Scribd
Upload
1K views4 pages

Cooling Tower Calculation

This document discusses key calculations and terminology used for cooling tower design and operation. It defines common metrics like wet bulb temperature, dry bulb temperature, approach, range, circulation rate, evaporation loss, drift loss, cycle of concentration, blowdown, holding time index, and Langelier saturation index. It also explains heat exchanger calculations like log mean temperature difference (LMTD) and terminal temperature difference (TTD) that are important for monitoring heat transfer efficiency over time. Maintaining proper cycles of concentration and chemical treatment based on these calculations is critical for corrosion control and preventing scale buildup in cooling systems.

Uploaded by

Anonymous 7CnrWpzZf1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
1K views4 pages

Cooling Tower Calculation

This document discusses key calculations and terminology used for cooling tower design and operation. It defines common metrics like wet bulb temperature, dry bulb temperature, approach, range, circulation rate, evaporation loss, drift loss, cycle of concentration, blowdown, holding time index, and Langelier saturation index. It also explains heat exchanger calculations like log mean temperature difference (LMTD) and terminal temperature difference (TTD) that are important for monitoring heat transfer efficiency over time. Maintaining proper cycles of concentration and chemical treatment based on these calculations is critical for corrosion control and preventing scale buildup in cooling systems.

Uploaded by

Anonymous 7CnrWpzZf1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Cooling Tower Calculations

Table of Contents
 Cooling Tower Calculations & Terminologies:
o #1. Wet bulb temperature:
o #2. Dry bulb temperature:
o #3. Range or Delta T:
o #4. Approach:
o #5. Cooling Tower Effectiveness:
o #6. Hold up volume:
o #7. Circulation Rate or Re-circulation Rate:
o #8. Evaporation Loss:
o #9. Windage or Drift Loss:
o #10. Cycle of concentration(COC):
o #11. Blow down:
o #12. Holding Time Index:
o #13. Chemical dosing calculation based on blowdown:
o #14. Chemical dosing calculation based on holdup volume:
o #15. Langelier Saturation Index:
o #16. Log Mean Temperature Difference(LMTD):
o #17.Terminal Temperature Difference(TTD):
o Why LMTD & TTD is important?

Cooling Tower Calculations & Terminologies:


#1. Wet bulb temperature:
wet bulb temperature is measured by the thermometer which is wrapped in a cloth called
soak. Wet bulb temperature of a cooling tower is measured by sling psychomotor.

#2. Dry bulb temperature:


This the temperature of the atmosphere. It is also called ambient temperature. It doesn’t
take account of relative humidity in the air. Relative humidity simply represents how much
moisture could be at a given temperature compared to the actual moisture present in the
air. If the humidity is 100% then no evaporation is possible because air is completely
saturated with water.

#3. Range or Delta T:


It is the difference between cooling water inlet temperature and outlet temperature.

Range or Delta T Calculation


Range or Delta T = Hot cooling water inlet temp – Cold cooling water outlet temp
#4. Approach:
This is the difference between the cooling tower outlet cold water temperature and
ambient wet bulb temperature.

Approach Calculation
Approach = Cold cooling water outlet – Wet bulb temperature
#5. Cooling Tower Effectiveness:
This is the ratio of range to the ideal range

CT Effectiveness Calculation
CT effectiveness (%) = Range / (Range + Approach) *100
#6. Hold up volume:
It is the total volume of water present in the whole circuit of the cooling tower including
piping & equipment. Don’t confuse with circulation rate. The holdup volume is measured in
m3
#7. Circulation Rate or Re-circulation Rate:
It is the flow rate of water which is circulated in the cooling tower. Normally, the
circulation rate is measured in m3/hr
#8. Evaporation Loss:
Evaporation Loss: It is the loss of water from a cooling tower by evaporation. Theoretically,
the evaporation quantity of water is 1.8 m3 for every 10,00,000 Kcal heat rejected.
Evaporation Loss Calculation
Evaporation Loss(m3/hr) = 0.00153 * Recirculation Rate (m3/hr) * Delta T
#9. Windage or Drift Loss:
It is very difficult to ignore the drift problem in a cooling tower. Drift or windage loss of
cooling tower is normally provided by its manufacturer based on cooling tower design. If it
isn’t available then you can assume based on below formula.

Drift Loss Calculation


Natural Draft Cooling Tower: 0.3 to 1.0 * Recirculation Rate / 100
Induced Draft Cooling Tower: 0.1 to 0.3 * Recirculation Rate / 100
Cooling Tower with drift eliminator: 0.01 * Recirculation Rate / 100
#10. Cycle of concentration(COC):
cycle of concentration (COC): It is simply a ratio of the parameters of cooling water to the
parameters of makeup water. It is a dimensionless number. It can be calculated by any of
the below formulae.

COC Calculation
COC = Silica in cooling water / Silica in makeup water
COC = Calcium Hardness in cooling water / Calcium Hardness in makeup water
COC = Conductivity in cooling water / Conductivity in makeup water.
COC = Make up water quantity / Blowdown water quantity
The last formula gives you more accurate COC if you have flow measurement facility
available for makeup & Blowdown water in the cooling tower. The cycles of concentration
normally vary from 3.0 to 8.0 depending on the design of a cooling tower.

It is always advisable to maintain COC as high as possible to reduce make water


requirement. It is ultimately saves the water. On other side higher COC increases dissolved
solids concentration in cooling tower.

#11. Blow down:


As you know when water evaporates it leaves solids & only pure water evaporates. It
means as COC increases dissolved solids gets concentrate. This will lead to corrosion &
scaling problem in the system if COC is not maintained as per design limit. So, to maintain
design COC some quantity of water is discharged from the cooling tower. It is known as
Blow down & calculated based on below formula

Blowdown Calculation
Blow down = Evaporation Loss / COC-1
#12. Holding Time Index:
It is a measurement of time at which the concentration of the added chemical into the
cooling water system decreases to 50% of its original value. This happens due to blowdown
& drift loss of water from the system plus the addition of new makeup water in the system.
The ideal value for HTI is 24 hours. High HTI (>48 hours) can result in chemical
degradation.

HTI Calculation
HTI = 0.693 * Hold up Volume / Blowdown
#13. Chemical dosing calculation based on blowdown:
Chemicals like corrosion and scale inhibitors are dosing on a continuous basis so the dosing
of these chemicals is calculated based on blowdown rate. Basically, the purpose is to make
up the chemical which is lost with blowdown to maintain desired concentration. This
calculation is a very important part of any cooling tower calculations.

Chemical Calculation Based on Blowdown


Chemical Quantity (Kg/hr) = Blowdown (m3 /hr) * ppm / 1000
#14. Chemical dosing calculation based on holdup volume:
Slug dosed chemicals like non-oxidising biocide calculated based on hold up volume of
cooling tower. Generally, after dosing of biocide blowdown is closed for 24 hours to make it
more effective.

Chemical Calculation Based on Holdup


Chemical Quantity (Kg) = Hold up volume (m3) * ppm / 1000
#15. Langelier Saturation Index:
LSI calculation will indicate the calcium carbonate scaling tendency of the water. Calculating an LSI is very
important because exceeding a treatment program’s LSI limit will likely lead to the formation of a calcium
carbonate deposit.
#16. Log Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD):
This calculates average temperature differential across heat exchangers. It compares the difference between
temperatures of the “hot” and “cold” fluids in heat exchangers. The larger temperature difference between
two fluids at either the exit or the entrance of the heat exchanger is designated as ∆T2 and the smaller
temperature difference is designated as ∆T1

Counterflow heat exchanger design where hot fluid enters at the opposite side of cooling water. The LMTD of
counterflow heat exchanger design calculated by using the below formula:

LMTD Calculation For Counter flow Heat Exchanger


LMTD = [(T1 – t2) – (T2 – t1)] / ln [(T1 – t2) – (T2 – t1)]
Parallel flow heat exchanger design where hot fluid & cooling water enters on the same side of the heat
exchanger. The LMTD of parallel flow heat exchanger design calculated by using the below formula:

LMTD Calculation For Parallel flow Heat Exchanger


LMTD = [(T1 – t1) – (T2 – t2)] / ln [(T1 – t1) – (T2 – t2)]
Where;
T1 = Hot fluid inlet temperature

T2 = Hot fluid outlet temperature

t1 = Cold fluid inlet temperature

t2 = Cold fluid outlet temperature


#17. Terminal Temperature Difference(TTD):
TTD is the difference in temperatures of hot fluid exiting (T hot-out ) and cold fluid exiting (T cold-out ) the
heat exchanger.

TTD Calculation
TTD = T hot(out) – T cold(out)
Why LMTD & TTD is important?
Increasing LMTD & TTD means there is reduced heat transfer occurring, and the system might be fouling on
the process side or the cooling water side.In Conclusion, above all cooling tower calculation are the most
important part of any cooling water treatment program to monitor it very effectively.

You might also like