Hybrid Cooling Tower Natural Draft Air Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hybrid cooling towers face issues with high pressure loss, noise emission, and inflexible operation due to the need for special mixing structures and arrangements that increase auxiliary power requirements and maintenance costs, while also not supporting effective water conservation and plume reduction.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid cooling tower design that incorporates natural draft assistance with induced fan draft, featuring dry and wet cooling segments with strategically located fans and air intake systems that eliminate the need for mechanical mixing structures, reduce pressure loss, and enhance air mixing, allowing for flexible operation and water conservation, with the dry and wet parts capable of operating independently based on ambient conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If special mixing structures are added above wet fills to mix dry and humid air, then plume reduction is achieved, but pressure loss increases and auxiliary power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the dry cooling section and wet cooling section into a single integrated hybrid cooling tower structure, eliminating the need for separate mixing structures. The dry and wet sections are positioned adjacent to each other with shared air intake and exhaust pathways, allowing natural mixing of air streams without additional pressure loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent removes the special mixing structures that were previously required above wet fills. Instead, the design relies on the natural convection currents and strategic positioning of dry and wet sections to achieve air mixing and plume reduction without these additional components.
2Productivity
If wet fills are located all over the tower base extending to periphery and forced draft wet fans are arranged externally, then cooling capacity is increased, but noise increases and noise attenuation becomes costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent nests the wet fans inside the tower structure rather than placing them externally. The wet fans are positioned within the tower shell, utilizing the tower structure itself as acoustic insulation. This nesting approach maintains cooling capacity while significantly reducing noise emission without requiring additional noise attenuation equipment.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If hybrid cooling towers use individual cell-type or rectangular arrangements, then plume reduction is achieved, but device complexity and investment cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a universal hybrid cooling tower structure that can serve multiple functions: plume reduction through integrated dry-wet sections, natural draft utilization, and flexible operational modes. The standardized design eliminates the need for complex individual cell-type arrangements while achieving the same plume reduction效果 through a simpler, more versatile configuration.
4Volume of stationary object
If dry and wet sections are integrated in conventional cooling tower shells, then space utilization is improved, but maintenance accessibility may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the hybrid cooling tower into distinct dry and wet sections with independent access points and maintenance pathways. Each section can be accessed separately for maintenance, and the modular design allows components to be removed and replaced without disrupting the entire structure, thereby maintaining ease of repair while achieving efficient space utilization.
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 design achieves significant plume reduction, low noise emission, and reduced maintenance costs, while maintaining efficient air mixing and flexibility in heat rejection capabilities, supporting both natural and mechanical draft systems without the need for additional noise attenuation, thus improving overall system reliability and maintainability.
Implementation Method 1
natural draft assisted induced fan draft hybrid cooling tower
Implementation Method 2
natural draft assistance with induced fan draft
Implementation Method 3
induced fan draft
Implementation Method 4
wet cooled section
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention is a hybrid cooling tower (1) for a hybrid cooling system; the hybrid cooling tower comprising - a tower shell (4) being supported by tower shell legs (16) above a ground level, providing an air intake between the ground level and a lower edge of the tower shell (4); - a wet cooled segment (3) arranged inside of the tower shell (4) and having wet cooling cells (8) arranged at a distance from the tower shell (4) and receiving cooling air through the air intake and via first louvers; - wet fans (9) arranged on top of the wet cells (8) for inducing upwards humid air exhaust flow; - a dry cooled segment (2) being arranged outside of the tower shell (4) above said air intake for wet cells (8), the dry cooled segment (2) having air coolers being arranged as vertical cooling deltas (5) around the tower shell (4) equipped with second louvers for controlling cooling air inlet, the dry cooled segment (2) being supported by cooling delta legs (15), the tower shell (4) having inlet openings (20) arranged along the dry cooled segment (2) for the air warmed up by the dry cooled segment (2); and - dry fans (7) arranged in at least some of the inlet openings (20) of the tower shell (4), for inducing mechanical draft for the dry cooled segment (2) and for driving air warmed up by the dry cooled segment (2) into mixture with the humid air exhaust flow; wherein the tower shell (4) has a height of at least 2 times that of the cooling deltas (5) for inducing a natural draft; and wherein the hybrid cooling tower (1) further comprises an inside cover (12) defining an air duct space (11) between the air intake and the wet cells (8), the inside cover (12) separating ambient air streaming towards the wet cells (8) and the warmed up air entering the tower shell (4) via said inlet openings (20).