EXPERIMENT 17 COOLING TOWER AIM You are required to carry out experiments in order to answer the following questions:

SAFETY This unit is self-contained and should be safe to operate. However, remember not to run the system with no water in it. Safety glasses and laboratory coats must be worn in the laboratory at all times. EQUIPMENT The Armfield Model Cooling Tower consists of a countercurrent contacting tower, in which water flows downward over angled wooden slats, and contacts a rising current of air. The water comes from a reservoir heated to simulate plant load. Air enters at ambient conditions. Measurement may be made of the flowrates of the air and water, the temperature of the inlet and outlet water, and the wet and dry bulb temperatures of the inlet and outlet air. How do flow conditions affect the performance of the Armfield Model Cooling Tower? How efficient is the column? How do your results compare with published theory?

THEORY Humidification Operations is presented in "Mass Transfer Operations by Treybal (Chapter 7, page 220.) The object of the experiment is to calculate NtOG, then HtOG and Kya. The operating line is found by energy measurements, and the driving forces towards equilibrium measured as the vertical difference between the operating and saturation lines. Some simplifications are made based on the nature of the system, and a process of graphical integration is carried out to obtain the value of the integral in equation 7.54, which is the Number of Overall Gas Transfer Units (NTOG). From this the HtOG and then the Kya is calculated. Dimensionless numbers enable the determination of correlation equations. You do not have to carry out the construction or the graphical integration, but you must collect stream and concentration data, convert it to mole fractions, and input it to the spreadsheet template Cooling Tower.XLS, which uses numerical methods to simulate the construction and calculation of all required parameters. OPERATING PROCEDURE It takes at least 1 hour to reach steady state after initial start-up so the technical staff will prepare the equipment for use. Students vary the operating conditions and allow time (more than 10 minutes) for the re-attainment of steady state between readings. You should operate at 6 airflows for this experiment. SHUTDOWN 1. Turn off the water heater and allow it to cool. Monitor the inlet water temperature to determine that it is cooling. 2. After the water has cooled to a safe temperature, you may switch off the main power to the unit. 3. Advise the Technical Staff that you have finished the experiment. REFERENCES 1. Treybal R.E, "Mass Transfer Operations, Chapter 7, McGraw-Hill, 3rd Edition, 1981 2. Norman W.S. et al, Trans Instn Chem Engnrs. 42, 61, (1963) 3. Hikita H. et al, Simultaneous heat and mass transfer in turbulent gas streams in wetted-wall columns, Can J Chem Eng, Vol 57, Oct 1979, pp 578-581