Document d8BVkRaQMy1Q3ZLm37rymRK9

American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers Guide, 1936 louvers are continually wet, and so add to the surface of water exposed to the cooling air. Natural Draft Deck Type Towers In past years most of the atmospheric water cooling on refrigeration work has been done with natural draft deck type towers, which are also referred to as wind or atmospheric towers. These towers consist of heavy wooden or steel framework from 15 ft to 80 ft high and from 6 ft to 30 ft wide, having open horizontal lattice-work platforms or decks at regular intervals from top to bottom, and a catch basin at the foot. The hot water is distributed over the upper part of the structure by means of troughs, splash heads, or nozzles, and it drips from deck to deck down to the basin. The object of the decks is to arrest the fall of the water so as to present efficient cooling surfaces to the air, which passes through the tower parallel to the decks. The decks also add to the area of water surface exposed to the air, but since they furnish a resistance to air flow, too many decks are a detriment. j To prevent the loss of water on the leeward side of the tower, wide splash boards are attached at regular intervals from top to bottom. These boards or louvers extend outward and upward, and in most designs the top edge of each louver extends above the bottom edge of the one above it. - Efficiency of a deck tower is improved, within limits, by increased height, increased length, or increased width. The first two increase the area of water exposed to the wind, and the latter increases the time of contact of the air with the water. Wind Velocities on Natural Draft Equipment Since natural air movement is the prime requirement for a deck type tower, spray cooling tower, or spray pond, the apparatus must be de signed to produce the desired cooling on days when the wind velocity is below average when the wet-bulb temperature is at the maximum chosen for design, and when the plant is operating at full load. The. apparatus must also, for best results, be located with its longest axis at right angles to the direction of the prevailing hot weather breeze. Table 1 Chapter 8, gives the average summer wind velocities and directions in representative cities. Natural draft cooling equipment should be designed to operate properly with not more than one-half of the average wind velocity, and in no case should it need a wind velocity of more than 5 mph. If is obvious that natural draft towers and other natural draft equipment must be so located that they are not obstructed by trees, buildings, or other wind deflectors. Mechanical Draft Towers Mechanical draft towers usually consist of vertical shells, constructed of wood, metal, or masonry, in which water is distributed uniformly at the top and falls to a collecting basin at the bottom.- The inside of the tower may be filled with wood checker-work over which the water drips, or the water surface may be presented to the air by filling the entire inside of the structure with spray fronfi nozzles. Air is circulated through the tower from bottom to top by forced or induced draft fans. Since the air flows counter to the water, the air is in contact with the hottest of the water 210 Chapter 11--Humidification and Dehumidification . . before leaving the top of the tower, and each unit of air picks up more hKit than a similar unit would on natural draft equipment, so the me chanical draft tower cools water by using less air than the other types of equipment need. As movement of the air through the towers is obtained bv power-consuming fans, it is essential that the air used be reduced to a minimum so as to secure the lowest possible operating cost. The efficiency of a mechanical draft tower is increased by increasing height, area, or air quantity. Increasing the height increases the length of time the air is in contact with the water without affecting seriously the fan power required, but it increases the pumping power needed. In creasing the area while maintaining constant fan power increases the air quantity somewhat and because of louvered velocities it increases the time this air is in contact with the water. The surface area of water in contact with the air. is increased in both cases. Increasing the air quantity decreases the time the air is in contact with the water, but, since a greater quantity is passing through, the average differential between the water temperature and the wet-bulb temperature of the air is increased, and this speeds up the heat transfer rate. Increased air quantities are obtained only at the expense of increased fan power, which increases approximately as the cube of the air quantity. Air velocities through mechanical draft towers vary from 250 fpm to 600 fpm over the gross area of the structure. Mechanical draft water cooling equipment may be set up inside build ings, where it usually draws its air supply from the general space in which it is installed, and discharges its exhaust air through a duct to the outside. Indoor cooling towers may be either of the wood-filled or the spray-filled type. In many cases where little height but considerable area is available, water is cooled in a spray-filled structure similar to an air washer, with the air passing horizontally through the apparatus and being discharged through a duct to the outside. Such apparatus does not have the counter flow advantage of the vertical mechanical draft water cooling equipment, and therefore requires a much larger excess of air for proper operation. Air velocities and operating powers are considerably above those required by vertical mechanical draft water cooling equipment. Make-Up Water Since the atmospheric water cooling equipment performs its functions chiefly by evaporating a portion of the water in order to cool the re mainder, there is a continual drain on the quantity of water in the system, and this loss must be replaced. Approximately 1 gal of water is lost for every 1000 gal of water cooled-per degree of cooling range; so if 1000 gpm of water are cooled through a 10 deg range, 10 gpm of water will be re quired to replace evaporated water. Replacement supply is usually regulated by a float control valve. Because the evaporation of the water leaves behind the salts which the water contained, high concentration of salts may make chemical treatment of the maker-up water necessary to avoid excessive deposits in the condensers. Winter Freezing < If atmospheric water cooling equipment is operated in freezing weather, the water may be cooled below freezing temperature so ice forms and