ABSTRACT
In heat-intensive industrial production and power generation, water is an important agent of heat control. Circulated in closed loops, in t he process it is heated up and subsequently needs to be cooled in order to return to the cycle as an effective refrigerant. The pragmatic steps made in the development of such cooli ng devices as industrial s tructures are described by McKelvey a nd Brooke (McKelvey & Brooke, 1959): “Natural draught towers were the first large cooling apparatus built. [ …] Primitive types consisted of stacked fagots over which the water trickled. Refinements were added progressively – a housing to prevent the water from becoming polluted by external wind-blown trash – shaping the housing to facilitate the flow of air – extending it into a chimney so as to increase the draught – im proving the fagot filling by the use of laths – etc.” Within the scope of this research, the tower of the si mplest t echnology is exam ined: natural draught cooling tower. In general, a natural draught cooling tower consists of a chimney which creates and maintains a stack effect, together with a grid packing at the ba se of the tower through which water trickles in such a manner that drops are broken into sm aller parts. This i s done to i ncrease the surface area of the water coming in contact with the air stream , and aids more rapid cooling.
