abstract: Passive cooling techniques, specifically passive downdraft cooling (PDC), have proven to be a solution that can address issues associated with air conditioning (AC). Globally, over 100 buildings have integrated PDC in its different forms, most of which use direct evaporative cooling. Even though all surveyed buildings were energy efficient and cost-effective and most surveyed buildings were thermally comfortable, application of PDC remains limited. This study aims to advance performance of the single stage passive downdraft evaporative cooling tower (PDECT), and expand its applicability beyond the hot dry conditions where it is typically used, by designing and testing a multi-stage passive and hybrid downdraft cooling tower (PHDCT). Experimental evaluation on half-scale prototypes of these towers was conducted in Tempe, Arizona, during the hot dry and hot humid days of Summer, 2017. Ambient air dry-bulb temperatures ranged between 73.0°F with 82.9 percent coincident relative humidity, and 123.4°F with 7.8 percent coincident relative humidity. Cooling systems in both towers were operated simultaneously to evaluate performance under identical conditions. Results indicated that the hybrid tower outperformed the single stage tower under all ambient conditions and that towers site water consumption was at least 2 times lower than source water required by electric powered AC. Under hot dry conditions, the single stage tower produced average temperature drops of 35°F (5°F higher than what was reported in the literature), average air velocities of 200 fpm, and average cooling capacities of 4 tons. Furthermore, the hybrid tower produced average temperature drops of 45°F (50°F in certain operation modes), average air velocities of 160 fpm, and average cooling capacities exceeding 4 tons. Under hot humid conditions, temperature drops from the single stage tower were limited to the ambient air wet-bulb temperatures whereas drops continued beyond the wet-bulb in the hybrid tower, resulting in 60 percent decline in the former’s cooling capacity while maintaining the capacity of the latter. The outcomes from this study will act as an incentive for designers to consider incorporating PDC into their designs as a viable replacement/supplement to AC; thus, reducing the impact of the built environment on the natural environment. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Architecture 2017

The aim of this work is to determine the performance and description of the cooling circle in the cooling tower. In order to do that there was applied the linear regression approach in order to create structural empirical model of the cooling tower. The data obtained was analysed through QC expert software, which, if correct data applied, identifies suitable model for specific tower. The models created will be used for diagnostics of the cooling circles and as a comparison tool with other cooling towers in the future. Thus, the findings of this thesis are polynoms, which in thic technological setup characterise the models of the cooling towers.

Torres de resfriamento são equipamentos muito utilizados na indústria e que muitas vezes operam sob condições adversas, particularmente, temperatura de água acima dos 50°C na entrada da torre. Nesta condição, tem-se alta taxa de evaporação e eventualmente condição de alto transporte de massa, normalmente não considerado no equacionamento de torres de resfriamento. Apresenta-se assim uma análise comparativa de diferentes métodos de cálculo de torres de resfriamento: Merkel, Poppe e o modelo proposto. No modelo proposto neste estudo, consideram-se os balanços diferenciais de massa e energia e os mecanismos de transporte simultâneo de calor e massa, na condição de alto transporte de massa e de supersaturação do ar, caso o vapor de água condense na forma de névoa. Para os casos em que há saturação do ar, os balanços diferenciais de massa e energia passam a contemplar este fenômeno a partir do momento em que ocorre a saturação. O modelo matemático desenvolvido consiste de equações diferenciais ordinárias e equações auxiliares, e foi implementado em uma interface Matlab. Os principais parâmetros investigados foram: as vazões de água e ar, a temperatura de bulbo úmido do ar, a temperatura da água na entrada da coluna e a altura da torre. A partir das simulações matemáticas, foram obtidos resultados de temperaturas do ar, da água e da umidade do ar ao longo da coluna, para os diferentes métodos. / Cooling towers are equipment widely used in industrial plants, where these operate under severe conditions such as cooling water inlet temperatures above 50oC. Under this condition, there are high evaporation of water and high mass transfer, generally not considered in performance analysis of a cooling tower. This work presents and analyzes the differences between the proposed model and the Merkel and Poppe approaches. The proposed model in this work is based on differential equations for energy and mass balances and on the mechanisms of combined heat and mass transfers, at high mass transfer condition and considering the supersaturated air from the height of the tower that the excess of water vapor condenses as a mist. At the point that the air became supersaturated, the differential equations for energy and mass balances start to consider the supersaturation phenomena. The mathematical model developed in this work is composed by ordinary differential equations and auxiliary equations which were solved at Matlab. The parameters investigated were water and air mass flow rates, air wet bulb temperature, water inlet temperature and tower height. The results of air and water temperatures, humidity air across the tower height are presented for each method analyzed.

Torres de resfriamento são equipamentos muito utilizados na indústria e que muitas vezes operam sob condições adversas, particularmente, temperatura de água acima dos 50°C na entrada da torre. Nesta condição, tem-se alta taxa de evaporação e eventualmente condição de alto transporte de massa, normalmente não considerado no equacionamento de torres de resfriamento. Apresenta-se assim uma análise comparativa de diferentes métodos de cálculo de torres de resfriamento: Merkel, Poppe e o modelo proposto. No modelo proposto neste estudo, consideram-se os balanços diferenciais de massa e energia e os mecanismos de transporte simultâneo de calor e massa, na condição de alto transporte de massa e de supersaturação do ar, caso o vapor de água condense na forma de névoa. Para os casos em que há saturação do ar, os balanços diferenciais de massa e energia passam a contemplar este fenômeno a partir do momento em que ocorre a saturação. O modelo matemático desenvolvido consiste de equações diferenciais ordinárias e equações auxiliares, e foi implementado em uma interface Matlab. Os principais parâmetros investigados foram: as vazões de água e ar, a temperatura de bulbo úmido do ar, a temperatura da água na entrada da coluna e a altura da torre. A partir das simulações matemáticas, foram obtidos resultados de temperaturas do ar, da água e da umidade do ar ao longo da coluna, para os diferentes métodos. / Cooling towers are equipment widely used in industrial plants, where these operate under severe conditions such as cooling water inlet temperatures above 50oC. Under this condition, there are high evaporation of water and high mass transfer, generally not considered in performance analysis of a cooling tower. This work presents and analyzes the differences between the proposed model and the Merkel and Poppe approaches. The proposed model in this work is based on differential equations for energy and mass balances and on the mechanisms of combined heat and mass transfers, at high mass transfer condition and considering the supersaturated air from the height of the tower that the excess of water vapor condenses as a mist. At the point that the air became supersaturated, the differential equations for energy and mass balances start to consider the supersaturation phenomena. The mathematical model developed in this work is composed by ordinary differential equations and auxiliary equations which were solved at Matlab. The parameters investigated were water and air mass flow rates, air wet bulb temperature, water inlet temperature and tower height. The results of air and water temperatures, humidity air across the tower height are presented for each method analyzed.

The content of this diploma thesis is solution of production technology of cooling tower component. A model the cooling tower according to customer specifications is designed. There are selected 2 plates from steel construction that will be machined by plasma cutting. The technology of production of the plates is also proposed. Technical and economic evaluation of production compares 2 versions of plate production using unconventional metal cutting methods.

The following thesis looks into modeling a chilled water system equipped with variable speed drives on different piece of equipment and optimization of system setpoints to achieve energy savings. The research was done by collecting data from a case-study and developing a system of component models that could be linked to simulate the overall system operation.

[pt] O crescimento microbiológico em águas de sistemas de resfriamento pode resultar na formação de biofilme, o qual pode causar problemas de biocorrosão, perdas de carga em tubulações, redução de taxa de transferência de calor e obstrução de fluxo. Os principais e tradicionais biocidas utilizados no controle microbiológico de águas de resfriamento são os compostos à base de cloro. Entretanto, nos últimos anos o ácido peracético tornou-se uma alternava aos compostos clorados, uma vez que este biocida deixa como resíduo apenas o acetato o qual é biodegradável e não forma subprodutos organoclorados. Este trabalho analisou a aplicação do ácido peracético comparando-o com o hipoclorito de sódio no controle microbiológico e na corrosividade de materiais, empregando uma árvore de teste em escala de laboratório. Foi investigada a taxa de corrosão dos materiais metálicos de aço carbono, cobre e aço inoxidável, além da efetividade na redução da contagem bacteriana. Os experimentos foram realizados em condições de fluxo turbulento, pH 8 e temperatura de 32 C empregando uma água de estudo real, carregada de matéria orgânica (DQO = 350 mg/L). As concentrações usadas de ácido peracético foram 0,75; 1,0 e 3,0 mg/L e de hipoclorito de sódio foram 1,0 e 3,0 mg/L. O ácido peracético na concentração de 3,0 mg/L reduziu a carga bacteriana de 1,5x10 (elevado a 5) UFC/mL para 5,24x10 (elevado a 3) UFC/mL. Comparado ao hipoclorito de sódio, o ácido peracético foi menos corrosivo para o aço carbono em todas as concentrações. Na concentração de 1,0 mg/L a taxa de corrosão do cobre em ácido peracético foi menor do que na solução de hipoclorito de sódio. Já na concentração de 3,0 mg/L ocorreu o inverso. Não foi observada corrosão significativa no aço inoxidável para os biocidas estudados. / [en] Microbiological growth in cooling systems water may result in biofilm formation, which can cause problems of bio-corrosion, pressure drop in the pipes, reduction of heat transfer rate and flow obstruction. The main and traditional biocides applied in microbiological control of cooling waters are the chlorine based compounds. However, in recent years, peracetic acid has become an alternative to chlorinated compounds, since this biocide leaves as residue only the acetate, which is biodegradable and does not form chlorinated organic byproducts. This work analyzed the application of peracetic acid comparing to sodium hypochlorite in the microbiological control and material corrosivity using a laboratory scale test tree. The corrosion rate of carbon steel, copper and stainless steel alloys in addition to the effectiveness in reducing the bacterial count. The experiments were carried out under conditions of turbulent flow, pH 8 and temperature of 32 C using a real industrial test water loaded with organics (COD = 350 mg/L). Peracetic acid concentrations used were 0.75, 1.0 and 3.0 mg/L and sodium hypochlorite were 1.0 and 3.0 mg/L. Peracetic acid at the concentration of 3.0 mg/L decreased the bacterial load from 1.5x10 (raised to 5) UFC/mL to 5.24x10 (raised to 3) UFC/mL. Peracetic acid compared to sodium hypochlorite was less corrosive to carbon steel at all concentrations. At the concentration of 1.0 mg/L the corrosion rate of copper in peracetic acid was lower than in sodium hypochlorite solution. At the concentration of 3.0 mg/L, the reverse occurred. No significant corrosion was observed in stainless steel for the biocides studied.

Neste trabalho foi realizada a modelagem fenomenológica do desempenho de uma torre de resfriamento de água e de um sistema de duas torres de resfriamento em série, com temperatura de água de entrada de até 65 ºC. Verificou-se a validade do modelo através de comparação dos resultados previstos com os obtidos em ensaios em uma unidade piloto. Em seguida, através de simulação matemática, a partir do modelo desenvolvido, foi feito o estudo de diversos casos de aplicação. Estudou-se a influência das principais variáveis de operação (vazão de ar, vazão de água e temperatura de bulbo úmido) no desempenho de torres de resfriamento acopladas (em série e em paralelo) e no custo operacional. Verifica-se que a variável de maior influência é a vazão de água que circula pela torre. / This is a study about the phenomenological modeling of the performance of a water cooling tower and a system of two cooling towers in series, with water temperature input up to 65°C. The validity of model was verified by comparing the expected results with those obtained in tests on a pilot plant. After this, through a mathematical simulation, based on the model developed, several cases of application were analyzed. It was studied the influence of main operating variables (air flow, water flow and wet bulb temperature) on the performance of couples cooling towers (in series and parallel) and on operational cost. It was verified the most influential variable is the water flow rate through the tower.

Neste trabalho foi realizada a modelagem fenomenológica do desempenho de uma torre de resfriamento de água e de um sistema de duas torres de resfriamento em série, com temperatura de água de entrada de até 65 ºC. Verificou-se a validade do modelo através de comparação dos resultados previstos com os obtidos em ensaios em uma unidade piloto. Em seguida, através de simulação matemática, a partir do modelo desenvolvido, foi feito o estudo de diversos casos de aplicação. Estudou-se a influência das principais variáveis de operação (vazão de ar, vazão de água e temperatura de bulbo úmido) no desempenho de torres de resfriamento acopladas (em série e em paralelo) e no custo operacional. Verifica-se que a variável de maior influência é a vazão de água que circula pela torre. / This is a study about the phenomenological modeling of the performance of a water cooling tower and a system of two cooling towers in series, with water temperature input up to 65°C. The validity of model was verified by comparing the expected results with those obtained in tests on a pilot plant. After this, through a mathematical simulation, based on the model developed, several cases of application were analyzed. It was studied the influence of main operating variables (air flow, water flow and wet bulb temperature) on the performance of couples cooling towers (in series and parallel) and on operational cost. It was verified the most influential variable is the water flow rate through the tower.

Industrial and mining sectors are amongst the largest single energy consumers in South Africa, making them a primary focus for implementing energy saving initiatives. Refrigeration systems on mines are responsible for consuming up to25 % of the electrical energy consumption on a typical South African deep level mine. Ample opportunities to reduce the energy consumption of these systems exists, as many of the current systems rely on old technology and function under partial or inadequate control management. In compiling this thesis, various energy saving strategies on deep level mines were investigated. In specific, the effects of controlling and improving the cooling auxiliaries. Scenarios were investigated and simulated, where after an optimum solution was implemented. Implementations, such as the ones covered in this dissertation, form part of the IDM (Integrated Demand Management) energy efficiency incentive introduced by Eskom, where funding is made available based on actual power saving; ensuring that the projects will be financially viable to the clients. Reduced electrical energy consumption realised from the abovementioned projects were measured, captured and compared to the consumption before project implementation to determine the achieved savings. Savings of up to 30 % of the plant installed capacity were realised, providing average savings of up to 2.3 MW per day. / Thesis (MIng (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013