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MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT
STEAM PLANT III
SEMESTER 2/2023
TOPIC: Cooling Tower (Practical No.2)
Group:2
Surname and initials Student number Signature
Ngejane. S 21945982
Mbunga. S 21711369
Msolo. N 22101169
Zulu. N 22114614
Msweli. M.K 22126040
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Contents
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 3
AIM .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................. 3
APPARATUS ............................................................................................................................................. 3
PROCEDURE ............................................................................................................................................ 3
RESULTS AND CALCULATIONS................................................................................................................. 4
RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................. 6
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................... 6
DISCUSSION............................................................................................................................................. 6
References .............................................................................................................................................. 7
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INTRODUCTION
In a cooling tower, fluids or gases with different temperatures come in close contact with
one another to exchange heat. The waste heat from this form of heat transmission is
released into the atmosphere by lowering the temperature of the water stream, which is
another name for a cooling tower. Cooling towers are frequently used to provide cooled
water for air conditioning, industry, and the generation of power. (Hoffschmidt,2012)
In this experiment, readings and computations would first be made alone using the tower,
and subsequently they would be made using the entire apparatus. The findings would be
compared after they were finished.
AIM
The purpose of this practical is to examine the functionality of industrial cooling water.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives are as follows:
The cooling load
Approach to wet bulb
APPARATUS
Temperature sensor
Temperature indicator
Water flow transducer
Heater
Inclined manometer
PROCEDURE
The drain cock at the back of the load tank was validated to be shut.
The fan inlet damper and the water rotameter valve were both fully opened.
The load tanks water level was checked when the power and switches were off.
The power and control switch were turned on, and the timer was set
The orifice differential, water mass flowrate and water level were all reviewed after
time
All temperature measurements were recorded
A series of calculations using the gathered data were followed by comparisons with
the supplied values of H
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RESULTS AND CALCULATIONS
Air dry bulb temperature @inlet (℃) T1 22,9
Air wet bulb temperature @ inlet (℃) T2 18,8
Air dry bulb temperature @ outlet (℃) T3 24,9
Air wet bulb temperature @ outlet (℃) T4 25,4
Water temperature inlet @ inlet (℃) T5 32,1
Water temperature outlet @ outlet (℃) T6 24,1
Make-up water temperature (℃) T7 23,9
Water flowrate (g/s) 𝑚̇𝑤 44
Orifice differential (mm𝐻2 0) X 19
Time intervals (s) Y 600
Difference in water level (mm) H 44
Cooling load (Kw) Q 1,5
Pipe diameter (mm) D 69
CHART READINGS
𝐻𝐴 =54,5 kJ/kg
𝑊𝐴 =0,0121 kg 𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡 /kg 𝑎𝑖𝑟
𝐻𝐵 =78 kJ/kg
𝑊𝐵 =0,0179 kg 𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡 /kg 𝑎𝑖𝑟
𝑉𝐵 =0,889 𝑚3 /kg
Open System
Make up quantity:
𝜋𝑑2
A= 4
𝜋(0,069))2
A= 4
A=3,739× 10−3m
𝑀𝐸 = ∆ℎ × 𝐴𝜌
= (0,044)(3,739 × 10−3 )(1000)
=0,165 kg
𝑀𝐸
𝑚𝑒=
𝑦
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0,165
= 600
=2,75 × 10−4 𝑘𝑔. 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟/𝑠
Mass flowrate of air:
𝑥
𝑀𝐸 =0,0137 × √(1+𝑤
𝑏 )𝑣𝑏
19
=0,0137 × √(1+0,0179)0.889
= 0,0628 𝑘𝑔. 𝑎𝑖𝑟/𝑠
𝑡1 =22,9
t h
21,1 89
22,9 ℎ𝑓
24,1 101
22,9 − 21,1 ℎ𝑓 − 89
=
24,1 − 21,1 101 − 89
ℎ𝑓 = 96,2 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
𝑄 − 𝑊 = ∆𝐻
1500-(-100)= ∆𝐻
∆𝐻 = 1600𝑊
∆𝐻 = 𝐻𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡 − 𝐻𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦
= 𝑚𝑎 ℎ𝐵 − 𝑚𝑎 ℎ𝑎 − 𝑚𝐸 ℎ𝐸
=(0,0628)(78)-(0,0628)(54,5)-(2,75× 10−4 )(96,2)
=1 449,345 W
Mass Balance:
𝑚𝐸 = 𝑚𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝐵 − 𝑚𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝐴
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= 𝑚𝑎 (𝑤𝐵 − 𝑤𝐴 )
= 0,0628(0,0179-0,0121)
=3,6424 × 10−4 𝑘𝑔/𝑠
Closed System
𝑄 − 𝑊 = ∆𝐻 + ∆𝐾𝐸
𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑄 − 𝑊 = 0
∆𝐻 = 𝐻𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡 − 𝐻𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦
= 𝑚𝑎 (ℎ𝐵 − ℎ𝐴 ) + 𝑚𝑤 × 𝐶𝑝𝑤(𝑡0 − 𝑡𝑐 ) − (𝑚𝐸 ℎ𝐸 )
=0,0628(78-54.5) + 0,044×4,187(24,1-23,9) - (3,642× 10−4 × 96,2)
=1 477,610 W
RECOMMENDATIONS
Even though the experiment was completed and successful, mistakes were made that
affected the outcomes. By reducing all these mistakes, we may raise the experiments
standard and efficiency:
The system must use well cooled water to prevent an efficiency drop
Use deionized water, as using other types of water could speed the tower covering
quick deterioration
Use caution when installing, the makeup tank because doing so too loosely or
haphazardly could cause water to leak from the neck and cause cracks
CONCLUSION
The cooling tower experiment was run to examine the performance at a certain range of
temperature cooling load. The cooling towers performance can be optimised by monitoring
and adjusting factors such as cooling load, inlet temperature, airflow rate and regular
maintenance. The experiments goal had been achieved and it was successful. It was
acceptable for there to be differences between theoretical and practical values.
DISCUSSION
There are some factors that affect the temperature of water and are also included in the
experiment when are: heater power, water flowrate and also lower. It was carried out using
Bench Top Cooling Tower H892 to discover the amount of temperature that affect heat and
mass balance.
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Energy is distributed to the surrounding however the temperatures of water and air are not
the same as a result the amount of energy that is delivered to the system is equal to the
amount of to the system is equal to the amount of energy leaving the system. Some
calculations may be influenced by some other variable like a human error. Hot water was
coded by using fan that blows air into the hot water to decrease the temperature.
References
[1] S. Energy, “iwc,” 05 0ctober 2019. [Online]. Available: https://iwc.co.za/cooling-towers/.
