Group No.

06
Experiment Investigation of Performance of Artificial Water
Cooling Tower for Electric Generators
Manish Kumar, Vaibhav Varshney, Piyush Singh, Monu

Under Guidance of Dr. A.K. Tiwari

Mechanical Engineering, Noida Institute of Engineering and Technology

Greater Noida, U.P., India

Email:piyushsingh.007@rediffmail.com
Abstract: The main aim of our project is to fabricate artificial water cooling tower for
electric generators and to compare the temperature differences for different draft
conditions namely forced, induced and hybrid type. In the hybrid type a setup is made
such that both forced and induced type draft are operated at the same time.

Related studied focus on to improve the cooling rate for different draft conditions. It
was seen that for hybrid type cooling tower the cooling rate was maximum under
same conditions of operation. Also, it was seen that higher the temperature of the hot
water the higher will be the cooling tower.

Nomenclature:

T1 temp. of hot water tank

T2 temp. of cold water tank

m mass of water used

c specific heat of water(4.187KJ/kg-K)

Q amount of heat transfer between hot water and air

 INTRODUCTION
Overheating of machine elements is common problem in industry. It is caused due to
continuous operation of machine and atmospheric conditions of the surroundings.
Operation cannot be stopped or in other words the machine cannot be given time to be
cooled down and therefore there has to be provision for cooling. Water is the best
cooling medium as it is cheap and available in abundance. However it has to be noted
that continuous flow of fresh water to the machine is not advisable as it creates great
waste. Cooling tower is used to fulfil the purpose of cooling with minimum usage of
fresh water. It circulates fresh water for cooling to the machine and uses least make up
water that is lost due to evaporation. Apart from industry cooled water is needed for,
for example, air conditioners, or power generation. A cooling tower is the equipment
used to reduce the temperature of a water stream by extracting heat from water and
emitting it to the atmosphere. Cooling towers make use of evaporation whereby some
of the water is evaporated into a moving air stream and subsequently discharged into
the atmosphere.

. A direct or open-circuit cooling tower is an enclosed structure with internal means to

distribute the warm water fed to it over a labyrinth-like packing or "fill." The fill may
consist of multiple, mainly vertical, wetted surfaces upon which a thin film of water
spreads. An indirect or closed circuit cooling tower involves no direct contact of the
air and the fluid, usually water or a glycol mixture, being cooled. In a counter-flow
cooling tower air travels upward through the fill or tube bundles, opposite to the
downward motion of the water. In cross-flow cooling tower air moves horizontally
through the fill as the water moves downward. Cooling towers are also characterized
by the means by which air is moved. Because evaporation consists of pure water, the
concentration of dissolved minerals and other solids in circulating water will tend to
increase unless some means of dissolved-solids control, such as blow-down, is
provided. Some water is also lost by droplets being carried out with the exhaust air
(drift).
 EXPERIMENT PROCEDURE
 First, install the temperature sensors in the cold water basin and hot water
basin.
 Fill the hot water basin with water (50L) using water supply.
 Now, heat the water in the hot water basin or tank using electric heater.
 Note the temperature as shown by the hot water temperature sensor.
 Start the specific fans as per the type of drafts or hybrid cooling system
 Now open the flow of the hot water to the cooling tower using valve.
 Note the readings of cold water temp. Sensor.
 Evaluate the difference between the temperatures of hot water and cold water
for different drafts techniques and different temps.

OBSERVATIONS
S.No. Type of draft Hot water basin Cold water basin ΔT= T1-
temp.(T1) temp.T2(ᵒC) T2(ᵒC)
(ᵒC)
1. Hybrid 61.4 32.8 28.4
60.3 33.6 26.7
58.3 33.4 24.9
57.4 33.0 24.4
Average 25.5
2. Induced 62.5 43.3 19.2
60.7 42.2 18.5
57.2 38.5 18.7
56.0 38.2 17.8
Average 18.3
3. Forced 61.4 48.3 13.1
58.7 46.0 12.7
56.2 44.8 11.4
54.5 43.8 10.7
Average 12.1
CALCULATIONS

Mass of water used= 40kg

For hybrid draft type

Heat exchange (Q1) = mcΔT1

= 40*4.185*25.5 = 4.26KJ

For Induced draft type

Heat exchange (Q2) = mcΔT2

= 40*4.185*18.3 = 3.097KJ

For Forced draft type

Heat exchange (Q3)= mcΔT3

= 40*4.185*15 = 2.025KJ

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

It is observed from the above table that temperature difference between the hot water
basin and the cold water basin are-

For Hybrid type draft- 25.5ᵒC

For Induced type draft-18.3ᵒC

For Forced type draft-12.1ᵒC

On the basis of results and observations, the experiment shows that the high
temperature difference is given by the project at high temperature of hot water basin.
REFRENCES
 Modelling of existing cooling towers in ASPEN PLUS using an equilibrium
stage method (Joao A. Queiroz , Vitor M.S. Rodrigues , Henrique A. Matos ,
F.G. Martins ), (Jan, 1989)
 Experimental study regarding the evolution of temperature profiles inside wet
cooling tower under crosswind conditions (Ming Gao*, Feng-zhong Sun, A.
Turan) (Oct, 1993)
 Experimental study regarding the evolution of temperature profiles inside wet
cooling tower under crosswind conditions (Ming Gao*, Feng-zhong Sun, A.
Turan) (March, 1997)
 Experimental research on circumferential inflow air and vortex distribution for
wet cooling tower under crosswind conditions (Ming Gao a,*, Feng-zhong
Sun a, Ni-ni Wang b, Yuan-bin Zhao a) (Nov, 2001)
 Science Direct Articles And Journals (article 1.2, 3.1.1, 4.2 & 5.4)
 Power Plant Engineering (Er. R. K. Rajput), Laxmi Publications (Page
no.415, article 11.6)
 Heat and Mass Transfer (Er. R. K. Rajput), S Chand Publications (Page No.
356, article 7.5)
 Thermodynamics (P. K. Nag), TMG publications (Page No. 267, article 8.3)