Patent ID: 6446941
Filing Date: 2002-09-10
Classification: F24F,F25B,F28B,F28F,Y02B,Y10S

Abstract:
A cooling tower for an air conditioning system comprising an air inlet for receiving a flow of inlet air and a generally vertical axis draft channel disposed above said air inlet, a fan and means for controlling the rotational speed of said fan to thereby control the flow of air through said draft channel, hot process water dispersing means disposed within said draft channel and above said air inlet for direct heat exchange contact of dispersed hot process water with air flow from said inlet to thereby cool the temperature of said hot process water, a heat exchange unit and means for circulating cooled process water from a lower portion of said cooling tower through said heat exchange unit wherein the cooled process water picks up heat and is circulated back to said hot water dispersing means, means for sensing the temperature of the hot process water delivered to said hot water dispersing means, means for sensing the dry bulb temperature of the air leaving the cooling tower and means for controlling the rotational speed of the fan based on the sensed temperature of the hot process water and the sensed dry bulb temperature of the air to maintain the dry bulb temperature of the air leaving the tower to approximately the temperature of the hot process water dispersed by said dispersing means whereby only minimum moisture evaporation and minimal electricity are used.