CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAMME

LAB REPORT
COOLING TOWER
MODULE COORDINATOR/SUPERVISOR NAME:
MR. MOHAMED OSAMA
NAME

ID

SIGNATURE

Due Date: 20/9/2016

Date of Submission: 18/9/2016
Return of student marked assessment tasks. Please check ( ) the necessary column.
Electronically to the individual student via the University learning management
system
Collect during class, only by the student
Collection from the school or a staff member upon presentation of their student ID
card
Collection from module coordinator, lecturer or tutor by prior arrangement
* For online assessment such as forum, quiz, test, survey and etc., return of students marked
assessment tasks are published in TIMES.

COOLING TOWER
STUDENT NAME :
STUDENT ID :
GROUP MEMBERS :
1.
2.
3.

School of Engineering
Taylors University
Malaysia

Date of experiment :
Report due date :
Report submission date :
Checked by :
Item/Marks
Format/10
Abstract and Introduction/10
Figures and Diagrams/15
Materials and Method/10
Results Discussions/45
References/10
Total

Content

Abstract

Introduction

Experiment Design

Apparatus and Materials

Methods

Procedure

Results

Discussion

15

Error Analysis

16

Conclusion and Recommendation

18

References

19

Abstract

Laboratory-scale cooling tower experiment is a replication of cooling tower that is being used
in industries processes. The aim of this experiment is to study the cooling load performance at a range
of water and air flow rates. Besides, the amount of heat energy transfer and mass and energy balance
can also be studied in this closed system. By changing the parameter on the laboratory-scale cooling
tower, the cooling performance of the cooling tower can be affected.

From this experiment, it is known that the change in enthalpy of air and water is much higher
at a higher blower speed at a constant flow rate of water. At the same blower speed, the change in
enthalpy also increases as the flow rate of water increases. Although the change in enthalpy of air
from the result is lower than the change in enthalpy of water but the results are still acceptable
because the percentage of errors are below 40%. The results also abide the first law of thermodynamic
which is the law of conservation of energy.

1.0 Introduction
Cooling tower is a specialised heat rejection device. It is a heat exchanger that involved the
direct contact of hot water and cool dry air to extracts waste heat and release it to the atmosphere.
During this heat transfer process, a small amount of water is evaporated causing the air temperature
and the air humidity to increase to a certain degree. A cooling tower is applied in different fields and
industries including oil refineries, petrochemical industries, nuclear power plant food processing plant
and electric power generation plant.
Water which has been heated by industries processes is pumped to the top of the cooling
tower. Nozzle is used to spray the hot water evenly around the cooling tower. In an open circuit
cooling tower, hot water flows down the cooling tower through gravitational forces to pass through a
series of labyrinth-like packing structure. This is because the packed column increases the contact
area of hot water and dry air to maximize the air-water interface. As the water flows through the
cooling tower, electric air blower is used to supply the flow of air so that heat exchange is able to
occur between the hot water and cool dry air. After the water is cooled down, it is sent back to the
industries processing unit to absorb heat.
Different type of cooling tower is applied in the cooling system depending on the function of
it. As water flowing down the cooling tower only uses gravitational energy therefore most of the
cooling tower uses the same concept because it doesnt require any additional power source.
However, the dry air flow is usually manipulated by placing the electric fan at different position.
Cooling tower can be divided into cross flow cooling tower and counter flow cooling tower. Cross
flow cooling tower allows the air to flow perpendicular to flow of water while counter flow cooling
tower allows the water to flow vertically upward. Cooling tower can also be distinguished by the
position of electric fan. The flow of air can be pulled or blew by the electric fan, induced draft cooling
tower pulls the air to the top of cooling tower while forced draft cooling tower blows the air from the
bottom of the cooling tower.
Laboratory-scale cooling tower replicates the function of an industries process cooling tower
for study and experiment purposes. The electric flower of cooling tower in the laboratory can be
controlled. This is used to study the amount of heat transfer and the mass of energy balance in a
closed system. The overall performance of a cooling tower can be affected by adjusting the parameter,
blower speed and water flow rate for examples. The latent heat of evaporation is the energy needed
for water in liquid form to change into gas particles. The amount of latent heat of evaporation is
shown when the heat of hot water is removed due to the difference in temperature. The concept
behind the experiment is based on the First Law of Thermodynamics, which is the conservation of
energy. Conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, therefore the amount
of energy(heat) enters the system must be the same as the amount of energy(heat) that exits a system.
2

By recording the temperature or water inlet and outlet in a cooling tower, mass and energy balance
calculation can be performed with the aid of physical and property tables. The energy balance can also
be called the enthalpy of water which can be defined as:

H=U + PV
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
where, H = enthalpy
U = internal energy
P = pressure
V = volume
By referring to the temperature of water inlet and outlet, the enthalpy of water can be found using the
physical property tables. Water in cooling tower which follows the law of conservation of energy
shows that:

H = H out -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
The enthalpy of air can be found by using the average specific heat capacity. Since a laboratory-scale
cooling tower experiment is conducted at low pressure therefore the air can be treated as an ideal gas.
The change in enthalpy can be calculated using formula:

H=C p T
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3
Where

H=The changeenthalpy

C p =Specific heat capacity

T =The change temperature
It is noted that the temperature of air which is measured at dry bulb and wet bulb did not take the
humidity of air into account. However, by knowing the temperature of dry bulb and wet bulb,
information such as percentage of humidity, absolute humidity, vapour pressure, enthalpy, specific
volume and dew point temperature can be obtained from the psychrometric chart in the physical
property table.
In a laboratory-scale cooling tower experiment, it is predicted that the cooling effect of water
will increases as the blower speed increases at a constant water flow rate. At higher rate of water flow,
it is expected to have higher heat exchange between hot water and ambient air. The energy balance of
air and water should also be zero as stated by the first law of thermodynamics. The humidity of warm
3

air is also higher than the cold air according to the psychrometric chart from the physical property
table.

2.0 Experiment Design

Figure 1. Laboratory cooling tower (HS-17010,Malaysia)

3.0 Apparatus and Materials

1. Cooling tower (HS-17010,Malaysia)

2. 1L measuring cylinders
3. Stopwatch

4.0 Methods
Cooling tower (HS-17010,Malaysia) is set up with electric power supplied to it. The water
tank of cooling tower must always be refill because of the evaporation occurred during the heat
transfer progress between the dry air and hot water in the cooling tower. This can be done using the
make-up tank which is located right above the water tank. The make-up tank must be filled with water
manually using measuring cylinder until it is more than half of the volume. When the level of water
tank is below a certain degree, the solenoid valve will open and allows the water from the make-up
tank to supply water to the water tank. A level indicator can also be found on the water tank to keep
track the water level in the tank. The wet bulb inlet and outlet are surrounded by wet cotton. This can
be done by adding just enough water to moist the cotton to avoid excessive water to keep the wet bulb
inlet and outlet to be emerge in water. The temperature of water tank must be keep at 45C as this will
acts as the constant condition throughout the whole experiment. After water temperature reaches
45C, the flow rate of water is increased to 7.0 litre per minute and the blower speed is adjusted to a
scale of 3/13. The operation of the cooling tower is allowed to stabilized for 5 minutes before any
result is observed and recorded. After the initial 5 minutes, temperature at different points of T 1 ,T2 ,T3
,T4 ,T5 ,T6 ,T7, T8 and T9 are recorded into a table as indicated by the digitalized thermometer on the
laboratory scale cooling tower. The temperature at each point of cooling tower is labelled as:
T1 = Temperature of hot water inlet
T2 = Temperature of cooled water outlet
T3 = Dry-bulb of the air inlet (bottom)
T4 = Wet-bulb of the air inlet (bottom)
T5 = Dry-bulb of the air outlet (top)
T6 = Wet-bulb of the air outlet (top)
T7 = Packed Column Point A (bottom)
T8 = Packed Column Point B (middle)
T9 = Packed Column Point C (top)
Another 2 sets of results are recorded at an interval of 3 minutes, A total of 3 sets of results are used to
calculate the average temperature points at different component of the cooling tower. At water flow
rate of 7.0 litre per minute, the blow rate is adjusted to 6/13 and 9/13. The same procedures are
5

repeated by adjusting the water flow rate to 7.5 and 8.0 litres per minute. Results are recorded and
tabulated into different tables at different condition.

5.0 Procedure
1. Make-up tank of cooling tower is filled with water using 1L measuring cylinder.
2. Water flow rate and blower speed are adjusted to 7.0 litres per minute and scale of 3/13
respectively.
3. After 5 minutes, T1 ,T2 ,T3 ,T4 ,T5 ,T6 ,T7, T8 and T9 are recorded in a table.
4. At the same condition, another 2 sets of result are recorded at an interval of 3 minutes which
is at the 8th and 11th minutes.
5. The speed of blower is then adjusted to the scale of 6/13 and 9/13 at the same water flow rate.
6. Step 1 to 5 are repeated at the water flow rate of 7.5 and 8.0 litres per minute.
7. Results are recorded and tabulated in tables.

6.0 Results
The result of the experiment is categorized based on water flow rate follows by the blower speed.
Water flow rate = 7.0 lpm
i.

Blower speed = 3/13

Table 1. Table of temperature points at blower speed of 3/13.

Time (min)
5th
8th
11th
Average

T1
41.7
41.7
41.7
41.7

Temperature points at different component of cooling tower

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
26.0
28.3
26.7
37.3
36.7
27.5
27.5
25.1
28.4
26.8
37.3
36.7
27.7
27.6
25.9
28.3
26.9
37.3
36.7
27.8
27.7
25.7
28.3
26.8
37.3
36.7
27.7
27.6

T9
29.4
29.3
29.6
29.4

temperatur
e points

ii.

Blower speed = 6/13

Table 2. Table of temperature points at blower speed of 6/13.

Time (min)
5

th

T1
41.6

Temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
25.3
27.4
26.9
35.5
33.7
27.1
27.4
6

T9
28.3

8th
11th
Average

41.4
41.3
41.4

26.5
26.3
26.0

28.3
28.4
28.0

26.9
26.9
26.9

35.4
35.4
35.4

34.5
34.6
34.3

27.2
27.1
27.1

27.7
27.7
27.6

28.9
28.9
28.7

temperatur
e points

iii.

Blower speed = 9/13

Table 3. Table of temperature points at blower speed of 9/13.

Time (min)
th

5
8th
11th
Average

Temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
25.6
27.7
27.0
37.7
37.1
29.0
31.0
26.5
28.5
27.0
37.9
37.5
29.2
30.8
26.9
28.5
27.0
38.2
37.7
29.3
31.4
26.3
28.2
27.0
37.9
37.4
29.2
31.1

T1
40.7
41.0
41.1
40.9

T9
33.5
33.7
34.1
33.8

temperatur
e points

Average temperature points at different blower speed is tabulated into a single table for easier
comparison.
Table 4. Table of average temperature points at different blower speed.
Blower
speed
(scale)
3/13
6/13
9/13

T1

Average temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
T9

41.7
41.4
40.9

25.7
26.0
26.3

28.3
28.0
28.2

26.8
26.9
27.0

37.3
35.4
37.9

36.7
34.3
37.4

27.7
27.1
29.2

27.6
27.6
31.1

29.4
28.7
33.8

Table 5. Table of the cooling load and change in enthalpy of water.

Blower

Water

Cooling

Cooling

Enthalpy of

Enthalpy

Change in

speed

flow rate

range (T1 -

load, Qw

water inlet,

of water

enthalpy of

(scale)

(kg/s)

T2) C

(kW)

hwater-in

outlet,

water,

(kJ/kg)

hwater-out
(kJ/kg)

3/13
6/13
9/13

0.117
0.117
0.117

16.0
15.4
14.6

141.474
141.180
140.788

174.6394
173.3848
171.2938

107.7574
109.0120
110.2666

H water (kJ
/kg)
-66.882
-64.373
-61.027

Table 6. Table of the change in enthalpy of air.

Blower speed
(scale)

Temperature

Temperature

Temperature

Temperature

Hair(inlet)

Hair(outlet)

Change in

of dry-bulb air

of wet-bulb

of dry-bulb air

of wet-bulb

(kJ/kg)

(kJ/kg)

enthalpy of air,

inlet, T3

air inlet, T4

outletT5

air outlet, T6

28.3
28.0
28.2

26.8
26.9
27.0

37.3
35.4
37.9

36.7
34.3
37.4

3/13
6/13
9/13

H air
84.034
84.507
84.958

Graph of cooling load against blower speed at water flow rate of 7.0 lpm.
141.6
141.4

f(x) = - 1.49x + 141.83

141.2

Cooling load, Qw (kW)

Cooling load, Qw (kW)

141

Linear (Cooling load,

Qw (kW))

140.8
140.6
140.4
0

1/ 2
1

Blower speed (scale)

Figure2. Graph of blower speed against cooling load at water flow rate of 7.0 lpm.

Sample calculation:
Cooling load
T1 - T2 = 41.7 25.7
= 16.0 C

=7.0

L
kg
m3
min
1000 3 1
1
min
1000 L
60 s
m

0.117 kg /s

140.558
124.391
145.626

(kJ/kg)
56.524
39.884
60.668

Qw =C p T

0.117

kg
kJ
4.184
( 16+273 ) K
s
kg K

141.474 kW

The change in enthalpy of water

Tin = 41.7C
Tout = 25.7C

According to Table A-4 in the physical property table,

hwater-in = 174.6394 kJ/kg
hwater-out = 107.7574 kJ/kg

H water = H water (out ) H water ( )

107.7574174.6394

66.882kJ /kg

The change in enthalpy of air

To calculate enthalpy of air inlet:
Tdrybulb(inlet) = 28.3C
Twetbulb(inlet) = 26.8C
By using psychrometric chart in Table A-31 in the physical and property table, the enthalpy of the
inlet air can be determined:
Hair(inlet) = 84.034 kJ/kg
To calculate enthalpy of air outlet:
Tdrybulb(outlet) = 36.7C
Twetbulb(outlet) = 36.7C
By using psychrometric chart in Table A-31 in the physical and property table, the enthalpy of the
inlet air can be determined:
Hair(outlet) = 140.558 kJ/kg
Applying the law of conservation of energy,

H air = H air ( outlet ) H air (inlet )

140.55884.034

Water flow rate = 7.5 lpm

56.524 kJ /kg

i.

Blower speed = 3/13

Table 7. Table of temperature points at blower speed of 3/13.

Time (min)
5th
8th
11th
Average

T1
40.6
40.4
40.4
40.5

Temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
26.9
28.3
27.0
36.6
36.3
28.1
28.9
26.6
28.3
27.0
36.4
36.0
28.1
28.7
27.9
28.2
27.0
36.4
36.0
28.0
28.9
27.1
28.3
27.0
34.5
36.1
28.1
28.8

T9
30.1
29.8
30.0
30.0

temperatur
e points

ii.

Blower speed = 6/13

Table 8. Table of temperature points at blower speed of 6/13.

Time (min)
5th
8th
11th
Average

T1
40.0
39.9
39.8
39.9

Temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
26.6
27.8
27.3
34.7
34.2
27.0
27.7
26.5
28.1
27.3
34.6
34.1
27.0
27.4
25.4
28.0
27.3
34.6
34.0
27.1
27.7
26.2
28.0
27.3
34.6
34.1
27.0
27.6

T9
30.0
29.3
29.0
29.4

temperatur
e points

iii.

Blower speed = 9/13

Table 9. Table of temperature points at blower speed of 9/13.

Time (min)
5th
8th
11th
Average

T1
40.3
40.7
40.9
40.6

Temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
25.7
28.4
27.4
37.2
36.6
28.6
29.8
25.8
28.4
27.4
37.6
37.0
28.5
30.8
25.5
27.6
27.5
37.9
37.3
29.0
30.8
25.7
28.1
27.4
37.6
37.0
28.7
30.5

T9
32.1
33.0
33.2
32.8

temperatur
e points

Average temperature points at different blower speed is tabulated into a single table for easier
comparison.
Table 10. Table of average temperature points at different blower speed.
Blower
T1

Average temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
T9
10

speed
(scale)
3/13
6/13
9/13

40.5
39.9
40.6

27.1
26.2
25.7

28.3
28.0
28.1

27.0
27.3
27.4

34.5
34.6
37.6

36.1
34.1
37.0

28.1
27.0
28.7

28.8
27.6
30.5

30.0
29.4
32.8

Table 11. Table of the cooling load and change in enthalpy of water.
Blower

Water

Cooling

Cooling

Enthalpy of

Enthalpy

Change in

speed

flow rate

range (T1 -

load, Qw

water inlet,

of water

enthalpy of

(scale)

(kg/s)

T2) C

(kW)

hwater-in

outlet,

water,

(kJ/kg)

hwater-out
(kJ/kg)

3/13
6/13
9/13

0.125
0.125
0.125

13.4
13.7
14.9

149.787
149.944
150.572

169.621
167.112
170.087

113.612
109.848
107.757

H water (kJ
/kg)
-56.009
-57.264
-62.330

Table 12. Table of the change in enthalpy of air.

Blower speed
(scale)

3/13
6/13
9/13

Temperature

Temperature

Temperature

Temperature

Hair(inlet)

Hair(outlet)

Change in

of dry-bulb air

of wet-bulb

of dry-bulb air

of wet-bulb

(kJ/kg)

(kJ/kg)

enthalpy of air,

inlet, T3

air inlet, T4

outletT5

air outlet, T6

28.3
28.0
28.1

27.0
27.3
27.4

34.5
34.6
37.6

36.1
34.1
37.0

11

H air
84.953
86.361
86.825

136.500
123.164
142.707

(kJ/kg)
51.547
36.803
55.882

Graph of cooling load against blower speed at water flow rate of 7.5 lpm.
150.8
150.6
150.4
150.2
150
Cooling load, Qw (kW) 149.8
149.6
149.4
149.2
0

f(x) = 1.7x + 149.32

Cooling load, Qw (kW)
Linear (Cooling load,
Qw (kW))

1/ 2
1

Blower speed (scale)

Figure 3. Graph of cooling load against blower speed at water flow rate of 7.5 lpm.
Water flow rate = 8.0 lpm
i.

Blower speed = 3/13

Table 13. Table of temperature points at blower speed of 3/13.

Time (min)
5th
8th
11th
Average

T1
40.3
40.1
40.3
40.2

Temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
25.3
28.1
27.5
36.6
36.2
28.1
28.8
26.0
28.1
27.5
36.6
36.1
28.1
28.8
25.1
27.9
27.4
36.5
36.1
28.1
28.9
25.5
28.0
27.5
36.6
36.1
28.1
28.8

T9
30.4
30.5
30.6
30.5

temperatur
e points

ii.

Blower speed = 6/13

Table 14. Table of temperature points at blower speed of 6/13.

Time (min)
5th
8th
11th
Average

T1
39.9
39.9
39.6
39.8

Temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
25.6
28.1
27.5
34.9
34.4
27.3
27.5
25.4
28.1
27.5
34.8
34.1
27.4
27.6
25.7
27.8
27.5
34.8
34.1
27.3
28.7
25.6
28.0
27.5
34.8
34.2
27.3
27.9

temperatur
e points

12

T9
29.3
29.7
30.6
29.9

iii.

Blower speed = 9/13

Table 15. Table of temperature points at blower speed of 9/13.

Time (min)
5th
8th
11th
Average

Temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
25.1
28.3
27.5
37.4
36.9
30.1
31.4
25.4
28.4
27.5
37.7
37.1
30.0
32.0
25.4
28.5
27.6
37.9
37.4
30.3
32.9
25.3
28.4
27.5
37.7
37.1
30.1
32.1

T1
40.3
40.3
40.6
40.4

T9
34.1
34.5
35.0
34.5

temperatur
e points

Average temperature points at different blower speed is tabulated into a single table for easier
comparison.
Table 16. Table of average temperature points at different blower speed.
Blower
T1

speed
(scale)
3/13
6/13
9/13

Average temperature points at different component of cooling tower (C)

T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
T9

40.2
39.8
40.4

25.5
25.6
25.3

28.0
28.0
28.4

27.5
27.5
27.5

36.6
34.8
37.7

36.1
34.2
37.1

28.1
27.3
30.1

28.8
27.9
32.1

30.5
29.9
34.5

Table 17. Table of the cooling load and the change in enthalpy of water.
Blower

Water

Cooling

Cooling

Enthalpy of

Enthalpy

Change in

speed

flow rate

range (T1 -

load, Qw

water inlet,

of water

enthalpy of

(scale)

(kg/s)

T2) C

(kW)

hwater-in

outlet,

water,

(kJ/kg)

hwater-out
(kJ/kg)

3/13
6/13
9/13

0.133
0.133
0.133

14.7
14.2
15.1

160.097
159.819
160.320

168.366
166.694
169.203

106.921
107.339
106.085

H water (kJ
/kg)
-61.445
-59.355
-63.118

Table 18. Table of the change in enthalpy of air.

Blower speed
(scale)

Temperature

Temperature

Temperature

Temperature

Hair(inlet)

Hair(outlet)

Change in

of dry-bulb air

of wet-bulb

of dry-bulb air

of wet-bulb

(kJ/kg)

(kJ/kg)

enthalpy of air,

inlet, T3

air inlet, T4

outletT5

air outlet, T6

13

H air

3/13
6/13
9/13

28.0
28.0
28.4

27.5
27.5
27.5

36.6
34.8
37.7

36.1
34.2
37.1

87.300
87.300
87.281

136.359
123.789
143.430

(kJ/kg)
49.059
36.489
56.149

Graph of cooling load against blower speed at water flow rate of 8.0 lpm.
160.4
160.3
160.2
160.1
160
159.9
Cooling load, Qw (kW)
159.8
159.7
159.6
159.5
0

f(x) = 0.48x + 159.86

Cooling load, Qw (kW)
Linear (Cooling load,
Qw (kW))

1/ 2
1

Blower speed (scale)

Figure 4. Graph of cooling load against blower speed at water flow rate of 8.0 lpm.

7.0 Discussion
At a constant water flow rate, the blower speed can affect the cooling performance of cooling
tower. The cooling load of the experiment reflects the performance of the cooling tower. Looking at
Figure 3 and 4, the cooling load increases as the blower speed increases. This is because more cool
dry air is provided for heat exchange of air-water interface to occur. However, the graph of cooling
load against blower speed are seen to be decreasing linearly as shown in Figure 2. This phenomenon
is possibly caused by the high blower speed. Although the high speed of air allows more cool air to be
in contact with the hot water but too fast of air speed made air-water interface to have a shorter
contact time. This causes hot water and cool air to not have enough time for complete heat exchange
to happen.

Based on Table 5, 11 and 17, the values of change in enthalpy of water are negative value.
This is because hot water loses heat energy to the cool dry air when they are in contact to achieve
14

thermo equilibrium. Therefore, the change in enthalpy of water is equal to the change in enthalpy of
air according to the law of thermodynamic. As displayed in Table 6, 12 and 18, the change in enthalpy
of air has positive values proving the statement of the law of conservation of energy.

At a constant blower speed, the enthalpy change of water increases as the flow rate of water
increases. This is can be seen by comparing the result in Table 5 and 17. As more hot water is allowed
to flow through the cooling tower, the contact area between the air and water increases, causing more
heat exchange between air-water interface.

Based on Table 5, 6, 12, 17 and 18, it can also be seen at the blow speed with the scale of
6/13, the change in enthalpy of water and air tend to be lower than average. This can only be
explained by the faulty of cooling tower machine when it is at that particular scale of blower speed.

8.0 Error Analysis

Based on the first law of thermodynamic which is the law of conservation of energy, the
change in enthalpy of water and air should be the same as it can be expressed by:

H water = H air or
H water + H air =0

This however cannot be seen in the cooling tower experiment which was

conducted in the laboratory.

A series of percentage error can be calculated:
Water flow rate = 7.0 lpm
Table 19. Table of percentage of error between enthalpy of air and water at 7.0 lpm.
Change in enthalpy of water,

Change in enthalpy of air,

15

Percentage of error (%)

 H water (kJ/kg)

H air (kJ/kg)

66.882
64.373
61.027

56.524
39.884
60.668

15.49
38.04
0.59

Water flow rate = 7.5 lpm

Table 20. Table of percentage of error between enthalpy of air and water at 7.5 lpm.
Change in enthalpy of water,

H water (kJ/kg)

Change in enthalpy of air,

Percentage of error (%)

H air (kJ/kg)

56.009
57.264
62.330

51.547
36.803
55.882

7.97
35.73
10.35

Water flow rate = 8.0 lpm

Table 21. Table of percentage of error between enthalpy of air and water at 8.0 lpm,
Change in enthalpy of water,

H water (kJ/kg)
61.445
59.355
63.118

Change in enthalpy of air,

Percentage of error (%)

H air (kJ/kg)
49.059
36.489
56.149

20.16
38.50
11.04

Sample calculation:

Percentage of error=

H water H air
100
H water

66.88256.524
100
66.882

15.49

The percentage of error displayed in the table above are all below 40% which is acceptable for the
laboratory-scale cooling tower experiment. The lower change in the enthalpy of air can be explained
by the heat energy escaped to the atmosphere before it is measured by the thermometer. The cooling
tower is not heat insulated by aluminium foil therefore it is possible for heat energy to escape outside
of the cooling tower.

16

The accuracy of the experiment is also affected by human error and apparatus error. The only
misconduct in this experiment is instead of wetting the cotton in beaker of wet-bulb beaker, water was
filled until half the volume of beaker. Temperature of wet-bulb inlet and outlet tends to be lower than
average when it is emerged in water causing the results at the beginning of the experiment to be
inaccurate. At half way of the experiment, it is noticed that and yellow light indicator is blinking and a
buzzing noise is released whenever light blinks. Upon further investigation, the yellow light indicator
the level of water in heater tank to be insufficient. This problem occurred because of the make-up tank
located right above the water heater tank malfunction as the solenoid valve wasnt opening for the
water to refill the water heater tank. Since the make-up tank wasnt functioning as it is supposed to be,
water was refilled manually into the water tank by using the 1L measuring cylinder until it reaches the
required water level as displayed on the level indicator. Although the temperature of water in the
water heater tank is supposed to be at 45C, it is noticed that the temperature was always below it at a
range of 42C to 44C. Adding the fact that heat loss is going to occur to the surrounding as water
travelled from the water heater tank to the top of the cooling tower, the initial temperature as it
approaches the top of the cooling tower is expected to be lower than 45C. At some point of the
experiment where the air flow rate is the highest, the amount of heat transfer is actually lesser than the
amount of heat transfer occurred at lower blower speed. This is actually possible because the contact
time between ambient air and hot water is too short causing the lack of time for the maximum amount
of heat transfer that is able to occur.

17

9.0 Conclusion and Recommendation

In this experiment, it is concluded that the change in enthalpy of air and water is higher at a
higher blower speed. The change in enthalpy also increases as the flow rate of water increases at a
constant blower speed. Although the change in enthalpy of air is lower than the change in enthalpy of
water but the percentage of error between those two are below 40% which is still in an acceptable
range. The results from the energy balance equation abides the first law of thermodynamic excluding
the fact heat loss had occurred to the air flow.

The results of cooling tower experiment are sensitive to the change in temperature. Therefore,
it is recommended to keep the cooling tower insulated so that theres no lesser heat lost to the
surrounding environment. The blower speed of the cooling tower machine only able to adjust in term
of scale. There is no way to determine or calculate the amount of air flow through the cooling tower. It
is recommended for the cooling tower to have a digitalized scalar to adjust the flow rate of air. The
temperature of the water heater tank is also unstable as it is noticed that the temperature of it is
constantly 1C or 2C below the required temperature of 45C. A better water tank heater with
temperature control is recommended for cooling tower experiment as the results are dependent on the
temperature of water.

18

References

Boundless. (2016, August 8). Waters High Heat Capacity. Retrieved September 18, 2016, from
https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks/boundless-biology-textbook/the-chemical-foundationof-life-2/water-51/water-s-high-heat-capacity-283-11416/

Lewis, S., Daniels, S., & Newman, A. (1996, September 17). Cooling Tower Experiments. Retrieved
September 18, 2016, from http://chem.engr.utc.edu/webres/435F/3T-CT/3T-CT.html

Manser, V. (n.d.). What is Cooling Tower? Retrieved September 18, 2016, from
http://www.cti.org/whatis/coolingtowerdetail.shtml

Marley. (2016). What Is A Cooling Tower? Retrieved September 18, 2016, from
http://spxcooling.com/coolingtowers

19