What Are Cooling Towers and How Do They Work

Cooling towers are actually heat exchangers that work on decreasing the temperature of hot water. This temperature decrease is done by allowing the air and water to meet each other. These towers have vital importance in industrial sectors because they prevent overheating of equipment during different processes.

So if you are interested in buying a cooling tower for your industry visit h2ocooling.com. Industrial Cooling Solutions not only offers cooling towers but also supplies their parts. In addition to this, you will also get maintenance and repair services. So whether you need to do repairing work of your tower or you need to upgrade the previous one, you get it all in one place.

Source: CAPPA cooling

So how do they work?

Industrial processes often release heat and therefore, chilling equipment is always required in such settings. That is why chilling towers are the best choice for industrialists and for work settings where equipment cooling is required.

Equipment heats up during processing and therefore, air conditioners and condensers are used to keep them cool. These condensers work by passing cool water around the equipment through pipes. Consequently, this cool water becomes hot and a pump then pushes it to the cooling towers. There are spray nozzles in there that spray the water on some “fill media”.

This fill media decreases the water flow. Thus, more area of the water surface comes in contact with the air. This air comes from the electric fan called “cooling tower fan”.

When this hot water and cool air come in contact with each other some of the water evaporates. Thus, resulting in cooling. This cool water is then again sent back to the condensers that cool down the different equipment.

Source: CAPPA cooling

Different types of cooling towers

The system of different towers varies and therefore, they have specific functions. Although you might think that these towers work only for industrial processes but no. they have several uses and purposes. So here is a list of different systems;

  1. Crossflow cooling towers
  2. Counterflow cooling towers
  3. Forced draft and induced draft cooling towers process
  4. Natural draft and fan assisted natural draft cooling towers
  5. Factory assembled cooling towers (FAP) Factory Assembled Product
  6. Field Erected Towers (FEP) Field Erected Product

Working principle of the cooling tower

“Evaporative cooling” is the basic principle behind the cooling tower. Although the processes of different towers vary but the overall principle is the same in all models.

Source: Hamon

Tips for maintaining the cooling towers and chillers

If you want long-term working efficiency from products, you need to ensure proper maintenance. Therefore, even if you are working with temperature reduction towers, you need to maintain them. Otherwise, their working efficiency will reduce significantly.

So here are some useful tips that will help you in maintaining your chilling towers.

  1. Do regular inspection and check for uncommon noises.
  2. If the system needs any hands-on work, make sure to turn it off and disconnect the switches.
  3. Debris cleanup is a basic cleaning tip for every working machine. Therefore, your cooling system will need that too.
  4. Do regular inspections for the water distribution system. Furthermore, look for any dry areas in order to prevent scale buildup. Moreover, you have to look for clogs and cracks if the fill coil section is dry.
  5. Get rid of all the debris and dirt from the sump strainer. This will ensure water filtration and automatic maintenance.
  6. Ensure the appropriate predetermined level of water and check for makeup water supply in case of an issue.
  7. Prevent accumulation of any kind of solids in the circulating water. Furthermore, adjust the bleed level according to the water quality and evaporation rate of your area.
  8. Ensure the performance of the belt-drive system and fix any belt problems like tension.
  9. You have to do regular inspections for oil quality and oil level in the system. Furthermore, also check for shaft alignment according to the manual. Thus, you can ensure reliable services.
  10. Lubricate shaft bearings of the fan, at least once in three months. Furthermore, install automatic bearing greasers. They will ease your work of doing monthly maintenance.
Source: LinkedIn

1 – Regular inspections

Along with the above-mentioned tips, you should also ensure a regular inspection of the whole system. Furthermore, this inspection should include and everything starting from the water pump to the gearbox and fan.

Only with regular inspection, you can detect any spot corrosion, salt scaling and similar issues. If you detect the issues at the proper time, you can get rid of the problem at an initial stage. Thus, your chiller will remain in optimum condition for a long time.

2 – Improve airflow

Airflow is quite important in maintaining the proper functioning of the chilling system. Therefore, the fans should always be in perfect working condition. If in case a fan wing breaks or encounters any disruption, you have to replace it timely.

In addition to breakage, the presence of dirt and debris is also a significant problem that impacts the speed. Thus, if you clean them on regular basis, they will give optimum performance.

Furthermore, as the whole system is involved with water, the appearance of algae is unavoidable. Therefore, you have to ensure the cleanup of windpipes because algae can deposit there. Eventually, the airflow will decrease.

Source: Semiotic Labs

3 – Treating water with SBR

SBR is the scale and bio-removal system that you can use for cleaning. Scaling is a major problem in water-involved equipment and system. Furthermore, algae and other biological impurities can arise with time. Therefore, the best solution is to use SBR treatments.

You can use this treatment once in a month. Thus, your system will offer maximum efficiency. Furthermore, all the impurities like minerals, dust and debris will be gone for good.

Moreover, the interesting thing is that you can prevent the occurrence of several issues through regular cleanups. Furthermore, there won’t be any microbes and minerals in the water to cause a disturbance in the nozzles and windpipes.