Effect of Design of Uniform Packing Characteristic to Improve Cooling Tower Performance

Abstract

An experimental study of the effect of uniform packing design on
cooling tower performance is presented in this thesis, with a focus on
contrasting a newly developed Uniform Packing New Design (UPND)
with a Previous Packing Design (UPPD) and a Non-Uniform Packing
(NUP) configuration. Thermal performance is assessed under a range of
operating conditions, including inlet water temperatures of 35°C, 43°C,
and 50°C, and water flow rates ranging from 25 to 200 kg/h, using a
laboratory-scale cooling tower apparatus (Model HE 152). The primary
factors that were looked at were the tower characteristic (KaV/L) and
the cooling efficiency. The results show that the UPND does much better
than the UPPD in all tested conditions. The tower characteristic values
were 0.35, 0.39, and 0.37, which is an improvement of 52%, 86%, and
76%, respectively. UPND also showed better cooling efficiency across
the tested temperature range, with values of 64.59%, 57.05%, and
54.89%, which was up to 54.3% better than UPPD. The better
performance is due to better contact between water and air, a more
even flow distribution, and the removal of thermal dead zones in the
packing structure. NUP worked best at certain liquid-to-gas (L/G) ratios,
but UPND worked well and consistently over a wider range of L/G ratios
(0.20 to 1.70), showing that it can handle changing load conditions. The
study finds that the uniform packing design not only improves heat
rejection and thermal stability, but it also fits with sustainable energy
goals by lowering entropy generation and fan energy use. These results
show that UPND is a practical and high-performance option for
industrial cooling systems. They also help make cooling tower
technologies that are more efficient, reliable, and good for the
environment.