Cooling Tower Drift Eliminator With Curved Flutes and Low Pressure Drop
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooling towers face challenges in reducing drift, which leads to water loss and potential freezing issues, as existing methods either insufficiently address drift or introduce other problems such as increased static pressure and larger tower sizes.
Innovation Solution
A drift eliminator with a design featuring an inlet, flutes, an eliminator ridge, and ribs, which conveys air through the eliminator, utilizing a V-shaped geometry and aerodynamic rib shapes to redirect air flow and collect entrained water droplets, reducing drift while maintaining or reducing fan power requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If the speed of air flow is reduced to reduce drift, then drift is reduced, but the volume of fill media and cooling tower size must be increased
Solution Approach 1:
The drift eliminator uses curved flute interior surfaces that sweep upward from inlet to outlet, and curved ribs with airfoil cross-sections, to smoothly redirect air flow and capture drift droplets without causing sharp flow separation or pressure losses. This curved geometry enables effective drift reduction while maintaining compact tower dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The drift eliminator changes the flow parameters by using aerodynamic rib shapes with varying thickness (thicker forward portion tapering to thinner aft portion) to control flow velocity and pressure distribution. This allows the system to maintain lower air flow speeds for drift reduction while compensating for pressure drop through optimized geometry, avoiding the need for larger tower volume.
2Loss of substance
If baffles are placed to reduce drift, then drift is reduced, but static pressure increases requiring more powerful fans
Solution Approach 1:
The drift eliminator replaces sharp-angled baffles with smooth curved flute surfaces and aerodynamic ribs. The curved geometry allows air to follow the flow path without abrupt direction changes, minimizing flow separation and pressure losses while still effectively capturing drift droplets through the upward-sweeping flute surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the traditional baffle mechanism with an aerodynamic rib system featuring airfoil cross-sections. These ribs generate favorable pressure gradients through their curved geometry, reducing flow separation and static pressure increase compared to flat baffles, while maintaining drift elimination effectiveness.
3Loss of substance
If conventional drift eliminators are used, then drift is reduced to some extent, but fan power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The aerodynamic ribs with airfoil cross-sections and curved flute surfaces create favorable pressure distributions that reduce flow separation and turbulence. This lowers the static pressure increase across the drift eliminator, reducing the power required by fans to maintain the necessary air flow rates for cooling while still achieving effective drift reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The drift eliminator optimizes the rib geometry with varying thickness along the flow direction (thicker at forward portion, tapering to thinner at aft portion) to control flow velocity and pressure distribution. This parameter optimization minimizes energy losses and reduces fan power requirements while maintaining drift elimination performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces drift by allowing air to flow with increased velocity, enhancing cooling capacity and reducing energy consumption, while minimizing pressure drop and water loss, thus addressing the inefficiencies of conventional methods.
Implementation Method 1
At least one of the ribs is an airfoil, the at least one of the ribs including a forward portion proximal to the eliminator ridge and the at least one of the ribs including an aft portion proximal to the flute outlet, the forward portion being relatively thicker and tapering towards the aft portion
Implementation Method 2
Each flute is in fluid communication with the eliminator ridge and is defined by a flute interior surface curving upwards from the flute inlet to a flute outlet
Data Source
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AI summary
A drift eliminator to remove liquid from a flow of air in a cooling tower includes an eliminator inlet, a plurality of flutes, an eliminator ridge, and a plurality of ribs. The eliminator inlet is to receive the flow of air. The plurality of flutes are configured to convey the flow of air through the drift eliminator. The eliminator ridge has a first drift wall extending in a first direction and a second drift wall extending in a second direction. Each flute is in fluid communication with the eliminator ridge and is defined by a flute interior surface curving upwards from the flute inlet to a flute outlet. The plurality of ribs are defined by adjacent ones of the flutes and curving upwards toward the flute outlet.