Closed Water Cooling Tower Industrial Fluid Cooling Tower

Cooling towers are specialized heat exchangers that efficiently remove excess heat from water primarily via latent heat dissipation through evaporation as it interacts with an airstream. Besides the cooling effect from evaporation, water is also cooled by sensible heat transfer due to the temperature gradient between the air and water. Unlike conventional heat exchangers that utilize conduction and convection, such as shell and tube or plate heat exchangers, cooling towers achieve cooling by enabling direct interaction between water and air.

To fully grasp the upcoming topics, it is beneficial to become acquainted with some fundamental terminologies associated with cooling towers.

Cooling Range

This term describes the temperature difference in water between the inlet and outlet points of the cooling tower.

Cooling Load

This is the pace at which heat is removed from the water.

Make-up

The volume of fresh water needed to replenish the water that has evaporated from the system.

Drift

The very small droplets of water that are carried away by the airstream during contact with the water.

Plume

The exiting stream of warm air and water vapor from the cooling tower, recognized as the effluent mix.

Approach

The variance between the temperature of the water exiting the tower and the wet bulb temperature of the introduced air.