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PETROLEUM SOCIETY OF CIM

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PAPER NO. CIM 92-84

THIS IS A PREPRINT - SUBJECT TO CORRECTION

Gas Plant
Environmental Noise
By
N.C. Hircock
Amoco Cana.da Pstrolewn ComP91Y Urnlted

"

"

RIGHTS RESERVED
THIS PAPER IS TO BE PRESENTED AT THE CIM 1992 ANNUAL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE IN CALGARY, JUNE 7-10,
1992. DISCUSSION OF THIS PAPER IS INVITED. SUCH DISCUSSION MAY BE PRESENTED AT THE TECHNICAL MEETING
AND WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR PUBLICATION IN CIM JOURNALS IF FILED IN WRITING WITH THE TECHNICAL
PROGRAM CHAIRMAN PRIOR TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEETING.

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84-1

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Example. if asked to reduce your plant noise from 50dB

to 47dB you are being asked to half It (not reduce by
6%!).

List of Contents
I.

2.

3.
4.

Noise and NOlse Propagation

The Noise Producers
- Engines
- Compressors
- Expanders & Turblnes
- Aerial Coolers
- Piping
- Flares
Tonal Characteristics
Attenuation Techniques
- Silencers
- Berms and Dykes
- Source Treatment
- Variable Speed Drives (VSD)
- The Stack Induced Draft Air Cooler (SIOAC)
Recommendations - Designing for a Quiet Plant

The next measurement to understand is the 'A' weighted

or dBA scale.
This is commonly used in aural or
nuisance environmental acoustics and consists of a
table or graph of corrections to the dB scale to
account for the human earls insensitivity to very low
and very high frequencies. Figure 3 illustrates the
corrections. [n effect. for example, if the human ear
hears 73dB in the 125HZ frequency It is percetved just
as Iloud l as 60dB in the 2000 HZ frequency because of
the higher sensitivity of the human ear to 2000 Hl.

1.2

Acoustic Fields
Oiffraction

- Dissipation, Absorption and

There are four acoustic field types which should be

understood:
Free Field; Semi-Free Field; Reverberant
and Anechoic. Figure 4 illustrates.
The Semi-Free
Gas Plant Environmental Noise
Field
1s
the one of interest to environmental
acoustics 1n relation to a plantls impact on nearby
Summary
residents.
Pure Free-Field is of interest only to
aircraft propagated no1se~ The noise inside a plant
In September 1988 the Energy Resources Conservation building is a combination of Reverberant and anechole
Board (ERCB) which regulates the Alberta Oil and Gas chamber noise - not dealt with In this paper.
Industry tightened 1ts environmental noise guidelines
by a factor XIO.
Hew nighttime maximum permissible Figure 5 illustrates how noise dissipates as distance
noise levels as lO~1 as 40dBA are now enforceable 1n squared 1n a semi-free field.
In essence every
The
directive
15
retroactively dOUbling of distance will reduce the perceived noise
rural areas.
applicable
upon
residential
complaints
and generated by a plant by 6dB.
In the fight agaInst
necessitated the use of radical innovations
for plant/residential noise. distance is our best friend
industry to comply.
and certainly lends enchantment to the residents'
view!
Aerial coolers contribute SUbstantially to plant notse
and this paper discusses abatement in general and two Next. air (in particular dry air) absorbs sound with
novel approaches taken by Amoco in particular.
The distance, although this absorption is only of any
use of variable spe:d fan drives and stack induced slgnlficance in the higher (1000 Hl+) frequencies.
draft coolers are examlned 1" detail.
Figure 6 illustrates and also demonstrates an analogy
as to WHY low frequencies are not absorbed like hIgh
I. Noise and Noise Propagation
ones.
5.

1.1

The Parameters

Noise 1s measured on the decibel scale (dB).

There
are two distinct common reference scales, the Sound
Power Level. which 1s base referenced to 10- 12
Watts
and
Sound Pressure Level. which is base
N/m 2 .
Decibels
referenced to 2 x 10- 5
themselves are in effect only a logarithmic ratio with
no absolute meaning without these references bases.
Every 10dB lncrease represents a XIO fold increase.
Therefore. 20dB represents a xlOO fold and 30dB a
x1000 fold increase etc.

Diffraction, or the ability of sound to slide around

walls. berms, buildings. trees etc is illustrated In
Flgure 7.
Again the low frequencies have a much
better ability to diffract than the high frequencles.
The ability of low frequencies to diffract around
obstacles and penetrate great
distances
without
absorption will be seen as a dominant problem when
dealing with attenuation solutions.
This phenomenon
is not strange to us. Distance thunder always soundS
like a rumble. The high frequency lightnIng crackle
is only heard Dverhead~ distance attenuates these high
frequencies quickly.
Likewise at a distance from a
plant, only the low frequency noises from recip
compressors and cooler fans are dominant.
Hlgh
frequency piping noise. valve noise and high speed
machinery noise quickly fade with distance.

To distinguish between Sound Power and Sound Pressure

Levels. consider that a given piece of equipment
(e.g., compressor) in the steady state generates a
fixed Sound Power Level but that the microphone and
human ear respond to Sound Pressure Level which Refraction is the last propagatIon mechanIsm which
decreases (as roughly the square of distance) as the needs to be understood and is a particular nuisance
receptor moves away from the noise source.
during air temperature inversions.
Sound travels
faster in warm air.
With a normal air temperature
Figure 1 lists a whole range of commonly heard noises gradient
this causes the sound waves trying to
and their apprOXimate sound pressure levels. Figure 2 propagate parallel to the ground to bend upwards and
shows the logarithmic nature of decibels. Hate that a~ay from a ground-stationed recipient.
However,
only 3dB represents a doubling/halving of sound
during an inversion (e.g. on warm, clear evenings).
level regardless of the absolute decibel level.
when there is a positive upward air temperature
gradient. rad1ated sound waves are bent back down to
the ground which will intensify a receptor's notion of
8~2

'- .~-~~

distant plant

no1se.

Figure B illustrates.

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--

This Flares

ability of sound to refract over long distance under

certain atmospherics negates the value, when dealing Flaring is generally so intermittent as not to be a
major problem when noise is averaged on an 'leq' basis
with attenuation techniques, of plant berms or dykes.
over time.
2. The Noise Producers

3.

Tonal Character1stics

Each noise producer tends to have its own special

signature, i.e . dominant peak frequencies. The only When a Ipure-tone spike l dominates the
sure way to ascertain Which plant equipment dominates spectrum, the effect to a recipient is

at a glven distant residence is to isolate by

sequential machinery shut downs.
As this is not
always possible or desirable, the dominant frequencies
may give a clue as to the major noise producers. This
is the obvious first step in cost-effective remedial
procedure. It will be assumed that all major rotating
equipment is housed except air coolers and cooling
towers.
The
then are:-

.,'

major

- piping and valves

- flares

overall

negative and disproportionate 1n relat10n to absolute

overall noise level. In other words~ the human ear is

less 'annoyed' by 'white' or 'broad band' noise.

,.

In recognition of this, the ERCB have:(i)

Defined a pure-tone spike as a 1f3 octave band

peak which exceeds either adjacent If3 octave
band SPL by a margin of IOdB or more,

(ii)

given an allowance of +5dB to the plant's

'Permissible Sound Level' if this tonal peak can
be shown NOT to ex1st .

likely noise sources to examine

- engine and turbine exhausts

- air coolers and cooling towers
- purge blowers for electric motors

plant

psyc~ologically

Figure g 111ustrates the ERCB's definition of a 'pure

tone
The obvious question arises. IICan we design to

.,:

Reciprocating Engines

avoid a pure tone"?

The simple guaranteed answer.
especially on small plants is Inol. However, we can

These produce low frequency noise which is a problem improve the odds of not getting any pure tones 1n the
as mufflers tend not to extract low frequencies well plant's spectrum 1f we ensure that there is not a
and this spectrum propagates well over distance and mu1tip1ic1ty of similar equipment rotating at similar

,.,

diffracts easily around berms and obstructions. A 12 speeds.

E.G. a battery of several six throw, e1ght
cylinder, gOO rpm, 4 stroke engine w111 generate a cylinder, 4 stroke, gOO rpm compressors 1s more likely
dom1nant exhaust pulse at:
to show a pure tone than a mix of compreSSors with
either different throws,
cylinders or speeds.
12 x 2 x gOO = gO Hz
Likew1se, cooler fans should be selected with a range
q 60
of (either or both) different speeds and blade counts.
Many harmonics and subharmonics will exist but the
spectrum Signal should be centered around gO Hz.

This

may

seem

an

expensive

nuisance.

However in

observing that Amoco spent S300M at one large plant

reducing the no1se level only 2dB, it might seem
expedient to attempt designing out the chance of pure
tones in order to get the extra 5dB allowance.

Compressors

Again the low speed reciprocat1ng machines w111 show

dominant frequencies 1n the low hundreds dependant 4. Attenuat10n TeChniques
upon numbers of cyl1nders and speeds, whereas the high
speed centrifugals will likely show higher dominant 4.1 S11encers
frequencies. I-4kHz, particularly if gear driven.
These are commonly available for all kinds of ducted
Expanders & Turbines.
flow - engine exhausts. purge air blowers and vents
etc, and fall Into two d1stinct categories, absorpt1ve
These machines will dominate the mid-end higher (1 kHz and reactive.
+) frequencies.
The absorptive silencer 1s a straight through device
Aerial Coolers & Cool1nq Towers
with acoustic lining on the duct walls.
Oesign
pressure drops are low (typically fractions of an 1nch
These mach1nes will dominate the lowest frequency w.g.)
but acoustic effic1ency is
not great
range and present the biggest attenuation problem as part1cularly In the low frequency (250Hz) range.
they cannot be effectively bermed or closed in, nor 1s Figure 10 Illustrates.
acoust1c muff11ng an easy propos1tion. Blade passing
frequency (BPF) may be a dominant frequency and equals The reactive silencer consists of baffles, chambers
the number of blades t1mes revs per second.
For and flow reversals. It 1s typically about 10dB more
example, a six blade fan at 300 rpm will have a BPF of effective than absorptive silencing but creates as
30 Hz.
much as xlO the back pressure (up to the order of 3-4"
wg).
In the case of engine eXhausts, this back
pressure is of minimal slgnificance and may cost (in
P1ping

tends to rad1ate broad 'white' noise depending

unit's
fluid.

size. stiffness and internal

transmission
Valve noise tends to be higher in frequency

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the reactive case) a percent or two of efficiency.

and unsteady.

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84-3

,-

However. silencing air coolers is a totally different

proposition.
Figure
11
shows some silencing
arrangements on intake and discharge.
It is obvious
this is nat a cheap capital addition. Also the fan
power operating costs may more than double.
This is
because effective acoustic louvers cause air pressure
losses of 0.5 to 111 w.9 which typically doubles the
required air pressure rise across each fan.
4.2 Berms and Dykes
These dre commonly used to protect residents from
excess traffic noise around urban freeways and are
quite effective at reducing close range high frequency
However they do not have much place around
no1se_
large plants where the object is to attenuate noise
sensed by residents 1/2 to 2 miles away. Figure 12
illustrates the problem with sound diffraction around
a barrier (particularly low frequencies) and Figure 13
illustrates the effect of optimum barrier location in
respect to plant and resident. The other problem with
use of barriers to reduce the noise level for a
distant
recipient is that atmospheric refraction
during temperature inversions will render all but the
highe,t barrier' ineffectual.

Some plants have claimed beneficial effects after

dyking inasmuch as complaints reduce.
Though one
cannot deny the 'effectiveness ' of reduced complaints,
it
is
author IS opi ni on that I dyk i ng I has more
psychological than real effect_
One might call it
proof of the adage that lout of sight is out of mind ' .
4.3

An example was Amocols Wembley Plant.

This plant
built in 1984 easily met the noise standards then in
force.
However. the retroactivity of the 1988
directive rendered the plant 1n contravention by some
2dB.
I,olatlon analy,e, 'howed B of the 3D large
cooler fans to be the dominant problem.
On an
individual fan basis. noise is proportional to speed
to power 5 (approxima.tely). In other words. fan noise
will reduce ,ome 16dB at half ,peed!
Variable Speed Drive, (V50) were in'talled in the MCC
at a co,t of about $11,000 (in,talled) per 3D hp fan
The coolers were designed for the Alberta max
motor.
ambient temperature of 90F.
However the Alberta
annual average is only 40F.
It was therefore
established that most of the cooler fans could run
well below max speed.
The fans were set an amb1ent
air control to reduce speed with
reducing
air
temperature.
Figure 15 illustrates the effect per
individual fan, not only of noise reduction but also
power saved at reduced speed.
The example is shown
for 50F ambient.
Enter a vertical line and the
fans would run at 55% speed, at 14% of maximum power
and at a noise reduction of about 14dB_
So much for theory. but what happened in practice?
After Amoco had retrofitted B of Wembley's 30 nosiest
fans, detai1ed acoustic measurements were taken under
the coolers. at the plant fence and 1000 yards away at
the nearest residence.
Electric power readings were
also taken on fan motors to verify the power savings
at reduced speed.
The results showed that:

Source Treatment

(i)

This is generally the most cost effective solution

wherever possible. Examples in this category are:
1)
2)

Acou,tic lagging Of radiating pipe,.

Acoustic
housing/lagging
of
small

4)

Hou'ing
of
large
rotating
acou,tically lined buildIng,.
Reduction of ,peed of machinery.

equipment

reduction with

(iil

The electric power savings followed theory very

closely.

in (1ii)

However the noise reduction at plant fence was

on ly 2dB
enough to correct the problem but
rather less than we had hoped for.

rotating

equipment.

3)

Under the cooler, the nol'e

,peed followed theory clo,ely.

A good cautionary note to #2 (direct housing of

machinery) is that such housing must be sectionalized
for easy removal, otherwise maintenance crews tend to
take it off and leave it off!

The reason why the plant fence noise reduction was

less than expected even though the local noise per fan
was on target, lies in the complexity and size of the
plant. Wembley ha, lBOOO hp of hou,ed compre"lon, 3D
cooler fans, and expander, several air blowers, two
furnaces and several acres of piperack all radiating
noise. Even though one can identify and treat the top
noise generators. as soon as that is done, then noise
generators 12. 3, 4 etc become dominant at the plant
fence.

No.3 is quite inexpensive if initiated in the design

stage
and
virtually
impossible as a retrofit.
Double-walled steel bUildings are typically used in
plants to house compressors.
Specifying the inner
wall to be acoustically perforated turns the sandwich
insulation into an effective acoustic absorber at
around 10 cents a sqjft.
This also significantly However two aspects of the fan VSD retrofit which
affect' noise level, for operator, in, ide the building worked admirably were:
as well as total noise beyond the plant fence. Figure
(a) The varying of speeds of some of the fans reduced
14 Illu,trate'.
the dominant plant pure tone at 31 Hz to a
flatter. white noise spectrum.
This allowed
4.4 Variable Speed Drives
Amoco to claim an extra 5dB allowable noise due
to "lack of presence of tonals".
Noise is a highly sensitive function of machinery
SPEED.
If a mechani,m can be incorporated which
reduces
machinery speed when full speed is not
required then we have an excellent
method
for
'reduction at source I

84-4

~"

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(b)

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The fact that the fans could, an average run 30%

slower on any given night (compared to their day
time required
speed)
did much to improve
residential relations.
Noise complaints tend
In fact in
focus on night time nuisance.
recognition of this the ERCB directive allows a
plant a permissible noise level IOdB higher from
7am to 10 pm compared to that imposed at night.
The cooler fan VSD is an excellent way of buying
into that margin as the average Alberta night is
22F cooler than the corresponding day which
allows a 30% fan speed reduction on a typical
cooler.

5.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)

The final advantage of fan VSD retrofits is that

it is the ONLY acoustic 'treatment' we have yet (g)
established which also has a payout in regard to
power savings. This payout is 2-1/2 to 3 years (h)
(retrofit) in Alberta's scenario. If Installed at
design stage the payout would be under one year.
In
most
U.
S. scenarios payout would be
significantly faster due to the fact that by
comparison. Albertals electric utility rates are
the cheapest in N. America.

4.5 The Stack Induced Draft Air Cooler (SIDAC)

One solution to the fan noise problem which Amoco

has
successfully experimented with at Wembely and
Willesden Green is the SIDAC.
This cooler
Is
completely silent as it has no fans but works on the
thermal draft created by building a chimney stack over
the cooler bundle. Figure 16 Illustrates.

Retrofit's are not possible. One cannot Just shut off

a cooler's fans, put a chimney on top and expect It to
work as well.
The reason lies in the radically
different mechanical/thermal design parameters. The
stack induces a draft only about 20% as strong as a
fan blown cooler.
To compensate the cooler bundle
needs about twice the surface area for the same duty.
The tUbe bundle needs to be spread out only 2 rows
deep (instead of 4 typical) to reduce the air dp to a
minimum.
Figure 17 shows the economic comparison
vs conventional cooTer.
The
close balance in capital installed cost
winning (obviOUSly) in acoustics and
operating costs.
a SIOAC

Recommendations

Designing the Quiet Plant

House

all rotating equipment in acoustically

lined buildings.
Muffle engine e~hausts and purge blower vents
with reactive silencers where possible.
Choose electric over engine driven equipment~ all
other things equal.
Where possible, keep a good mix of engine speeds,
fan speeds and blade counts to reduce tonal
spikes.
Don't rely on berms and dykes.
Choose water cooling towers over aerial coolers
where possible and fit aerial coolers with VSD
controlled fans.
Experiment further with Stack Induced Draft
Coolers where water cooling is not an option.
Use process speed control where possible over
bypass valving.

List of Figures
I. Commonly Heard Noise Levels
2. The dB Scale as Ratios
3. The dBA correction scale
4. Acoustic Fields
5. Semi-Free Field Dissipation
6. Atmospheric Absorption
7. Diffraction
B. Refraction
9. Pure Tone - Definition
10. Absorptive Silencer Characteristic - Typical
II. Air Cooler SilenCing
12. Barrier Diffraction
13. Barrier Optimal Location
14. Perforated Wall Liner
15. Fan Operating Curve on VSD
16. Stack Induced Draft Air Cooler (SIDAC)
17. Economics SIDAC vs Conventional
18. Recommendations

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at Wembley of
trade off is a
with the SIDAC
also on zero

Summarily the SIDAC costs somewhat more FOB shop due

to the much larger require tube bundle.
However it
regains thIs expense on installation costs due to the
non-requirement of millwrights to setup rotating
equipment~ electricians
to wire motors to an MeC and
hook up vibration SID switches.

~,-

Limitations of SIDAC Units

SIDAC's have not been tried and

viable in cases which either:

are unlikely to

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(1) require warm air recirculation or

(ii) are in isothermal condensing service
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84-5

Decibel Weighting Curves

Fig.

Source
Counlry Home
SoN Whisper al5 Feel
Public Library

0
10
20

CD
"0

'A' Weighted Scale

30

;;:; - 40
"0

50
60
-70
CD

.s>,

L
10

100

1000

10000

(,S~l u12~

Fig. 1

Sound levels of Familiar Noise Sources

Sound Level dBA
30
30
~O

Quiet omce or Living Room

40

Mooerale Rainlall
Inside Average Urban Home
Qulel Slreel
Lighl Car Trallic alSO leel
Normal Conversalion al 31eel
Noisy ONlco
Loud Singing al 3 leel
Traclor alSO leel
Busy TraNlc inlersecilon
Eieeltie Typewriter
Bus or Heavy Truck alSO 'eel
Jackhammer
Loud Shout
Frelghl Train alSO ieel
Modilled Mol.reyele
Jel Taking oN al 2000 'eel
Aplilied Rock Music
Jel Taking oN al200 reet
Air-Raid Siren

50
50
50
55
60
60

70
75
7810 95
80
80
8810 9~
8810 98
90
95
100
110
120
130

c~J:om

(J)

Acoustic Fields

Increasing

Free Field

.--..- Spherical Radiation

Semi Free Field

.--..- Hemispherical Radialion

Reverberanl Field'--"- Mulliple Wall Reflections.--..- Lp Essentially Conslant

Receptor RHears Reflections from an Inlinile Number of Source Images...

*"

*"

~
u~.

*"

Images-

*" *"

Anechoic Chamber.--..- Non Relleclive Walls

[?J

.--..-

*
Simulated Free Field

C511-1ll1ll

Fig. 2

dB Scale as Ratios

Fig. 4

+ 10
+9
+8
+7
+6

dB
Increase +5
+4
+3
+2
+1
0

1000 %
794
630
501
398
316
251
200
160
126
100%

Decreasing
0
+1
+2
+3
+4
dB
Reduction +5
+6
+7
+8
+9
+10

100%
126
160
200
251
316
398
501
630
794
1000 %
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Semi Free Field Noise Dissipation

Fig, 7

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Fig. 5

bSQ~~b
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Diffracted Sound

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Poinl Source .lw Conslanl

'''20u''1

Sound Pressure Level Lp is a to Power Flux (Lw ) per unit area

SA a r 2
Therefore, Lp Reduces as r 2 in a Free field
Ground Absorplion, Trees and Atmosphere may Reduce this
Prediction Further
C!:I>llll:,1

CD
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Noise Refraction

Fig. 8

Allenualion A=7.4 r2.r

Normal Atmospheric Temp Gradient

Cool

..'

.. i

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Warm'

"

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Receptor
Almospheric Inversion

.-,"

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-'(

Cool

Source

:" p

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Jij;

.-

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Receiver

Small No. 01 long Cars I~ long Wavall

':

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as as ~ 'iii. A'i..liiZ aAtA

large

I~o. 01 Shorl Cars '~miqnJlmlDi.dt

B
!:..

In each case, the Damping in the Coupling Equates 10 Sound Absorpllon.

II Engine Shunls 10 and Iro Obviously Caboose Awilileel more 01 the Ellecllhan Caboose e,

Receptor

Sound Travels Faster in Warm Air

Refracted up Normally & Down in Inversions

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10.8 dB

The Train Analogy

Source

Warm

Where: f =Mean Frequency Hz

r = Dlslance from Source in m
o=Relalive Humldlly %
E.g., @50%r.h., @1000 min 50 h,band A =0,004 dB
Bul @50% r.h., @1000 min 4000 h,band A = 23 dB

r/\
v

. . . . . . _..

Source

Fig.6

Noise Attenuation by Air Absorption

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Pure Tone - ERCS Definition

Fj.11

Silencers and Mufflers

The 63 Hz 1/3 Dcl Freq is Ihe Peak

it it Stands more Ihan 10 dB
Above Eilher Adjacenl1/3 Dcl Bank
then a"Pure Tone" is Delined 10 Exisl

Olscharge Silencers

lnlake
Sl~ncers

,-

...

Fig. 9

Discharge Silencer

"'-

Inlake
SIk!ncers

Silencers lor Cooling Tower

'\!.~
~.e:

Silencers lor AIr-Cooled Condenser

DUCT Silencer

'~egl'ler

or Grille

Silencer near aIr Tet'mlnal

Fan
Enclosure

DI:~~

/'

~encer

.,.,

63

CentrirugBl.lan EncloSUre with Intake SIlencers

Inlake and Discharge Silencers for Cenlrllugal Fans

Elsmples ofComrT1on Absorpllw-e-Tvpe Parallel Batlle SIIl'ncer AppllcaUons
em Oil;

CD

125 250 sao

1K
2K
Hz Oclave Cenlre Bank Frequency

3K

4K
C~!1 arJ~

CD

ReleCfeds.
olJf/d

<'-. '_

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'}).\e\)

Fig. 10

Noise Control Melhods

Fig. 12

~lo9'J1.~

70 I

iii"

"D

-;;; 50
<n

o
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Sound
Source

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30

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10

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.......'" B'
.......

.... 4

63
250 1000 4000
Oclave Band Cenler Frquency (H,)

/lIWrnJrnmmpU'Illpmml'\

1<:

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B=6"

C =12"

L =4',6',12'

Why Barriers are Little use Around PlanIs Unless Iheir Height is
Subslantial Compared 10 Dislance from Planllo Resident
C531 0';1

Effecl 01 Length on Insertion Loss for Parallel Bailie-Type Silencers

(~~l 01:.1>

, __..:.~~-,~_ . . . ', >", '-,_': , '.' "-_"', "'-",' ..-:",

,,,'.'

t=~

:-::

Barrier Attenuation/Diffraction

Fan Operation Potential Power Saving vs Ambient Temp. .

100I
;I

..
.

oI[,
,,
'I

= _I 0

!'

I"
I

r'
'.

,:. . I

'

~-

--

::_.
~
.-----------------.~

-------------

C--

Complex Allenuation Formula Governed by "Fresnel No,"

"1

-,

.,

..

I :.---'

Y 900M

~-------

,c,",'1';
I' ' J

>.oj" '

'......~. I,

100M

"

_~----J_--~:,~-.~~~--::-=_iI

..

'/'
Jt;Y
',.'i;,: ':,' " ' ,

i
[

0
10

',:'
.' ,r I .'

Fig. 1

Fig. 13

FN =1 (A+B+C)
A

~ 20
50
70
90
Degrees F
Eg, al500 F Operate@ 53% Speed @14% Pwer
and Noise Reduced by 14.3 dB

With Wall at 'X': (A+BC)

30

[S9201~O

0>

A Wavelength

= 0.56 and al 63 Hz FN =0.17

al 500 Hz FN =1.34

With Wall at 'Y': (A+B-C) = 0.20 and at 63 Hz FN =0.06

at 500 Hz FN =0.48

CS920IJY

.j:>.

to

Stack Induced Draft Air Cooler (SIDAC)

FIG 14

Fig. 16

.
.:.

20ft Chimney
Induces Nalural Draft

:'

No Fans or Power
Required

"

.;
~:'

09-10-25

Tube Bundle
(Musl be x 1.5 to x2 Larger than
Convenlionalto Compensate
lor Lack of Forced Air)

WEHBLfr ACOUTSIC INSULATION DETAIL AS IIICLUDEO ON ALL WALL AND

ROOf INNfR SKINS TO RfDUCE NOISE WIICRC ROTATING fQUIPH(HI IS
1I0uS(O.
C~9~al~1

,..

"~:\;\::::~7~~"~~f':~:,~: \.}"l)'~>;.:~':/_

'",,!.' ,:.

'.:<;"

:,.::~,~.,~,;I ' ,,~;~' ,:. . ,

EffCCTlvEN(SS Tl~ICALLr 4 - , dB INSIDE AND I _ ] dB

AT PLANT F{NCL

,.
:""

. .,"

~.'/

,,".

Economics of Stack Induced Draft Air Cooler

Costs as %of Installed Conventional FinFan
FinFan
15
12

Tube Bundle
Structure & Louvers
Fan, Plenum & Motor
Chimney Stack

..

FOB Shop
Civil Installation
Piping
Mechanical Erection
Electrical Hookup
Vibration sid Instrumentation
Total Installed Cost
OJ
..,.
,

-34
10
10
26
15
5

100 Units

--

$260400Ikw

Operating Cosl/Year

Fig. 17

SIDAC
22
12

..

10

44
13
10
26

..
..
-93 Units
-0

Recommendations

C5~101~1

Fig. 18

1. House all Rolating Equipment in Acoustically Lined Buildings

2. Mullle Engine Exhausts and Purge Blower Vents with Reaclive Silencers
where Possible
3. Choose Eleclric over Engine Driven Equipment, all other things equal
4. Where Possible, keep agood mix of Engine Speeds, all olher lhings equal
5. Don'l Rely on Berms and Dykes
6. Choose Waler Cooling Towers over Aerial Coolers where Possible and
fit Aerial Coolers with VSD Controlled Fans

7. Experiment Further with Slack Induced Dral! Coolers where Waler

Cooling is not an Oplion
B. Use Process Speed Control where Possible over Bypass Valving

C:>i;a!.)