SPX Cooling Technologies 800 user manual General

General

A cooling tower, like any heat exchanger, exchanges all heat imposed upon it from one fluid to another fluid. For a cooling tower, heat from the water is put into the air. The plant process replenishes the heat to the water, typically at another heat exchanger such as a condenser. A cooling tower differs from many heat exchangers in that heat is transferred in two forms—sensible and latent heat. As heat is transferred from the water, the air temperature increases (sensible) and the air’s water content, or humid- ity, also increases (latent). As the heat load, inlet air wet-bulb temperature, or airflow on a cooling tower changes, the cooling tower will respond by finding a new equilibrium with the process. The cooling tower will still dis- sipate all the heat from the process, but at new water temperatures.

The cooling tower cold water temperature is the supply water temperature to the condenser, and changes in the cold water temperature usually affect efficiency of the plant output. Although the reduced cold water tempera- tures that result from maximum fan power utilization are usually beneficial to plant output, the amount of fan power affects the cost of running the cooling tower. As these variables interact on a cooling tower, the operator must find the proper trade-off between these opposing forces.

These instructions will assist in obtaining efficient, long life from Marley cooling equipment. Direct questions concerning tower operation and maintenance to your Marley sales office or representative. Always include your tower serial number when writing for information or ordering parts. Look for this number on the nameplate near the tower access.