTU/hour (4400W) due
to additional waste heat-equivalent of the energy needed to drive the chiller's compressor.
This equivalent ton is defined as the heat rejection in cooling 3 US gallons/min (1,5000
pound/hour) of water 10F (6C), which amounts to 15,000 BTU/hour, assuming a chiller
coefficient of performance of 4.0 which it equivalent to an energy efficient ratio (EER) of 14.
The cooling towers are also used in HVAC systems that have multiple water source heat
pumps that share a common piping water loop. The water circulating inside the water loop
removes heat from the condenser of the heat pumps whenever the heat pumps are working
in the cooling mode. Then, the externally mounted cooling tower is used to remove heat from
the water loop and reject it to the atmosphere. When the water loop is being used primarily
to supply heat to the building, the cooling water is normally shut down and the heat is
supplied by other means, usually from separate boilers.
Industrial cooling towers can be used to remove heat from various sources such as
machinery or heated process material. The primary use of large, industrial cooling towers is
to remove the heat absorbed in the circulating cooling water systems used in power plants,
petroleum refineries, petrochemical plants, natural gas processing plants, food processing
plants, semi-conductors plant and for other industrial facilities such as in condensers of
distillation columns for cooling liquid in crystallization etc. The circulation rate of cooling
tower in a typical 700MW coal fired power plants with a cooling tower amounts to about

71,600 cubic meters an hour and the circulating water requires a supply water make-up rate
of 5%. The world's tallest cooling tower is 202 meter tall cooling tower of Kalisindh Thermal
Power Station in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, India.1

OBJECTIVE
To determine the cooling load effect, effect of rates on the wet bulb approach and the
pressure drop through the packing when amount of heat loads varies.

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooling_tower

THEORY
A cooling tower is a specialized heat exchanger in which air and water are brought into direct
contact with each other in order to reduce the water's temperature. As this occurs, a small
volume of water is evaporated, reducing the temperature of the water being circulated
through the tower. Water, which has been heated by an industrial process or in an airconditioning condenser, is pumped to the cooling tower through pipes. The water sprays
through nozzles onto banks of material called "fill," which slows the flow of water through the
cooling tower, and exposes as much water surface area as possible for maximum air-water
contact. As the water flows through the cooling tower, it is exposed to air, which is being
pulled through the tower by the electric motor-driven fan.2

When the water and air meet, a small amount of water is evaporated, creating a cooling
action. The cooled water is then pumped back to the condenser or process equipment where
it absorbs heat. It will then be pumped back to the cooling tower to be cooled once again.
The theory behind the operation of the cooling tower is the First Law of Thermodynamics,
which is the conservation of energy. In simpler terms, the energy that enters the system
must exit the system; energy can neither be created nor destroyed, just transformed from
one form to another.

2 Cooling Towers SPX Cooling Technologies, no date

Energy that enters the cooling tower is in the form of hot water. (Other energy contributions
such as heat generation from friction of both air and water, energy losses from pipes, etc.
are ignored.) This hot water was cooled from temperature T 1 to a temperature of T2. The
cooling of the hot water was in the form of forced convection by which ambient air at T 1 was
blown over the hot water and exited the cooling tower at some temperature T 2. Both the
entrance and exit temperatures of the air and water were recorded. Once this data is
recorded, an energy balance can be conducted on the system. An energy balance is a form
of bookkeeping that accounts for the energy entering and leaving the system. The main
component of the energy balance is enthalpy which is defined as:3
H = U + PV
Where H = Enthalpy
U = Internal energy
P = Pressure
V = Volume

The combined term U + PV is enthalpy, which means to heat. Enthalpy can be calculated or
referenced from tables of data for the fluid being used. The fluids used by the cooling tower
are air and water, whose enthalpy values can be obtained from thermodynamics textbook.
For example: Since the initial and final temperatures of the input hot water and the output
cool water were measured, the temperature inlet (T in) can be referred and the enthalpy
(BTU/lbm, or KJ/kg) can be recorded.

The equation below displays the general method to conduct an energy balance:

in =

Where

H = H in - H out

3 Cooling Tower Experiments, 2011

out

A similar method is employed for conducting the energy balance for air entering and leaving
the system. The changes in enthalpy for air can be determined form either of two methods.
Since the air is at low pressure, it can be treated as an ideal gas and the enthalpy change
can be calculated through the use of the following equation:

H = Cp
Where

H = the change in enthalpy

T = the change in temperature
Cp = the specific heat with respect to constant pressure

Since the specific heat relation does not take into account the percent of water in the air, a
psychometric chart is used to determine the enthalpy change between the entrance and exit
air. In order for the psychometric chart to be used effectively, some information is needed
about the input and output air.
The information needed to reference the psychometric chart is the dry bulb and wet bulb
temperatures of the inlet and outlet air. Both the input and output air flow is measured with a
sling psychomotor. The sling psychomotor is an instrument that has two thermometers. The
thermometer for measuring the wet bulb temperature has a wetted cotton sleeve over the
bulb end, while the dry bulb thermometer is a regular thermometer. Once the wet and dry
bulb temperatures of the inlet and outlet air have been measured, each can be referenced
on the psychometric chart and the enthalpies obtained. Once the enthalpies for the inlet and
outlet water and air conditions are known, energy balance can be conducted on the system.

Types of cooling tower

Cooling tower are generally used for humidification operations. Cooling tower falls into two
main sub-divisions: natural draft and mechanical draft. Natural draft designs use very large
concrete chimneys to introduce air through the media. Due to the tremendous size of these
towers (500 ft high and 400 ft in diameter at the base) they are generally used for water flow
rates above 200,000 gal/min. Usually these types of towers are only used by utility power
stations. Mechanical draft cooling towers are much more widely used. These towers utiize
large fans to force air through circulated water. The water falls downward over fill surfaces
that help increase the contact time between the water and the air. This helps maximize the
heat transfer between the two.4
System Description
The basic layout of the laboratory cooling tower system is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Cooling Tower System Schematic

Water from the water heater, which is denoted cooling water return (CWR), will flows through
a hose to the cooling tower, where it is then carried by another hose to the top of the
cylindrical cooling tower. From here it is collected by a rotating spurge who sprays the water
over the area of the tower. The water then flows down the tower over a series of baffles
made from a cardboard style material. Ambient air is blown through a duct perpendicular to
the flow of water by the fan. This air interacts with the water resulting in a net transfer of heat
from the water to the air by the vaporization of some of the water. The cooled water then
flows into the reservoir which provides any make-up water required to replenish that lost to
evaporation. The reservoir is connected by a hose to the water supply inside the laboratory.
4 Cooling Tower Lab Manual, no date

The level of the reservoir is kept constant by a float valve which controls the flow of the
make-up water from the water supply line. From the reservoir, the water flows to the pump
that returns the cooled water, now denoted as cooling water supply (CWR), to the water
heater via a hose.
Data collection for the tower is provided by a data link from the tower to a Macintosh
computer running Lab view data collection software. Data collected by the software includes
the flow rate of the water through the system; the percent of total electrical load of the fan (060 Hz), used to control the fan speed; the percent of total electrical load of the pump (0-60
Hz), used to control the pump speed; the humidity and temperature of the air entering the
fan; the humidity and temperature of the air leaving the fan; the temperature of the cooling
water supply and the temperature of the cooling water return.
Because of a problem with the flow meter in which the flow detector would become stuck
and give erroneous readings, a calibration of the flow meter was performed. In addition to
the flow meter problems, the humidity data collectors on the cooling tower were not used
because of questionable readings and a sling psychomotor was used to collect the dry bulb
and wet bulb temperatures of the ambient air (air entering the fan) and the air leaving the
cooling tower. These values were then used in conjunction with a psychometric chart to
determine the humidity of the inlet and outlet air.
After the data has been collected, an energy balance around the cooling tower can be
calculated. First the energy lost by the water can be calculated, and then the energy gained
by the air can be calculated.
Energy Balance for Cooling Tower
The water going into the cooling tower loses energy. The enthalpy of the water going into the
tower can be determined by using the enthalpy of saturated liquid water in a steam table.
The enthalpy of the water coming out of the tower can be determined in the same way. The
data in steam tables are usually not given for every temperature so linear interpolation must
be performed to determine the enthalpy at the desired temperature. Then the enthalpy of the
water is multiplied by the mass flow rate. The change in enthalpy for the water is determined
by
.

The change in energy of the air can be determined using the same methodology as was
used for water. The enthalpy change is shown as

.
However, the determination of the enthalpy of air is more complicated than the determination
of the enthalpy values of the water stream. An important tool that is used for this is the
psychometric chart. On the psychometric chart, the enthalpy of the air stream can be
determined by using the wet bulb and the dry bulb temperature of the air stream. The
enthalpy is given with the units of BTU per pound of dry air. By using the output stream, the
volumetric flow per mass flow of dry air can be determined. This is a conversion factor that is
used to convert volumetric flow of air to pounds of dry air.
Now that the mass flow rate of dry air is known, the enthalpy values of the in and out
streams can be determined. The change in enthalpy of the water should have a negative
value, and the change in enthalpy of the air should have a positive value. Theoretically,
when the two values are added together, the result should be zero. This can be shown by
the first law of thermodynamics where

APPARATUS

Orifice
Water
distributor
Packing
column

Make up tank

Flow
meter
Receiver

Differential Pressure
Transmitter

tank

Load tank

Air
blower

Control
Panel

Figure 2: SOLTEQ Bench Top Cooling Tower Unit (Model: HE152)

1) Stopwatch
2) Deionized water
3) SOLTEQ Bench Top Cooling Tower Unit (Model: HE152)

PROCEDURE
General start up:
1
2
3

Valve V1 to V6 were ensured to be closed while V7 was partially closed.

The load tank was filled with distilled water or deionised.
The make-up tank was filled with distilled water or deionised water up to zero mark

on the scale.
Distilled water or deionised water was added to the wet bulb sensor reservoir to the

5
6
7

fullest.
The appropriate cooling tower was installed for the experiment.
All appropriate tubing to diferential pressure sensor were connected.
The temperature set point of temperature controller was set to 45C, the 1.0 kW

water heaters is switched on and the water was heated up until approximately 40C
The pump was switched on and the control valve V1was slowly opened. The water
flow rate was set 20 LPM. A steady operation where the water was distributed and

flowing uniformly through the packing was obtained.

The fan damper was fully opened, and the fan was switched on. The differential

pressure sensor was checked.

10 The unit was let to run about 20 minutes, for float valve to correctly adjust the level in
the load tank. Refill the make-up tank as required.
11 The unit was ready to use.
General Shut-Down Procedures
1

All the heaters were switched off and the water was let to circulate through the

2
3
4
5

cooling tower system for 3-5 minutes until the water cooled down.
The fan was switched off and the fan damper was fully closed.
The pump and the power supply were switched off.
The water in the reservoir tank was retained for the next experiment.
The water was completely drained off from the unit if it was not in used.

Experiment 1: Effect of heating load

1
2
3
4
5
6

The blower was fully opened.

0 kW heater was switched on.
The water flow rate was set to be 1.0 LPM
The fan and pump were switched on.
The unit was set to run for 10 minutes.
After the steady operation was obtained, all the readings on the control panel were

recorded.
The experiment was repeated for the power heatre of 0.5 kW, 1.0 kW and 1.5 kW.

Experiment 2: Water Flow Rate

1
2
3
4
5
6

The blower was fully opened.

1.5 kW of power heater was switched on.
The water flow rate was set up at 0.4 LPM.
The fan and pump was then switched on.
The unit was let to run for 10 minutes.
After the system has achieved steady state, all the readings on the control panel

were recorded.
The experiment was repeated by using flow rate of 1.0 LPM and 1.6 LPM

RESULTS
Column installed: B
Water Flow Rate, FT1: 2.0 LPM
Blower: Fully Open
DESCRIPTION

UNIT

HEATER (kW)
1.0
1.5
2
1
2
1
2
25.4 26.7 26.3 27.0 27.3
24.4 23.8 23.4 23.5 23.6

0.5

Air Inlet Dry Bulb, T1

Air Inlet Wet Bulb, T2

C
C

1
26.6
23.8

Air Outlet Dry Bulb, T3

24.8

24.5

25.9

25.1

27.4

27.4

Air Outlet Wet Bulb, T4

26.4

25.3

26.9

26.5

28.7

28.6

29.0

30.0

31.3

31.1

35.2

35.5

24.2

24.4

24.9

24.9

25.7

26.0

Pa

73

72

71

72

71

71

416

417

805

803

1209

1204

Pa
70
Table 1

70

70

69

68

68

Water Inlet Temperature, T5

Water Outlet Temperature, T6
Orifice Differential, DP1

Heater Power, Q1
Pressure Drop Across Packing, DP2

HEATER (kW)
DESCRIPTION

UNIT

Air Inlet Dry Bulb, T1

0.5

1.0

1.5

26.00

26.50

27.15

Air Inlet Wet Bulb, T2

24.10

23.60

23.55

Air Outlet Dry Bulb, T3

24.65

25.50

27.40

Air Outlet Wet Bulb, T4

25.85

26.70

28.65

Water Inlet Temperature, T5

29.50

31.20

35.35

Water Outlet Temperature, T6

24.30

24.90

25.85

Orifice Differential, DP1

Pa

72.50

71.50

71.00

Heater Power, Q1

416.50

804.00

1206.50

Pressure Drop Across Packing, DP2

Pa

70.00

69.50

68.00

Cooling range

5.20

6.30

9.50

Approach to Wet Bulb

0.20

1.30

2.30

Total Cooling Load,Q

kW

0.7284

0.8782

1.3242

145.68

87.82

88.28

Efficiency,

Table 2

Total Cooling Load (kW) vs Heat Supply (kW)

1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

1.4

1.6

Heat Supply (kW) Heat Supply (kW)

Figure 3: Graph of Total Cooling Load vs Heat Supply

Graph of Wet Bulb Approach (C) vs Heat Supply (kW)

2.5
2
1.5

Wet Bulb Approach (C)

1
0.5
0
0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

Heat Supply (kW)

Figure 4: Graph of Wet Bulb Approach vs Heat Supply

1.4

1.6

Graph of Pressure Drop(Pa) vs Heat Supply (kW)

70.5

70

69.5

69

68.5

68

67.5

67
0

0.5

1.5

Figure 5: Graph of Pressure Drop vs Heat Supply

CALCULATIONS
For heater 0.5 kW:

Calculate T 1avg =

T 1 ( 1 ) +T 1(2)
2

26.6+ 25.4
2

26.00

Calculate T 2avg =

T 2 ( 1 ) +T 2(2)
2

23.8+ 24.4
2

24.10

Calculate T 3avg =

T 3 (1 )+T 3(2)
2

24.8+ 24.5
2

24.65

Calculate T 4avg =

T 4 ( 1 ) +T 4(2)
2

26.4 +25.3
2

25.85

Calculate T 5avg =

29.0+ 30.0
2

T 5 (1 ) +T 5(2)
2

 29.50

Calculate T 6 avg=

24.2+24.4
2

24.30

T 6 ( 1 ) +T 6(2)
2

Calculate DP 2avg =

DP 2 ( 1 ) + DP 2( 2)
2

70.0+70.0
2

70.00

Calculate wet bulb approach=T 6 avgT 2avg

24.3024.10
0.20

Calculate total cooling range=T 5avg T 6avg

29.5024.30

5.20

Calcualtion of cooling load , Q=mc

3

2 L 1 min
1m
1000 kg
m=

3
min 60 s 1000 L
1m
0.0333

kg
s

Q=mc

Q= 0.0333

kg
kJ
4.186
( 5.20 )
s
kg .

)(

0.7284 kW

Effeciency , =

0.7284
100
0.5

Heat load
100
Heat supply

 145.68

DISCUSSION
Cooling Tower (Model: HE 152) has been designed to allow engineering students to get
familiarized with all the processes related to industrial force draught cooling tower. The basic
unit can be used with other columns to further assist students in the study of
Thermodynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning.
The unit is supplied with a packed column having packing density of approximately 110
m2/m3. The unit mainly consists of a load tank with a total of 1.5 kW electric heater, an air
distribution chamber, a make-up tank and a test column. Warm water is pumped from the
load tank to the top of the column before being uniformly distributed over the top packing.
The thin film of water is cooled, as it passes downward, due to evaporation. The cooled
water falls into the basin before going back into the load tank where it is re-heated and
recirculated. The load-tank water level is maintained by means of a make-up tank. A blower
is installed on the unit to deliver air into the air distribution chamber. The air passes a wet
and dry bulb thermometer before entering the column. As the air passes up the column, its
moisture content increases and the water is cooled. At the top of the column, the air passes
a mist.5
The experiment is conducted to determine the cooling load effect, effect of rates on the wet
bulb approach and the pressure drop through the packing when amount of heat loads varies.
In this experiment, there are three trials which are 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 kW and the manipulated
variable is the cooling load. The flow rate of the water was fixed at 2 LPM. The damper was
kept fully opened during the whole experiment. The column used during the experiment is
the same throughout the experiment. The values are recorded in the Table 1 and 2. For this

5 http://solution.com.my/pdf/HE152%28A4%29.pdf

experiment, there are few graphs plotted by analyzing the results such as in Figure 3, 4 and
5.
Based on Figure 3, the total cooling load is slightly linearly proportional to the heat load. The
total cooling load increases when the amount of heat load increases. The cooling load is the
amount of heat energy that would need to be removed from a space (cooling) to maintain
the temperature in an acceptable range. 6 There are two types of cooling loads which are
sensible cooling load and latent cooling load. The sensible cooling load refers to the dry bulb
temperature of the building and the latent cooling load refers to the wet bulb temperature of
the building. Latent cooling load is a measure of the amount of energy that is necessary to
dehumidify the air in a building, for example, regardless of the outdoor humidity. Cooling load
needs to be considered when a cooling system is being dimensioned.7
In the cooling tower, water is cooled by the process known as evaporation. In the process,
heat energy is being transferred between the water and air which having different
temperature. As the energy in the water molecules is transfer to the air flowing through the
water, the bond of the water molecules becomes weaker then it will slowly evaporate to the
air. It can be prove from the result of this experiment, whereby the water outlet temperature
is lower than the inlet. The tower inner structure is filled with fill that is arranged in the form
of labyrinth. The fill is used in order to increase the time contact of the water and the air
flowing in the system.
Figure 4 shows that the wet bulb temperature approach is linearly proportional to the heat
load. It shows that when the heat load increases, the wet bulb approach also increases. The
wet bulb approach is the difference in temperature between cooled-water temperature and
entering-air. The lowest wet bulb approach was 0.2C when the heater loads at 0.5 kW. The
value of the wet bulb approach is increasing linearly from 0.2C to 2.3C.
In Figure 5, the amount of the column pressure drops decreases linearly. This is because the
amount of column pressure drops decreases as the amount of heat loads increases. The
amount of column pressure drop decreases from 70 Pa to 68 Pa when the heat loads is
between 0.5 kW and 1.5 kW.

6 Heating and cooling loads - BASIX (Building Sustainability Index)

7 Cooling Loads - Latent and Sensible Heat, no date

Based on the results, it shows that the cooling range increases when the heat load increases
from 0.5 kW to 1.5 kW. The cooling range is determined by calculating the difference
between temperature of water in and temperature of water out. Besides that, the total
cooling load also increases from 0.7284 kW to 1.3242 kW as the heater load increases from
0.5 kW to 1.5 kW. The efficiency of heat load 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 kW are 145.68%, 87.82%,
88.28%. The cooling tower is more efficient when the power input is higher which can
increase the cooling rate and the evaporation rate.
The efficiency should not be higher than 100%. In this experiment, there are several
mistakes that happen during the experiment were conducted. This problem may be
enhancing by using the recommendation to improve the result.
Throughout the experiment, in order to reduce the potential of inaccuracy in obtaining
measured data, a few recommendations and precautions must be considered during
performing the experiment. First of all, during the experiment, the experiment should be
repeated at least two times to get accurate values and then take the average and to make
comparisons. In this experiment, no resistance to heat transfer in liquid phase was assumed.
Besides, avoid from water evaporation in tower in side laboratory because this will disturb
the data recorded and accuracy of experiment. Next, steady flow equations must be
employed in order to provide an insight on the amount of energy transferred between
phases under different conditions. Besides, the auxiliary heaters must always be used during
experiments in order to increase the temperature difference between the return water from
the water heater and the cool supply water. This increase in temperature difference will allow
for a larger enthalpy difference and will decrease the possibility of the enthalpy difference
being negligible.

CONCLUSION
The experiment is conducted to determine the cooling load effect, effect of rates on the wet
bulb approach and the pressure drop through the packing when amount of heat loads varies.
From the graphs plotted by analyzing the results such as in Figure 3, 4 and 5, it shows that
the total cooling load increases when the amount of heat load increases. Besides that, it also
shows that when the heat load increases, the wet bulb approach also increases and the
amount of column pressure drops decreases as the amount of heat loads increases.
The cooling range is determined by calculating the difference between temperature of water
in and temperature of water out. Moreover, the total cooling load also increases from 0.7284
kW to 1.3242 kW as the heater load increases from 0.5 kW to 1.5 kW. The efficiency of heat
load 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 kW are 145.68%, 87.82%, 88.28%. The cooling tower is more efficient
when the power input is higher which can increase the cooling rate and the evaporation rate.
The efficiency should not be higher than 100%. In this experiment, there are several
mistakes that happen during the experiment were conducted. This problem may be
enhancing by using the recommendations to improve the results.
Hence, this experiment has been a success since the objectives of the experiment are
achieved and knowledge is gained throughout the experiment regarding to the water cooling
tower operation.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1) The experiment should be repeated at least 2 times to get accurate result.
2) Avoid the water from being evaporate in the tower because it will affect the result.
3) The flow rate of water should be maintained throughout the experiment to ensure the
accurate result.
4) Make sure that there is enough amount of water in the tower along the experiment
conducted.
5) Make sure that the experiment is clean before being used.
6) Make sure the system is in steady state and stable before the data is recorded.

REFERENCES
1) Geankoplis, C. J. (2013) Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles
(Includes Unit Operations). Pearson New International Edition. Harlow: Pearson
Education
2) Rousseau, R. W. & Felder, R. M. (2000). Balances on Nonreactive Processes. In
Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes (3rd ed., pp. 384-385). WILEY.
3) Cooling Loads - Latent and Sensible Heat (no date). Available at:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/latent-sensible-cooling-load-d_245.html
(Accessed: 12 April 2015)
4) Heating and cooling loads - BASIX (Building Sustainability Index) (no date). Available
at: http://www.basix.nsw.gov.au/basixcms/basix-help-notes/thermal/heating-andcooling-loads.html (Accessed: 12 April 2015).
5) Cooling Tower Lab Manual (no date) Available at:
http://www.che.iitb.ac.in/courses/uglab/manuals/coollabmanual.pdf (Accessed: 28
April 2015)
6) Cooling Tower Experiments (2011) Available at:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/60004961/Cooling-Tower-Experiments (Accessed: 28
April 2015)
7) Cooling Towers SPX Cooling Technologies (no date) Available at:
http://spxcooling.com/coolingtowers (Accessed: 28 April 2015)

APPENDICES

Experimental Capabilities
This Water Cooling Tower (Model: HE 152) shall allow students to conduct these
experiments:
1) To study the water flow pattern and distribution.
2) To measure all end states, and flow rates of water, air and make-up water.
3) To plot the end states on a psychrometric chart and to draw up energy balances
using the steady flow equation.
4) To study the performance at different range of cooling loads and inlet temperatures.
Specifications
1) Base Unit
Load tank with 0.5 kW and 1.0 kW electric heaters, a float level control, make-up
tank, circulating pump, air blower and control panel.
2) Column (Column I)
Packed column made of clear acrylic with ten decks of inclined plastic packing,
water distribution unit and pressure tappings.
i.
ii.

Packing density: 110 m2/m3

Dimension: 15 cm(W) x15 cm(D) x60 cm(H)

3) Column Cap
Made of clear acrylic with sharp edge orifice, mist eliminator and water distributor.
4) Instrumentations
Temperature measurements for water and air, dry and wet bulb temperatures,
inclined tube manometer for air flow measurement, variable area flowmeter for
water flow measurement.

Additional Columns
1) Column II:
i.
Similar to column I except with packing density of 77 m2/m3
ii.
To study the effect of packing surface area/volume on the pressure drop
across the packing and on the wet bulb temperature at inlet.
2) Column III:
i.
Similar to column I except with packing density of 200 m2/m3
ii.
To study the effect of packing surface area/volume on the pressure drop
across the packing and on the wet bulb temperature at inlet.
3) Column IV:
i.
Similar to column I except without packing (empty column)
ii.
To allow students to design their own packing and thus study the
performance.
4) Column V:
i.
Similar to column III except that column V is 30 cm taller with intermediate
spaces in which the water and air dry and wet bulb temperatures are
ii.

measured
To measure the air and water properties at different locations within the

iii.
iv.

packing
To construct the enthalpy driving force diagrams
To determine the Characteristics Equation for packing.

Digital Instrumentations
1)
2)
3)
4)

11 units of Digital Indicators

1 unit of electronic flowmeter
1 unit of differential pressure transmitter
8 units of temperature sensor with c/w transmitter

Requirements
Electrical supply : 220-240V/1-ph/50Hz
Water supply : 2 L/hr of distilled or demineralized water
Overall Dimensions
Height : 1.20 m
Width : 1.00 m
Depth : 0.60 m