Cooling Tower
A cooling tower is a heat-rejection device that cools circulating water by evaporating a small portion of it into an air stream. Warm water is distributed over fill media that maximise the air-water contact surface, while fans (mechanical draft) or natural buoyancy (natural draft) move air through the tower. In open-circuit towers the process water contacts the air directly; in closed-circuit towers (fluid coolers) the process fluid passes through a coil. Cooling towers serve power plants, refineries, HVAC chillers and industrial process loops. Selection is based on heat load, flow rate, hot- and cold-water temperatures, design wet-bulb temperature, approach and range. Performance testing commonly follows CTI ATC-105. Operation requires water treatment, blowdown and makeup control, and Legionella risk management.
Examples
- Induced-draft counterflow tower for chiller condenser water
- Closed-circuit fluid cooler for a process loop
- Field-erected tower for refinery cooling water