GB1361901A - Parallel air path wet-dry water cooling tower - Google Patents

Abstract

1361901 Cooling towers MARLEY CO 14 March 1972 11749/72 Headings F4K and F4S In a cross-flow cooling tower comprising both wet and dry heat exchange sections each cooled by its own air stream, cloud formation above the tower 30 is avoided by admixing warm dry air leaving the dry heat exchanger sections 42 with warm moist cooling air leaving the wet fill sections 40. Partially cooled water leaving the dry heat exchange sections 42, which may be constituted by single pass, as shown, or multipass (see Figs. 4 and 5) finned tubes, is discharged into an open top horizontal intermediate water distribution basin 44 having a perforated base (see Fig. 21) whereafter it passes downwardly through the wet fill sections 40, which may comprise horizontally disposed slats, and is further cooled by direct contact with ambient air entering through inlet louvres 52 carried by the tower casing 32. Mist eliminators 58 are provided adjacent the air outlet faces of the fill structures. One or more induced draught fans 48 are housed in the upper part of the tower casing 32. In an alternative embodiment (Figs. 6-8, not shown) the fans are omitted and a natural draught hyperbolic cooling tower structure (130) is utilized. In this case the dry heat exchangers (142) are located between the shell (140) of the tower and the hot water distribution basin (144) of the evaporative fill assemblies in an inclined position. In a further embodiment (Fig. 9 not shown), partially cooled water leaving the dry heat exchangers is directed into a series of horizontal distribution headers (244) provided with a series of downwardly projecting spray nozzles (245) operative to spray the water on to a fill assembly (240) therebelow; ambient air, in this case, passes in counterflow through the fill assembly. Damper structures may be provided in association with the dry and/or wet heat exchanger sections (see Figs. 13-19, not shown) to permit selective control over the separate cooling-air streams passing therethrough.