What is a Cooling Tower?
It may seem like a simple question, but sometimes we all need a review of the basics. So,
What is a Cooling Tower?
A cooling tower is a piece of equipment that extracts waste heat to the atmosphere when air is brought into direct contact with water. This process is termed evaporative cooling and is designed to expose the maximum transient water surface to the maximum flow of air.
There are two predominant types of cooling towers; direct and indirect. Midwest Cooling Towers business is focused on direct, or open circuit cooling towers. Cooling towers are commonly characterized by directional flow of the air and water as well as the means by which the air is moved.
Crossflow and counterflow designs are the most common methods in which the air and water come into contact. Mechanical and natural draft designs are the most common methods by which the air is moved.
Crossflow Cooling Towers
Crossflow towers utilize a type of splash fill media through which the incoming air flows horizontally across the downward flow of water from the top distribution basins.
Counterflow Cooling Towers
In counterflow towers the incoming air moves vertically upward through the fill, counter to the downward water flow from the distribution laterals.
Mechanical and Natural Draft Cooling Towers
Mechanical draft towers utilize some method of mechanically force, such as a fan to move air through the tower.
Natural draft towers utilized the buoyancy of the warm air combined with a tall chimney to naturally draw air through the tower.
To learn more about cooling towers, please click here.
